Political Culture in the Age of Trump

Albert P. Melone

The Trump presidency alone is a topic of considerable public discussion and debate. Yet, Donald Trump signals much more than the behavior of a single person. He is a symptom and not the sole cause a greater malaise gripping the republic. Albert P. Melone argues that the Trump phenomenon is an instance of the rise of mass society and the decline of pluralist democracy. He points out that yesteryear’s Madisonian pluralist paradigm of democracy no longer aptly describes and explains the American political world as it now exists. By substituting the conceptual framework of mass society for the pluralism model, the author points the way to a more powerful and convincing explanation of the Trump phenomenon.

Lexington Books

Pages: 238 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9

978-1-7936-1001-0 • Hardback • August 2020 • $95.00 • (£73.00)

978-1-7936-1002-7 • eBook • August 2020 • $90.00 • (£69.00)

Subjects: Political Science / American Government / Executive Branch, Political Science / General

Political Culture in the Age of Trump

Hardback

eBook

Summary

The Trump presidency alone is a topic of considerable public discussion and debate. Yet, Donald Trump signals much more than the behavior of a single person. He is a symptom and not the sole cause a greater malaise gripping the republic. Albert P. Melone argues that the Trump phenomenon is an instance of the rise of mass society and the decline of pluralist democracy. He points out that yesteryear’s Madisonian pluralist paradigm of democracy no longer aptly describes and explains the American political world as it now exists. By substituting the conceptual framework of mass society for the pluralism model, the author points the way to a more powerful and convincing explanation of the Trump phenomenon.

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 238 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9

978-1-7936-1001-0 • Hardback • August 2020 • $95.00 • (£73.00)

978-1-7936-1002-7 • eBook • August 2020 • $90.00 • (£69.00)

Subjects: Political Science / American Government / Executive Branch, Political Science / General

Author

Albert P. Melone is professor emeritus of political science at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: A Proximate Understanding

Chapter 2: The Irony of Democracy

Chapter 3: Political Elites and The Decline of Political Culture

Chapter 4: Alienation and Democracy

Chapter 5: Midterm Rebuff

Chapter 6: Policy Differences and Partisanship

Chapter 7: Personality, Leadership and Propaganda

Chapter 8: What Is to Be Done?

Chapter 9: An Era of Transformation

Chapter 10: The Core Problem

Political Culture in the Age of Trump

Albert P. Melone

Political Culture in the Age of Trump

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