The Helsinki Institute on Emotions, Populism, and Polarisation (HEPP) is ecstatic to announce an upcoming lecture as part of the
The keynote speaker, Charles Postel, is a professor of history at San Francisco State University and a visiting HEPP researcher. His research focuses on the political ideas of social movements, along with the anti-Populist political tradition in the United States, including the conservative and right-wing movements from the McKinley campaign of 1896 to the Tea Party and MAGA movements of the twenty-first century.
The Trump Presidency: Roots, Symbols, and Models of Power
Many commentators and social scientists have observed that Trump and MAGA are making use of the "authoritarian playbook," mirroring other contemporary models of authoritarianism and fascist movements of the 1920s and 1930s. Still, Trump’s main symbols of authority and power have deep roots in American political culture. Thus, this lecture will examine multiple questions: To what extent are Trump and MAGA a uniquely American phenomenon? How do they fit into the trans-Atlantic and global models or patterns? What are the symbols of power that sustain Trump and MAGA? Do Trump and MAGA represent continuity or rupture in the American trajectory? What do the answers to these questions mean for Europe and the world?
To learn more, join us on 4 November at 15-17 in the Karolina Eskelin Room (UH Centre Campus, Main Building, U3032) for this keynote from Charles Postel, with HEPP’s Illana Hartikainen acting as Chair.
This event is funded by the European Union, through the