Trumpism Beyond Trump: the Future of the Radical Right 23 During the Biden Administration

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Trumpism Beyond Trump: the Future of the Radical Right 23 During the Biden Administration 2021 REPORT US TRENDS THAT MATTER FOR EUROPE THE BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION: Vicente Palacio A NEW POLITICAL CYCLE Director and editor 2021 REPORT US TRENDS THAT MATTER FOR EUROPE 2021 REPORT US TRENDS THAT MATTER FOR EUROPE THE BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION: A NEW POLITICAL CYCLE Director and editor: Vicente Palacio All rights reserved. According to the law, you may not copy, modify, reproduce, republish or circulate in any way the content from this publication. Any other uses require the prior written permission of Fundación Alternativas. This work is published under the responsibility of Fundación Alternativas. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the view of Fundación Alternativas as an institution. ISBN: 978-84-18677-21-2 Translation: Richard Preston Edition: Mateo Peyrouzet Layout: Belén Avilés and Carlos Alemany Actividad subvencionada por la Secretaría de Estado de la España Global 1 2021 REPORT US TRENDS THAT MATTER FOR EUROPE 2021 REPORT US TRENDS THAT MATTER FOR EUROPE THE BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION: A NEW POLITICAL CYCLE INDEX INTRODUCTION. NEW TRENDS FOR A NEW POLITICAL CYCLE. VICENTE 3 PALACIO CHAPTER I. FROM AMERICA FIRST TO DEMOCRACY FIRST: IMPLICATIONS AT 9 HOME AND ABROAD. VICENTE PALACIO CHAPTER II. TRUMPISM BEYOND TRUMP: THE FUTURE OF THE RADICAL RIGHT 23 DURING THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION. JORGE TAMAMES CHAPTER III. A CASE FOR DEMOCRACY: SOCIAL MEDIA, FAKE NEWS AND 38 CENSORSHIP. IÑIGO SÁENZ DE UGARTE CHAPTER IV. A NEW OPPORTUNITY FOR THE GENDER AGENDA. CRISTINA 50 MANZANO CHAPTER V. BACK TO PARIS: PROSPECTS FOR A GREEN NEW DEAL AND JUST 66 TRANSITION IN THE US. DIMITRIS STEVIS CHAPTER VI. GREEN DEAL AND JUST TRANSITION: THE NEW BRAND MARK OF 88 THE EUROPEAN UNION. CRISTINA MONGE CHAPTER VII. THE U.S. TECHNOLOGY AGENDA: RECOVERY, 103 TRANSFORMATION, AND RUPTURE TRENDS. IMPLICATIONS ON EUROPEAN DIGITAL SOVEREIGNTY. RAQUEL JORGE RICART CHAPTER VIII. HOW TO DEAL WITH CHINA’S QUEST FOR GLOBAL SUPREMACY. 123 POSSIBILITIES FOR EXPANDED US-EU COOPERATION UNDER THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION. ALEXANDRE MUNS CHAPTER IX. THE REMAKING OF THE MULTILATERAL ORDER AND THE 138 EUROPEAN OPEN STRATEGIC AUTONOMY. MARIO TEL! REFLECTIONS AND PROPOSALS: US AND EUROPE. 155 AUTHORS 164 ANNEX - US TRENDS WORKING GROUP 167 2 2021 REPORT US TRENDS THAT MATTER FOR EUROPE Introduction. New trends for a new political cycle. Vicente Palacio The United States has entered a new political cycle of significant transformations since Joe Biden’s inauguration as 46th President on 20 January 2021. At home and abroad, the first steps of the new Democrat administration are meeting the expectations of change to stand in contrast to the previous administration of Donald Trump. Across several fields, the new administration is undertaking extremely ambitious initial political and legislative initiatives. Consequently, several trends in American politics and society are being bolstered in a certain direction. This 2021 Report US Trends that Matter for Europe addresses the main transformations within the United States in the early months of the Biden- Harris administration in the transition to a post-pandemic America. It covers a long list of key subjects, be they political (democracy), social, economic, technological/digital, environmental, or multilateral. The Report also places emphasis on the links between these internal transformations and Europe’s own agenda. The analyses in each section of the Report have drawn on the thoughts and ideas to have arisen in numerous meetings and debates among experts over recent months. For each issue covered in the chapters the idea is to identify the most significant new trends that point to changes in the United States primarily, but also in Europe. In relation to these trends, we try to shed some light on whether the changes are circumstantial (that is to say, reversible) or whether instead they are structural (deeper and with consequences in the medium and long term). What follows is a summary of the main trends arising from the Report and the joint reflections of the Working Group: 3 2021 REPORT US TRENDS THAT MATTER FOR EUROPE An initial and chief trend is the central importance of the reconstruction of democracy in the United States. The United States is evolving from “America First” to “Democracy First”. Preceding this were the four controversial years of President Trump’s tenure, marked by political and social polarisation, national populism, trade protectionism, and a withdrawal from international leadership and multilateralism - ending in the assault on the Capitol on 6 January 2021. America is now taking democracy and human rights seriously again as the backbone of domestic and international political life. Biden’s slogan of “America is back” spans the two spheres of action. However, this commitment to democratic