Extended commentary—Keeping the republic: A vision for America

Q2 Social Sciences

World Affairs Pub Date : 2024-02-25 DOI:10.1002/waf2.12006

Anthony R. Brunello

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The United States is enduring an identity crisis characterized by a polarized political climate precipitating an American culture war. In this battle the Republican Party has been overtaken by “Anti‐wokeism” allied with antidemocratic “states' rights” beliefs claiming an exclusive, antipluralist definition of republic. The extremist right in America insists that America is not a democracy, but a “republic” built to respect the status of a minority characterized as white, nationalist and Christian. “Anti‐wokeism” is an extension of Trumpism and MAGA (Make America Great Again), gathering together antidemocratic forces, fueled by resentment and theories of racial displacement known as the Great Replacement Theory. These forces are overwhelming the modern Republican Party, inspiring homophobia, misogyny, racism, book bans, and violence. This essay addresses the following four elements of this crisis with an eye to a renewed vision of America: (1) the difference between an 18th Century and 21st Century definition of a republic; (2) the antidemocratic states' rights movement; (3) the nature of strongman populism in American politics; and (4) a vision of diversity as the core principle of the American Republic.

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扩展评论-维护共和：美国的愿景

美国正在经历一场身份认同危机，其特点是两极分化的政治气候引发了一场美国文化战争。在这场战争中，共和党被 "反觉醒主义 "所取代，"反觉醒主义 "与反民主的 "州权 "信仰结盟，声称要对共和国下一个排他性的、反多元化的定义。美国的极端右翼分子坚持认为，美国不是一个民主国家，而是一个为尊重白人、民族主义者和基督徒少数群体地位而建立的 "共和国"。"反觉醒主义 "是特朗普主义和 MAGA（让美国再次伟大）的延伸，聚集了反民主的力量，这些力量由怨恨和被称为 "大替代理论 "的种族迁移理论所助长。这些力量压倒了现代共和党，激发了仇视同性恋、厌恶女性、种族主义、图书禁令和暴力。本文探讨了这一危机的以下四个要素，以期重新认识美国：(1) 18 世纪与 21 世纪对共和国定义的区别；(2) 反民主的州权运动；(3) 强人民粹主义在美国政治中的本质；(4) 多样性作为美国共和国核心原则的愿景。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

World Affairs Social Sciences-Social Sciences (all)

CiteScore

3.20

自引率

0.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： World Affairs is a quarterly international affairs journal published by Heldref Publications. World Affairs, which, in one form or another, has been published since 1837, was re-launched in January 2008 as an entirely new publication. World Affairs is a small journal that argues the big ideas behind U.S. foreign policy. The journal celebrates and encourages heterodoxy and open debate. Recognizing that miscalculation and hubris are not beyond our capacity, we wish more than anything else to debate and clarify what America faces on the world stage and how it ought to respond. We hope you will join us in an occasionally unruly, seldom dull, and always edifying conversation. If ideas truly do have consequences, readers of World Affairs will be well prepared.