Donald J. Trump’s victory is consistent with a global trend in favor of authoritarian national populism over the perceived inefficiencies and corruptions of liberal democracy. In this respect, it is also a delayed response to the Great Recession of 2008, especially among the broad strata of voters who are disillusioned with traditional institutional politics. These voters have come to believe that their elected representatives, on both sides of the political divide, are relatively uninterested in the cultural and economic issues that matter most to them.

Trump’s breathtaking triumph highlights a crisis of political representation: an overwhelming lack of confidence in the capacity of professional politicians to resolve the most pressing political challenges of structural un- and underemployment, social inequality, unregulated immigration flows, and the looming specter of terrorist threats.  For more on the article, click here