and institutional renewal brings uncertainties and challenges. Domestically, owing to deadlocks in the Senate and filibusterism that obstruct the passing of new laws and the persistence of a certain polarisation that stands in the way of bipartisanism. In particular, the national populist, “Trumpist” tendencies in the United States and Europe will remain strong for a time that it is still impossible to predict. And abroad they are problematic both because of US democracy’s state of relative weakness – an impediment to resuming “leadership of the free world” – and because of the risks involved for global governance of a confrontation with the authoritarian governments of China or Russia. Second, a shift towards a new paradigm of strong “social” content, one that contains a commitment to the middle classes in post-pandemic America, can be detected. This is linked to the idea of the need for major public investment and “big government” to overcome the damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Several types of action point in this direction. One example is the successful management of the pandemic itself: 200 million people vaccinated in the first 100 days of Biden’s term of office, a drop in the mortality rate from 4,000 a day to less than 100; or the support for a temporary suspension of vaccine patents. Others are the laws sent to Congress to secure the economic and social recovery, amounting to around $6 trillion: the American Rescue Plan, the Infrastructure Plan, the American Jobs Plan, and the American Families Plan. Depending on the success of these programmes, this new paradigm 4 2021 REPORT US TRENDS THAT MATTER FOR EUROPE could take root not only among the Democrats, but also among some Republican sectors. In addition, the democratic/social nature of the programmes aspires to “heal the wounds” of US society. That may place a new, far-reaching emphasis on attention to the most vulnerable minorities and racial justice. A third trend is the consolidation of a “tax revolution” to underpin an inclusive path out of the crisis. In order to fund the economic and social programmes the federal government - led by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen - is proposing an initial tax increase on the big US corporations (from 21% to 28%); a global minimum tax on global corporate profits of 15% (the initial proposal was 21%) that includes the all-powerful GAFAM tech giants; or a tax on high incomes (the richest 1% of the United States). Biden’s “tax revolution” has direct implications for the global tax system, is in line with the proposals of international bodies such as the OECD or the IMF, and will have major repercussions in Europe, helping to unblock similar initiatives. A fourth trend is that the United States is taking a feminist turn, with a growing prominence of women in political life. Several elements attest to the fact that in terms of both number and real influence feminist tendencies are continuing to break through and effect profound changes. The current legislative term provides record figures as far as the presence of women is concerned. That is the case of the President’s Cabinet, or the Congress formed in 2021 (where the number of representatives of racial and ethnic minorities is also on the increase), or of the legislative chambers of the different states of the country and of senior positions. In addition to Kamala Harris as Vice President, there is the so-called “squad” led by the Democrat Ocasio Cortez in Congress, where women such as Rashida Tlaib, along with many others, stand out. If the trend continues, the feminist push in political life promoted from among the Democrat ranks could spread to the Republican camp. For Europe, these changes provide an opportunity to cooperate with the United States on gender policies in a framework of 5 2021 REPORT US TRENDS THAT MATTER FOR EUROPE global action, for example in the framework of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. A fifth trend is that the United States is making a radical “green” shift compared to the previous period. The Biden administration is committed to the creation of new green jobs, caring for the environment, and a socially just energy transition. Actions that illustrate this shift are, for example, the return to the Paris Agreement, the cancelation of the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, or the appointment of John Kerry as Special Presidential Envoy for Climate. This major green shift will be coordinated primarily through the American Jobs Plan, which includes massive investment in green infrastructure, in renewables, or electric vehicles. From a geopolitical point of view, the United States is recovering part of the global leadership of this area, aligning to a large extent with the European Union and regaining ground lost to China. At the international Summit on Climate called by Biden in April 2021, the United States pledged to halve its emission by 2030 and to secure net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. This step could have major implications for the European Union and its New Green Deal in terms of a positive “race to the top” with the United States.
