The New American Populism - How Trump Mobilized Voters and Changed the Republican Party

Exclusive nationalism in the European sense is considered to be mostly absent in the US. Instead, it practices a so-called civic patriotism that is based on the citizenship and the ability of individuals to join the nation. Therefore, relatively few scholars have addressed this issue. However, over the course of time several movements have formed but were never able to establish. The campaign and the presidency of Donald Trump represent a turning point in American politics as it seeks to introduce typical aspects of nationalist, populist, and nativist policies. In my thesis, I aim to describe this shift including its specific features. It will be crucial to explain the factors that facilitated the increasing importance of such politics and the derivation of potential voters. More specifically, I will try to describe particular actions and rhetoric of Trump that enabled him to mobilize voter groups. Moreover, I will focus on the United States’ fragmented party system that does not urge the emergence of new movements. Therefore, I will examine the impact of Trump on the Republicans and how the party changed since his political appearance.