Ben Margulies

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    Book Review: They Were Her Property: White Women as Slave Owners in the American South by Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers

Book Review: They Were Her Property: White Women as Slave Owners in the American South by Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers

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In They Were Her Property: White Women as Slave Owners in the American South, Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers challenges the idea that white women were passive bystanders to the slave economy in the US, instead demonstrating their active participation in its structures of brutality and exploitation. Compellingly written and centring the testimonies of formerly enslaved people, this award-winning book is an important […]

January 24th, 2021|Ben Margulies, Book Reviews, U.S. History|0 Comments|
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    Trump’s style of populism may be the reason most of his supporters aren’t taking to the streets.

Trump’s style of populism may be the reason most of his supporters aren’t taking to the streets.

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If Republicans are so convinced that the 2020 election was rigged, why aren’t they protesting? Ben Margulies argues that the authoritarian nature of Trumpism, where his supporters are encouraged to leave politics to him, may be undermining any vigorous populist response. 

Donald Trump thinks he won the 2020 presidential election. At least, he has certainly devoted a great deal of […]

December 3rd, 2020|Ben Margulies, Democracy and culture|3 Comments|
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    Even if it wanted to, the Republican Party can’t stop the spread of QAnon conspiracies and candidates which support them.

Even if it wanted to, the Republican Party can’t stop the spread of QAnon conspiracies and candidates which support them.

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This election has seen the emergence of Republican Party candidates who support conspiracy theories like QAnon. Ben Margulies examines the rise of these candidates, and reminds us that US political culture has a long history of conspiracy theorizing, which can often lead to political violence. In addition, the decentralized structure of US political parties can make it difficult to […]

October 8th, 2020|Ben Margulies, Elections and party politics across the US|0 Comments|
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    If Trump lost the popular vote, it would be hard for him to ‘rig’ the Electoral College to stay in office.

If Trump lost the popular vote, it would be hard for him to ‘rig’ the Electoral College to stay in office.

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There has been some speculation on what Donald Trump might do if he lost the national popular vote but uncertainty remained around the results in some key states in the upcoming presidential election. Ben Margulies argues that Trump could try to circumvent the popular vote and rig the Electoral College in his favour, but it would be very difficult, […]

August 4th, 2020|Ben Margulies, Elections and party politics across the US|1 Comment|
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    What the Roseanne saga tells us about the left’s view of the white working class

What the Roseanne saga tells us about the left’s view of the white working class

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Last week, ABC cancelled the newly returned sitcom, Roseanne, in the wake of the racist and extremist statements made on Twitter by its titular star. Ben Margulies writes on how Roseanne – the actress – has been made into a populist avatar taken by the media and many on the left to be representative of all of Donald Trump’s […]

June 8th, 2018|Ben Margulies, Democracy and culture|0 Comments|
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    The rhetorical attacks against the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School illustrate the breakdown of civil discourse in US politics.

The rhetorical attacks against the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School illustrate the breakdown of civil discourse in US politics.

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In the wake of the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida on February 14th, many of the school’s students have pushed hard for more stringent gun control legislation, only to be met with vitriolic attacks from the right, often accusing them of being ‘crisis actors’. Ben Margulies writes that the treatment of these students echoes […]

March 5th, 2018|Ben Margulies, Democracy and culture|0 Comments|
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    How Donald Trump’s populism may threaten the US-UK Special Relationship

How Donald Trump’s populism may threaten the US-UK Special Relationship

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Last week saw President Trump promote the rhetoric of the far-right Britain First organization, which prompted an angry response from the UK’s Prime Minister, Theresa May. Ben Margulies writes that the transatlantic Twitter spat shows that Trump’s appeal to populism and anti-elitism may also draw it against the liberal world order that the US-UK Special Relationship exemplifies.

At this stage, […]

December 7th, 2017|Ben Margulies, US foreign affairs and the North American neighbourhood|0 Comments|
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    Donald Trump’s speech to the Boy Scouts Jamboree: Why he says the same things to very different audiences

Donald Trump’s speech to the Boy Scouts Jamboree: Why he says the same things to very different audiences

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Donald Trump’s speech to the Boy Scout jamboree has been criticised as wildly inappropriate. But to a populist, there might only be one audience – and it might not be the physical people right in front of you. Ben Margulies looks at how the logic of populism may explain Donald Trump’s tendency to return to the same themes in […]

July 28th, 2017|Ben Margulies, Democracy and culture|0 Comments|
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    The Trump administration is likely not made up of Holocaust deniers. But they do need the support of those who are.

The Trump administration is likely not made up of Holocaust deniers. But they do need the support of those who are.

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This week Donald Trump’s press secretary, Sean Spicer caused controversy by suggesting that the Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad was worse than Adolf Hitler in his use of chemical weapons, effectively ignoring the fact that the Nazi leader had used such weapons against German Jews during World War II. Ben Margulies writes that while it is possible Spicer simply made […]

April 12th, 2017|Ben Margulies, Elections and party politics across the US|1 Comment|
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    Trump doesn’t really mean what he says. He’s just trying to change the subject.

Trump doesn’t really mean what he says. He’s just trying to change the subject.

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In the face of falling poll numbers, Donald Trump has argued that this year’s election may be rigged, and also this week made a veiled threat towards Hillary Clinton by invoking the Second Amendment. But does Trump really mean everything he says? Probably not, writes Ben Margulies, who argues that Trump is merely redeploying existing Republican rhetoric more sharply […]

August 11th, 2016|2016 Presidential Election, Ben Margulies, Elections and party politics across the US|0 Comments|
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