Fermor, B and Holland, J orcid.org/0000-0003-4883-332X (2020) Security and polarization in Trump’s America: securitization and the domestic politics of threatening others. Global Affairs, 6 (1). pp. 55-70. ISSN 2334-0460
Abstract
This article explores the relationship between foreign policy and domestic politics under Trump. We employ Gramscian theory to make sense of US foreign policy structures, conceptualizing the Trump administration as engaged in a discursive war of position over narratives of national identity and security. Second, we use securitization theory to conceptualize agency and change within this. We analyse 1200 official, opposition and media texts over 20 months following Trump's election. First, we consider Trump's attempted securitization of immigration. Second, we explore the counter-securitization of Trump as a threat to “progressive” America. Third, we analyse how Trump securitized the opposition, conflating the constructed threat posed by immigration with political elites. We show how this led to greater polarization of US political debate, which became underwritten by securitized language. Finally, we note security's referent differed for both groups, with Trump's ethnocentric “real” America opposed to the liberal America endorsed by his critics..
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2020 European International Studies Association. This is an author produced version of an article published in Global Affairs. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Discourse; securitization; US foreign policy; Trump; change |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Education, Social Sciences and Law (Leeds) > School of Politics & International Studies (POLIS) (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 26 Feb 2020 17:16 |
Last Modified: | 03 Sep 2021 00:40 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Taylor & Francis |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/23340460.2020.1734958 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:157649 |