Recommended publications
  • Senate Vote on Trump Trial Signals an Acquittal Is Likely
    P2JW027000-6-A00100-17FFFF5178F ****** WEDNESDAY,JANUARY27, 2021 ~VOL. CCLXXVII NO.21 WSJ.com HHHH $4.00 DJIA 30937.04 g 22.96 0.1% NASDAQ 13626.06 g 0.1% STOXX 600 407.70 À 0.6% 10-YR. TREAS. unch , yield 1.039% OIL $52.61 g $0.16 GOLD $1,850.70 g $4.20 EURO $1.2162 YEN 103.62 In India, Farmers’ Protest Over New Law Turns Violent Microsoft What’s News SalesRise 17%Amid Business&Finance Covid-19 icrosoftposted record Mquarterly sales under- pinned by pandemic-fueled Pandemic demand forvideogaming and accelerated adoption of itscloud-computing services Demand for cloud during the health crisis. A1 services, videogaming Walgreens Bootsnamed Starbucks operating chief fuels earnings during Rosalind Brewerasits next work-from-home era CEO,making her the only Black woman leading a BY AARON TILLEY Fortune 500 company. A1 CK J&J said it expectstore- TO MicrosoftCorp. posted re- port pivotal resultsofalarge cord quarterly sales under- clinical trial of itsCovid-19 SHUTTERS pinned by pandemic-fueled de- vaccine by early next week, A/ mand forvideogaming and as the companyposted im- I/EP accelerated adoption of its AG proved quarterly sales. B1 TY cloud-computing services dur- ing the health crisis. GE booked $4.4billion Theremote-work erahas in fourth-quarter cash HARISH STREET CLASH: Indian farmers clash with police in New Delhi on Tuesday after breaking through barriers to escape po- been a boon for Microsoft. In flow,beating itsown pro- lice-approved routes for a tractor rally that coincided with a military parade celebrating India’s Republic Day.
    [Show full text]
  • What's Next for the United States?
    February 2021 Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Office USA, Washington, D.C. What's next for the United States? Part 2: Climate Change and Energy Supply By Sabine Murphy How is the Biden administration changing the direction of the U.S.? The KAS Office USA takes a first look, in a series of five country reports. This report deals with climate and energy challenges. The White House website promises “swift action to tackle the climate emergency” and a “clean energy revolution”. Key Policy Goals The Biden-Harris administration doesn’t make it a secret that the fight against climate change is on top of the to-do-list. Climate is prominently listed on the White House website as one of seven top policy priorities. It states: “President Biden will take swift action to tackle the climate emergency. The Biden administration will ensure we meet the demands of science, while empowering American workers and businesses to lead a clean energy revolution.”1 The Biden administration takes a decidedly different approach to energy use and the impact of rising temperatures on the environment than its predecessor. After four years of the Trump administration denying scientific findings about climate change, Biden has pledged to follow science and involve the entire federal government in the fight against climate change. By creating inter-agency working groups and a National Climate Task Force, Biden wants to ensure that his policies for the production of clean energy and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, are not limited to single agencies but will be implemented throughout the federal government. During his campaign, Biden promised to reach a goal of net-zero emissions across the economy before 2050, and to eliminate pollution caused by fossil fuel in electricity production by 2035.
