Empire of Resentment

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Since Trump's victory and the UK's Brexit vote, much commentary has focused on the emergence of populism. However, Lawrence Rosenthal argues that we are witnessing the transformation of right-wing populism. As the founder of UC Berkeley's Center for Right-Wing Studies, he posits that right-wing populism is a dynamic force driven by resentment toward perceived elites, characterized by ideological flexibility that currently manifests as xenophobic nationalism. In 2016, American right-wing populists shifted from the free market Tea Party to Donald Trump's anti-immigrant, America-First nationalism, which was crucial to his electoral success. Similarly, in Italy, the Northern League rebranded itself in 2018, redirecting its anger from southerners to immigrants, ultimately gaining power. Rosenthal provides a compelling sociological, political, and psychological analysis of this transnational movement, which has gained influence in at least a dozen countries, forming a de facto Nationalist International. The future of democratic politics in the U.S. and beyond hinges on whether right-wing populists adhere to this nationalist ideology and whether liberal and left parties can cultivate their own version of progressive populism.