Overview

Trumpism, Carl Schmitt and the threat of Anti-liberalism in the United States: The Political Thought of Donald Trump and Trumpism examines the phenomenon of Trumpism as it intersects with political theory. Unlike many pundits who have been at a loss to explain Donald Trump, Trumpism, or its appeal, Roberta Adams does not dismiss Trump or Trumpists. She argues that they are neither ignorant nor inconsistent. The author argues that Trumpism represents an alternative political paradigm by placing its approaches and ideas in a larger anti-liberal tradition, specifically the ideas espoused by Carl Schmitt. By examining Trumpism through the lens of Schmitt’s work Adams reveals the coherence of Trumpist thought. The author traces that consistency through the concepts of authority, democracy, and citizenship and explain how rather than a return to American constitutional principles, Trumpism is an abandonment of them. Adams argues that Trumpism presents a theoretical challenge to America, but one which is anti-liberal and anti-constitutional. The author also discusses methods for protecting constitutionalism, without regard to partisanship or policy goals.

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9781666952254

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In this timely, important, and sobering work, Adams considers what the political thought of Trumpism augurs for constitutional government in the United States. Invoking several key elements of the work of Carl Schmitt, Adams convincingly argues that Trumpism rests on assumptions about political life that are irreducibly incompatible with liberal democratic ideals. Seen in this light, the political thought of Trumpism, far from incoherent, nonsensical, or even deluded, has an inner logic that organizes the world around assumptions and precepts that renounce the very norms and presuppositions that make constitutional government possible. Trumpism, then, is not just an odd or different way of thinking about politics—it represents an existential threat to liberalism and democratic constitutionalism as constituent principles of political life. An essential read for every student and citizen of the Constitution. - John E. Finn, Professor of Government Emeritus, Wesleyan University. -- John E. Finn Ever since 2016, when Donald Trump ruptured the American political world and remade it in his own image, elected officials, political scientists, historians, and pundits have been trying to make sense of this brash iconoclast. In Bobbi Adams’s ambitious new monograph, she makes a startling and convincing case that the political thought of Carl Schmitt provides an invaluable guidebook for orienting us amidst the strange new landscape of Trumpian politics. Through a wide array of phenomena—including Trump’s challenge to the rule of law, his focus on immigration and citizenship, courting of violence, and populist identification of a true and endangered American people—Adams traces fascinating links between America’s 45th president and the anti-liberal political philosopher. With the 2024 presidential election in full-swing, Adams’s powerful and, at times, eschatological analysis could not be more pertinent—or chilling. - Bruce Peabody, Professor of Government and Law, Fairleigh Dickinson University -- David B. Peabody

In this timely, important, and sobering work, Adams considers what the political thought of Trumpism augurs for constitutional government in the United States. Invoking several key elements of the work of Carl Schmitt, Adams convincingly argues that Trumpism rests on assumptions about political life that are irreducibly incompatible with liberal democratic ideals. Seen in this light, the political thought of Trumpism, far from incoherent, nonsensical, or even deluded, has an inner logic that organizes the world around assumptions and precepts that renounce the very norms and presuppositions that make constitutional government possible. Trumpism, then, is not just an odd or different way of thinking about politics--it represents an existential threat to liberalism and democratic constitutionalism as constituent principles of political life. An essential read for every student and citizen of the Constitution. - John E. Finn, Professor of Government Emeritus, Wesleyan University. --John E. Finn Ever since 2016, when Donald Trump ruptured the American political world and remade it in his own image, elected officials, political scientists, historians, and pundits have been trying to make sense of this brash iconoclast. In Bobbi Adams's ambitious new monograph, she makes a startling and convincing case that the political thought of Carl Schmitt provides an invaluable guidebook for orienting us amidst the strange new landscape of Trumpian politics. Through a wide array of phenomena--including Trump's challenge to the rule of law, his focus on immigration and citizenship, courting of violence, and populist identification of a true and endangered American people--Adams traces fascinating links between America's 45th president and the anti-liberal political philosopher. With the 2024 presidential election in full-swing, Adams's powerful and, at times, eschatological analysis could not be more pertinent--or chilling. - Bruce Peabody, Professor of Government and Law, Fairleigh Dickinson University --David B. Peabody

Author Information

Dr. Bobbi Adams earned a BA from Wesleyan University in the College of Social Studies and MA from McGill University in Political Philosophy and a Ph.D. in Political Science with a concentration in constitutional theory.

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