New Book on Populism and Nationalism

Larry Rosenthal, CRWS Chair, chronicles the transformation of the American far right made the Trump presidency possible—and what it portends for the future. Since Trump’s victory and the UK’s Brexit vote, much of the commentary on the populist epidemic has focused on the emergence of populism. In Empire of Resentment: Populism’s Toxic Embrace of Nationalism, Rosenthal argues that what is happening globally is not the emergence but the transformation of right-wing populism. Rosenthal paints a vivid sociological, political, and psychological picture of the transnational quality of this movement, which is now in power in at least a dozen countries, creating a de facto Nationalist International. The future of democratic politics in the United States and abroad depends on whether right-wing populists stay with this nationalist ideology and whether the liberal and left parties have the political capacity to effect a progressive populism of their own.

‘An extraordinary moment’: UC Berkeley talk examines fascism, far-right

The UC Berkeley Osher Lifelong Learning Institute recently held a virtual interview with Lawrence Rosenthal, the Berkeley Center for Right-Wing Studies’ founder, lead researcher and chair. Rosenthal addressed a number of political issues, including 20th-century fascism in Europe, modern-day nationalist regimes across the globe, white supremacy and the “alt-right,” or white nationalist, political movement in the United States. Read the Daily Cal article about the interview here and you can also watch the YouTube video of the interview.