Schmidt Publishes Article on the Dangers to American Democracy
Vivien Schmidt, Jean Monnet Professor of European Integration and Professor of International Relations and Political Science at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, published an article in The Progressive Post, a political magazine run by the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS), on the United States’ populist drift under President Trump and what this means for its democracy.
In the article, titled “The dangers for democracy from America’s populist drift,” discusses the presidency of Donald Trump and how, during his time in office, he has undermined the essence of the U.S. President “as the incarnation of public authority and the symbol of American unity.” While President Trump and the current Republican party have exploited many flaws in American democracy to their own gain, Schmdt argues that the apparent divides in American politics have existed long before the Trump presidency. While she expressed that President-elect Biden has a lot of work ahead of him bringing the country together, she expressed hope that his presidency will be a return to normal and tackle the issues of climate change, social injustice, and economic inequality.
An excerpt:
Donald Trump and the current Republican party have not been alone responsible for the slow decline of American democracy. The US is certainly a divided country today, as demonstrated by the Democrats’ thin margin of victory, with the populist Trump gaining more votes than in 2016. But those divides have been building for a very long time…
Thus, Biden will have a difficult job ahead of him. None of the politics or processes will be easy to fix, including the eroding faith in government and the increasing fragility of the institutions of liberal democracy.
The full article can be read on The Progressive Post‘s website.
Vivien Schmidt is Professor of International Relations and Jean Monnet Professor of European Integration at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies and was the first Director of BU’s Center for the Study of Europe, housed at the Pardee School. Schmidt’s research focuses on European political economy, institutions, democracy, and political theory—in particular on the importance of ideas and discourse in political analysis. Read more about her here.