    [Show full text]
  • Open Hearing: Nomination of Gina Haspel to Be the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
    S. HRG. 115–302 OPEN HEARING: NOMINATION OF GINA HASPEL TO BE THE DIRECTOR OF THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY HEARING BEFORE THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 2018 Printed for the use of the Select Committee on Intelligence ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 30–119 PDF WASHINGTON : 2018 VerDate Sep 11 2014 14:25 Aug 20, 2018 Jkt 030925 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 C:\DOCS\30119.TXT SHAUN LAP51NQ082 with DISTILLER SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE [Established by S. Res. 400, 94th Cong., 2d Sess.] RICHARD BURR, North Carolina, Chairman MARK R. WARNER, Virginia, Vice Chairman JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California MARCO RUBIO, Florida RON WYDEN, Oregon SUSAN COLLINS, Maine MARTIN HEINRICH, New Mexico ROY BLUNT, Missouri ANGUS KING, Maine JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma JOE MANCHIN III, West Virginia TOM COTTON, Arkansas KAMALA HARRIS, California JOHN CORNYN, Texas MITCH MCCONNELL, Kentucky, Ex Officio CHUCK SCHUMER, New York, Ex Officio JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona, Ex Officio JACK REED, Rhode Island, Ex Officio CHRIS JOYNER, Staff Director MICHAEL CASEY, Minority Staff Director KELSEY STROUD BAILEY, Chief Clerk (II) VerDate Sep 11 2014 14:25 Aug 20, 2018 Jkt 030925 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 C:\DOCS\30119.TXT SHAUN LAP51NQ082 with DISTILLER CONTENTS MAY 9, 2018 OPENING STATEMENTS Burr, Hon. Richard, Chairman, a U.S. Senator from North Carolina ................ 1 Warner, Mark R., Vice Chairman, a U.S. Senator from Virginia ........................ 3 WITNESSES Chambliss, Saxby, former U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • False Dilemma Wikipedia Contents
    False dilemma Wikipedia Contents 1 False dilemma 1 1.1 Examples ............................................... 1 1.1.1 Morton's fork ......................................... 1 1.1.2 False choice .......................................... 2 1.1.3 Black-and-white thinking ................................... 2 1.2 See also ................................................ 2 1.3 References ............................................... 3 1.4 External links ............................................. 3 2 Affirmative action 4 2.1 Origins ................................................. 4 2.2 Women ................................................ 4 2.3 Quotas ................................................. 5 2.4 National approaches .......................................... 5 2.4.1 Africa ............................................ 5 2.4.2 Asia .............................................. 7 2.4.3 Europe ............................................ 8 2.4.4 North America ........................................ 10 2.4.5 Oceania ............................................ 11 2.4.6 South America ........................................ 11 2.5 International organizations ...................................... 11 2.5.1 United Nations ........................................ 12 2.6 Support ................................................ 12 2.6.1 Polls .............................................. 12 2.7 Criticism ............................................... 12 2.7.1 Mismatching ......................................... 13 2.8 See also
    [Show full text]
  • Unexpected Hanging Paradox - Wikip… Unexpected Hanging Paradox from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
    2-12-2010 Unexpected hanging paradox - Wikip… Unexpected hanging paradox From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The unexpected hanging paradox, hangman paradox, unexpected exam paradox, surprise test paradox or prediction paradox is a paradox about a person's expectations about the timing of a future event (e.g. a prisoner's hanging, or a school test) which he is told will occur at an unexpected time. Despite significant academic interest, no consensus on its correct resolution has yet been established.[1] One approach, offered by the logical school of thought, suggests that the problem arises in a self-contradictory self- referencing statement at the heart of the judge's sentence. Another approach, offered by the epistemological school of thought, suggests the unexpected hanging paradox is an example of an epistemic paradox because it turns on our concept of knowledge.[2] Even though it is apparently simple, the paradox's underlying complexities have even led to it being called a "significant problem" for philosophy.[3] Contents 1 Description of the paradox 2 The logical school 2.1 Objections 2.2 Leaky inductive argument 2.3 Additivity of surprise 3 The epistemological school 4 See also 5 References 6 External links Description of the paradox The paradox has been described as follows:[4] A judge tells a condemned prisoner that he will be hanged at noon on one weekday in the following week but that the execution will be a surprise to the prisoner. He will not know the day of the hanging until the executioner knocks on his cell door at noon that day.
