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Trump was defeated at the polls, but Trumpism? That's another story.
In "Trumpism and its Discontents," our new collection of essays published today, more than a dozen Berkeley scholars dissect the ideology of Trumpism, explain how it took root in the social and political landscapes of the US, and suggest ways for democratic institutions to respond to its reverberating influences.
"Donald Trump did not come out of nowhere. He is the product … of a long fomenting and incubating project. He and the politics he represents are a part of a time-weathered struggle for power—for the right to dominate—over identity, over who belongs," director john a. powell writes in the book's foreword.
This timely volume (produced by our institute and published by the Institute of Governmental Studies) was edited by bioethicist Osagie Obasogie and includes contributions from the philosopher and literary scholar Judith Butler, sociologists Raka Ray, Neil Fligstein, Cybelle Fox, Irene Bloemraad, and Cristina Mora, public health scholars Denise Herd and Ann Keller, and others, who examine Trumpism in the context of various issues, including speech and race relations, politics of resentment, foreign policy, demographic shifts, and immigration policy.
"Trumpism and its Discontents" is available for download for free in PDF form and viewable in web form on our website. Click here for a press release.
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#AskOBI: What's wrong with this year's exit polls?
Joshua Clark, our institute's Political Participation Analyst, explains the problems with the narratives coming out of the 2020 elections about how certain demographic groups voted. This #AskOBI video series is a new feature at our institute where our faculty and staff break down what's happening with trending issues. Click to watch.
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Last week we held a live hour-long Q&A with director john a. powell the day after the election. He answered questions about the record high turnout in the elections, the outcomes of California's propositions, and how the country can come together at a moment of deep division. For video recording and transcript click here.
"Right now we’re so segregated, and the negative effects are multiple. ... Since we don't naturally come together, where can we create a container where we can actually get to know each other again? Initially, it's going to be awkward. Because when you're swimming against the stream, it takes a lot of work. If you relax, the stream carries you in the direction it's flowing."
-john a. powell
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Nov. 18 Panel: Reparations after 400 years
Join us next Wednesday for a live panel discussion on reparations and the future of freedom. The panelists will consider what the question of reparations means for this freedom’s fulfillment and what kind of future could follow for African-Americans. Speakers include:
 Katherine M. Franke, Professor of Law at Columbia University, and director of the Center for Gender and Sexuality Law- Jovan Scott Lewis, Assistant Professor of Geography and African-American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley
- Michael Ralph, Associate Professor in the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis and the School of Medicine at New York University
- Bertrall Ross (moderator), Chancellor’s Professor of Law UC Berkeley
The event will be live-streamed on our website here.
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Blog: Reflections on the war in Nagorno-Karabakh
In this new piece published shortly before the announcement of a ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan to end the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh, Assistant Director Stephen Menendian challenges the notion of religious, ethnic or nationalist separatism as a permanent means to resolve conflicts.
"How can you convince peoples to live together who have a history of enmity and even bloodshed? Fortunately, history supplies many answers to this, although the solution is never easy. ... But there is no other viable alternative. We cannot expel a people from their homes and communities and expect peace and stability in return," Menendian writes in his article.
Click to read his piece.
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News & Media
Faculty scholar Ian Haney Lopez was interviewed on KALW's "Your Call" with Rose Aguilar about the election. The episode was called "Thin Margins Separate Biden & Trump -- How Did Trump Manage To Get So Many Votes?" Separately, he was profiled in this Berkeley News story, called "To combat racism, we need to talk about economic justice."
Faculty scholar Cristina Mora was interviewed for this story in CapRadio, titled "No, The ‘Latino Vote’ Does Not Define A Complex Electorate." She is also quoted in this Berkeley News story, called "As demographics change, California GOP fades as a political force."
Both Director john a. powell and Assistant Director Stephen Menendian were interviewed for this SF Chronicle story about Californians rejecting a ballot proposition to reinstate affirmative action, titled "Californians reject affirmative action. Maybe they’re not progressive after all."
Director powell was also interviewed for this Global News story about the US presidential election, called "'Stop fighting for crumbs’: Why Black Americans say this U.S. election is important."
Assistant Director Menendian was interviewed in this Race Beyond Borders podcast produced by the Atlantic Fellows for Racial Equity. The episode is called "How do we attack racialized inequality?"
Associate Director Denise Herd is quoted in this news story about the announcement that UC Berkeley's Institute for the Study of Societal Issues may shut down due to the university's budget crisis. The story is titled, "Uc Institute Threatened With Closure Following Years Of Support For Students Of Color."
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