Description
The Ku Klux Klan has peaked three times in American history: after the Civil War, around the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, and in the 1920s, when the Klan spread farthest and fastest. Recruiting millions of members even in non-Southern states, the Klan's nationalist insurgency burst into mainstream politics. Almost one hundred years later, the pent-up anger of white Americans left behind by a changing economy has once again directed itself at immigrants and cultural outsiders and roiled a presidential election.
In The Politics of Losing, Rory McVeigh and Kevin Estep trace the parallels between the 1920s Klan and today's right-wing backlash, identifying the conditions that allow white nationalism to emerge from the shadows. White middle-class Protestant Americans in the 1920s found themselves stranded by an economy that was increasingly industrialized and fueled by immigrant labor. Mirroring the Klan's earlier tactics, Donald Trump delivered a message that mingled economic populism with deep cultural resentments. McVeigh and Estep present a sociological analysis of the Klan's outbreaks that goes beyond Trump the individual to show how his rise to power was made possible by a convergence of circumstances. White Americans' experience of declining privilege and perceptions of lost power can trigger a political backlash that overtly asserts white-nationalist goals. The Politics of Losing offers a rigorous and lucid explanation for a recurrent phenomenon in American history, with important lessons about the origins of our alarming political climate.
About the Author
Rory McVeigh is the Nancy Reeves Dreux Professor in Sociology and director of the Center for the Study of Social Movements at the University of Notre Dame. He is author of The Rise of the Ku Klux Klan: Right-Wing Movements and National Politics (2009) and coeditor of American Sociological Review.
Kevin Estep is assistant professor in the Department of Cultural and Social Studies at Creighton University. His research focuses on the consequences of residential sorting on politics and public health.
Reviews
Erudite and surprisingly evenhanded. . . . A substantial contribution to understanding an increasingly polarized country. * Publishers Weekly *
A welcome addition to the literature on white supremacy. * Kirkus Reviews *
Through a clear and dispassionate comparison of the ascendance of the Klan in the 1920s and Trump in 2016, McVeigh and Estep trace the roots of white nationalism in American politics. They show how opportunistic leaders combined race, economics, culture, and religion to mobilize white resentment. The Politics of Losing is the best book to account for the rise of Trumpism that I have read. -- Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, Duke University
In documenting the remarkable parallels between the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s, and the rise of Trumpian politics today, McVeigh and Estep demonstrate how white nationalism periodically links with economic grievances to shape electoral outcomes. Elegantly written, exquisitely researched, and powerfully argued, The Politics of Losing is essential reading for those who wish to understand the historical origins of our current, racially charged political climate-and how to change it. -- Jocelyn Viterna, Harvard University
The Politics of Losing not only provides an incredibly rich diagnosis for the current troubles within American democracy but also offers a much-needed and well-reasoned exit. -- Christian Davenport, University of Michigan
The tactics of cultural resentment that brought Donald Trump to the White House are not new. As McVeigh and Estep show, eerily similar strategies propelled the explosive rise of the racist, anti-immigrant, and anti-Catholic Ku Klux Klan a century earlier. A brilliant, must-read book on the dangerous appeal of white nationalism in American politics. -- Kathleen Blee, University of Pittsburgh
McVeigh and Estep's book makes an important contribution to our understanding of white nationalism, its endurance in American politics, and the conditions that brought it back into the mainstream with the election of Donald Trump. Using the 1920s Klan as a reference point, the authors show how declines in the standing of whites (political, economic, and status-based) have often produced sizable populations open to racist appeals, spawning political movements and fracturing enduring electoral coalitions. -- Marc Dixon, Dartmouth College
Engaging and approachable . . . This book would make a useful and timely addition to undergraduate and graduate courses on social movements, political sociology, race, or comparative and historical methods. * Mobilization *
A fascinating read, combining deep knowledge of the history of the Klan with a careful postmortem of primary votes for Trump. Its analysis is evenhanded and sophisticated. * Contemporary Sociology *
In addition to its topical appeal, The Politics of Losing is eminently readable. The authors explain social science tools and concepts (e.g., regression analysis, social movement theory) and significant history (e.g., the Black Codes, Republican Party issue shifts) in a way that is especially useful in the undergraduate classroom. * Perspectives On Politics *
Something different, more ambitious and more valuable. The Politics of Losing is...a case study of what happens when a once marginal movement takes over a mainstream political party. * Survival *
Book Information
ISBN 9780231190077
Author Rory McVeigh
Format Paperback
Page Count 320
Imprint Columbia University Press
Publisher Columbia University Press
In The Politics of Losing, Rory McVeigh and Kevin Estep trace the parallels between the 1920s Klan and today's right-wing backlash, identifying the conditions that allow white nationalism to emerge from the shadows. White middle-class Protestant Americans in the 1920s found themselves stranded by an economy that was increasingly industrialized and fueled by immigrant labor. Mirroring the Klan's earlier tactics, Donald Trump delivered a message that mingled economic populism with deep cultural resentments. McVeigh and Estep present a sociological analysis of the Klan's outbreaks that goes beyond Trump the individual to show how his rise to power was made possible by a convergence of circumstances. White Americans' experience of declining privilege and perceptions of lost power can trigger a political backlash that overtly asserts white-nationalist goals. The Politics of Losing offers a rigorous and lucid explanation for a recurrent phenomenon in American history, with important lessons about the origins of our alarming political climate.