    [Show full text]
  • Biden: NARKIVE, “They Will Palestine in Violation of 11
    Will the ETHNIC FACTOR in Biden's KEY cabinet members preclude again (as it did with Trump’s KEY cabinet members) bringing home some 70,000 U.S. troops whose deployment for Israel’s security and prosperity in the Middle East cost some $8 trillion and millions of people killed or displaced in that region? Biden's top Jewish picks met well a minyan and a half These disproportionate ethno- Trump: U.S. troops will remain in the Middle East for Israel, political appointments or 1. White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain The Washington Post, 11/28/2018, https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Trump-US-troops-will-remain-in-the-Middle-East-for-Israel-572997 2. Secretary of State Antony Blinken nominations by both Biden and 3. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen Trump in addition to dozens of Iraq Was Invaded 'to Protect Israel' , https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1475-4967.2006.00260.x elected Jewish Members of 4. US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides Remember: The "ardent faith" of the war in Iraq was conceived and 5. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas Congress can only give a disseminated by a small group of 25 or 30 neoconservatives, almost all of 6. Member of Council of Economic Advisers Jared Bernstein glimpse of the Power of Israel in them Jewish, almost all of them intellectuals (a partial list: Richard Perle, Paul 7. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry/Cohen the United States and the depth Wolfowitz, Douglas Feith, William Kristol, Eliot Abrams, Charles 8.
    [Show full text]
  • The Development of Mathematical Logic from Russell to Tarski: 1900–1935
    The Development of Mathematical Logic from Russell to Tarski: 1900–1935 Paolo Mancosu Richard Zach Calixto Badesa The Development of Mathematical Logic from Russell to Tarski: 1900–1935 Paolo Mancosu (University of California, Berkeley) Richard Zach (University of Calgary) Calixto Badesa (Universitat de Barcelona) Final Draft—May 2004 To appear in: Leila Haaparanta, ed., The Development of Modern Logic. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004 Contents Contents i Introduction 1 1 Itinerary I: Metatheoretical Properties of Axiomatic Systems 3 1.1 Introduction . 3 1.2 Peano’s school on the logical structure of theories . 4 1.3 Hilbert on axiomatization . 8 1.4 Completeness and categoricity in the work of Veblen and Huntington . 10 1.5 Truth in a structure . 12 2 Itinerary II: Bertrand Russell’s Mathematical Logic 15 2.1 From the Paris congress to the Principles of Mathematics 1900–1903 . 15 2.2 Russell and Poincar´e on predicativity . 19 2.3 On Denoting . 21 2.4 Russell’s ramified type theory . 22 2.5 The logic of Principia ......................... 25 2.6 Further developments . 26 3 Itinerary III: Zermelo’s Axiomatization of Set Theory and Re- lated Foundational Issues 29 3.1 The debate on the axiom of choice . 29 3.2 Zermelo’s axiomatization of set theory . 32 3.3 The discussion on the notion of “definit” . 35 3.4 Metatheoretical studies of Zermelo’s axiomatization . 38 4 Itinerary IV: The Theory of Relatives and Lowenheim’s¨ Theorem 41 4.1 Theory of relatives and model theory . 41 4.2 The logic of relatives .
