The Rise of the Alt-Right

What is the Alt-Right, and how will it affect America? Donald Trump's election as president in 2016 suddenly brought to prominence a political movement that few in political circles or the mainstream media had paid much attention to: the so-called Alt-Right. Steven Bannon, Trump's campaign manager, was a leading figure in the movement, and the election results seemed to give it a real opportunity to gain some political power. But what is the Alt-Right? Is it a movement, a theory, a trend, or just an unorganized group of people far outside of what used to be the political mainstream in America? Or, could it be all of these things? Why has it suddenly emerged into prominence? What impact is it having on American politics today, and what are the prospects for the Alt-Right in the future? Through careful research and analysis, The Rise of the Alt-Right addresses these and other questions, tracing the movement's history from the founding of modern conservatism in postwar America to the current Trump era. Although the Alt-Right might seem to be just the latest extremist group to arise in the United States-one likely to take its place in the graveyard of its many predecessors-Thomas J. Main analyzes evidence that the Alt-Right is having a greater influence on the American political mainstream than did past extremist tendencies. The Rise of the Alt-Right is thus an important study for anyone interested in the future of American politics and public life.

Thomas J. Main is a professor at the Austin W. Marxe School of Public and International Affairs, Baruch College, CUNY. He is the author of Homelessness in New York City: Policymaking from Koch to de Blasio (NYU Press, 2016) and editor of the anthology, Is the American Constitution Obsolete? (Carolina Academic Press, 2013). He holds a Ph.D. in politics from Princeton University and an MPA (master in public administration) from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He has written widely for academic journals, political magazines, and newspapers.

Contents: Part I: The Problem of the Alt-Right 1. The Emergence of the Alt-Right 2. How Big Is the Alt-Right? Part II: Intellectual Roots of the Alt-Right 3. From Right-Wing Extremism to the Postpaleos 4. Crystallization of the Alt-Right from 2000 to 2016 Part III: Alt-Right Ideology 5. Primer on Ideologies 6. The Alt-Right on the Foundational Principles of American Politics 7. Racialism 8. Anti-Americanism 9. The Alt-Lite, Breitbart, Bannon, and Trump 10. Conclusion Notes Index