About the Author
Rory McVeigh is the Nancy Reeves Dreux Professor in Sociology and director of the Center for the Study of Social Movements at the University of Notre Dame. He is author of The Rise of the Ku Klux Klan: Right-Wing Movements and National Politics (2009) and coeditor of American Sociological Review.
Kevin Estep is assistant professor in the Department of Cultural and Social Studies at Creighton University. His research focuses on the consequences of residential sorting on politics and public health.
Reviews
Erudite and surprisingly evenhanded. . . . A substantial contribution to understanding an increasingly polarized country. * Publishers Weekly *
A welcome addition to the literature on white supremacy. * Kirkus Reviews *
Through a clear and dispassionate comparison of the ascendance of the Klan in the 1920s and Trump in 2016, McVeigh and Estep trace the roots of white nationalism in American politics. They show how opportunistic leaders combined race, economics, culture, and religion to mobilize white resentment. The Politics of Losing is the best book to account for the rise of Trumpism that I have read. -- Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, Duke University
In documenting the remarkable parallels between the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s, and the rise of Trumpian politics today, McVeigh and Estep demonstrate how white nationalism periodically links with economic grievances to shape electoral outcomes. Elegantly written, exquisitely researched, and powerfully argued, The Politics of Losing is essential reading for those who wish to understand the historical origins of our current, racially charged political climate-and how to change it. -- Jocelyn Viterna, Harvard University
The Politics of Losing not only provides an incredibly rich diagnosis for the current troubles within American democracy but also offers a much-needed and well-reasoned exit. -- Christian Davenport, University of Michigan
The tactics of cultural resentment that brought Donald Trump to the White House are not new. As McVeigh and Estep show, eerily similar strategies propelled the explosive rise of the racist, anti-immigrant, and anti-Catholic Ku Klux Klan a century earlier. A brilliant, must-read book on the dangerous appeal of white nationalism in American politics. -- Kathleen Blee, University of Pittsburgh
McVeigh and Estep's book makes an important contribution to our understanding of white nationalism, its endurance in American politics, and the conditions that brought it back into the mainstream with the election of Donald Trump. Using the 1920s Klan as a reference point, the authors show how declines in the standing of whites (political, economic, and status-based) have often produced sizable populations open to racist appeals, spawning political movements and fracturing enduring electoral coalitions. -- Marc Dixon, Dartmouth College
Engaging and approachable . . . This book would make a useful and timely addition to undergraduate and graduate courses on social movements, political sociology, race, or comparative and historical methods. * Mobilization *
A fascinating read, combining deep knowledge of the history of the Klan with a careful postmortem of primary votes for Trump. Its analysis is evenhanded and sophisticated. * Contemporary Sociology *
In addition to its topical appeal, The Politics of Losing is eminently readable. The authors explain social science tools and concepts (e.g., regression analysis, social movement theory) and significant history (e.g., the Black Codes, Republican Party issue shifts) in a way that is especially useful in the undergraduate classroom. * Perspectives On Politics *
Something different, more ambitious and more valuable. The Politics of Losing is...a case study of what happens when a once marginal movement takes over a mainstream political party. * Survival *
Book Information
ISBN 9780231190077
Author Rory McVeigh
Format Paperback
Page Count 320
Imprint Columbia University Press
Publisher Columbia University Press