    [Show full text]
  • Reflexivity and Self-Referentiality 0.8Em in Inverse Monoids and Categories
    Reflexivity and Self-Referentiality In Inverse Monoids and Categories Peter M. Hines York – Mathematics – 2019 www.peterhines.info Reflexivity and Self-Referentiality Some motivation ... This talk is about some inverse category theory closely associated with logic and theoretical computer science. The general topic is models of self-referentiality. We aim to: 1 Describe the historical context & importance. 2 Give concrete axioms & examples. 3 Do all this in the reversible (inverse monoid) setting. www.peterhines.info Reflexivity and Self-Referentiality Historical Context (I) — Foundations & Logic Scenes from the frog-mouse wars www.peterhines.info Reflexivity and Self-Referentiality The historical setting The late 19th and early to mid 20th century saw some- thing of a crisis in the foundations of mathematics. This can be compared to the controversy caused by the introduction of calculus that was resolved by rigorous no- tions of limit & convergence. However, it was more profound, and less easily resolved. Its aftermath is still relevant today. www.peterhines.info Reflexivity and Self-Referentiality The problems of infinity Georg Cantor lit the fuse, and stepped back to a safe distance ... His work was not always appreciated: A ”scientific charlatan”, a ”renegade” and a ”corrupter of youth” — Leopold Kroenecker Mathematics is ”ridden through and through with the per- nicious idioms of set theory”, which is ”utter nonsense” that is ”laughable” and ”wrong” — Ludwig Wittgenstein www.peterhines.info Reflexivity and Self-Referentiality A more balanced approach A very readable contemporaneous account: Mathematical Rigor, past and present – J. Pierpont (1928) The Mengenlehre of Cantor [Set Theory] has brought to light a number of paradoxes which have profoundly disturbed the mathematical community for a quarter of a century.
    [Show full text]
  • Paradoxes Situations That Seems to Defy Intuition
    Paradoxes Situations that seems to defy intuition PDF generated using the open source mwlib toolkit. See http://code.pediapress.com/ for more information. PDF generated at: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 07:26:17 UTC Contents Articles Introduction 1 Paradox 1 List of paradoxes 4 Paradoxical laughter 16 Decision theory 17 Abilene paradox 17 Chainstore paradox 19 Exchange paradox 22 Kavka's toxin puzzle 34 Necktie paradox 36 Economy 38 Allais paradox 38 Arrow's impossibility theorem 41 Bertrand paradox 52 Demographic-economic paradox 53 Dollar auction 56 Downs–Thomson paradox 57 Easterlin paradox 58 Ellsberg paradox 59 Green paradox 62 Icarus paradox 65 Jevons paradox 65 Leontief paradox 70 Lucas paradox 71 Metzler paradox 72 Paradox of thrift 73 Paradox of value 77 Productivity paradox 80 St. Petersburg paradox 85 Logic 92 All horses are the same color 92 Barbershop paradox 93 Carroll's paradox 96 Crocodile Dilemma 97 Drinker paradox 98 Infinite regress 101 Lottery paradox 102 Paradoxes of material implication 104 Raven paradox 107 Unexpected hanging paradox 119 What the Tortoise Said to Achilles 123 Mathematics 127 Accuracy paradox 127 Apportionment paradox 129 Banach–Tarski paradox 131 Berkson's paradox 139 Bertrand's box paradox 141 Bertrand paradox 146 Birthday problem 149 Borel–Kolmogorov paradox 163 Boy or Girl paradox 166 Burali-Forti paradox 172 Cantor's paradox 173 Coastline paradox 174 Cramer's paradox 178 Elevator paradox 179 False positive paradox 181 Gabriel's Horn 184 Galileo's paradox 187 Gambler's fallacy 188 Gödel's incompleteness theorems
    [Show full text]
  • “This Is Our House!” a Preliminary Assessment of the Capitol Hill
    MARCH 2021 “This is Our House!” A Preliminary Assessment of the Capitol Hill Siege Participants Program on Extremism THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY MARCH 2021 “This is Our House!” A Preliminary Assessment of the Capitol Hill Siege Participants Program on Extremism THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. © 2021 by Program on Extremism Program on Extremism 2000 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20006 www.extremism.gwu.edu Cover: ©REUTERS/Leah Millis TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements 6 Executive Summary 8 Introduction 10 Findings 12 Categorizing the Capitol Hill Siege Participants 17 Recommendations 44 Conclusion 48 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report was researched and written jointly by the research team at the Program on Extremism, including Lorenzo Vidino, Seamus Hughes, Alexander Meleagrou- Hitchens, Devorah Margolin, Bennett Clifford, Jon Lewis, Andrew Mines and Haroro Ingram. The authors wish to thank JJ MacNab for her invaluable feedback and edits on this report. This report was made possible by the Program’s team of Research Assistants—Ilana Krill, Angelina Maleska, Mia Pearsall, Daniel Stoffel, Diana Wallens, and Ye Bin Won—who provided crucial support with data collection, data verification, and final edits on the report. Finally, the authors thank Nicolò Scremin for designing this report, and Brendan Hurley and the George Washington University Department of Geography for creating the maps used in this report.
    [Show full text]
  • International Organizations and Democratic Backsliding
    The Unintended Consequences of Democracy Promotion: International Organizations and Democratic Backsliding Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Anna M. Meyerrose, M.A. Graduate Program in Political Science The Ohio State University 2019 Dissertation Committee: Alexander Thompson, Co-Advisor Irfan Nooruddin, Co-Advisor Marcus Kurtz William Minozzi Sara Watson c Copyright by Anna M. Meyerrose 2019 Abstract Since the end of the Cold War, international organizations (IOs) have engaged in unprecedented levels of democracy promotion and are widely viewed as positive forces for democracy. However, this increased emphasis on democracy has more re- cently been accompanied by rampant illiberalism and a sharp rise in cases of demo- cratic backsliding in new democracies. What explains democratic backsliding in an age of unparalleled international support for democracy? Democratic backsliding oc- curs when elected officials weaken or erode democratic institutions and results in an illiberal or diminished form of democracy, rather than autocracy. This dissertation argues that IOs commonly associated with democracy promotion can support tran- sitions to democracy but unintentionally make democratic backsliding more likely in new democracies. Specifically, I identify three interrelated mechanisms linking IOs to democratic backsliding. These organizations neglect to support democratic insti- tutions other than executives and elections; they increase relative executive power; and they limit states’ domestic policy options via requirements for membership. Lim- ited policy options stunt the development of representative institutions and make it more difficult for leaders to govern. Unable to appeal to voters based on records of effective governance or policy alternatives, executives manipulate weak institutions to maintain power, thus increasing the likelihood of backsliding.
    [Show full text]
  • (Successful) Democracies Breed Their Own Support∗
    (Successful) Democracies Breed Their Own Support∗ Daron Acemoglu† Nicol´asAjzenman‡ Cevat Giray Aksoy§ Martin Fiszbein¶ Carlos Molina‖ August 11, 2021 Abstract Using large-scale survey data covering more than 110 countries and exploiting within- country variation across cohorts and surveys, we show that individuals with longer expo- sure to democracy display stronger support for democratic institutions. We bolster these baseline findings using an instrumental-variables strategy exploiting regional democrati- zation waves and focusing on immigrants' exposure to democracy before migration. In all cases, the timing and nature of the effects are consistent with a causal interpretation. We also establish that democracies breed their own support only when they are successful: all of the effects we estimate work through exposure to democracies that are successful in providing economic growth, peace and political stability, and public goods. Keywords: democracy, economic growth, institutions, support for democracy, values. JEL Classification: P16. ∗Acemoglu and Molina gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Bradley Foundation. †Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Economics. E-mail: [email protected] ‡S~aoPaulo School of Economics-FGV. E-mail: [email protected] §European Bank for Reconstruction and Development & King's College London. E-mail: [email protected] ¶Boston University, Department of Economics. E-mail: [email protected] ‖Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Economics. E-mail: [email protected] 1 Introduction \Our nation stands for democracy and proper drains." John Betjeman (Poet Laureate of the UK, 1972-1984). With many voters expressing increasing dissatisfaction with the democratic system,1 misin- formation and extremism spreading rapidly (e.g., Sunstein, 2018; Marantz, 2020), and authoritarian- leaning populist parties on the rise in many Western countries (e.g.
    [Show full text]