More than 50 countries that are home to half the planet’s population are due to hold national elections in 2024, but the number of citizens exercising the right to vote is not unalloyed good news. The year looks set to test even the most robust democracies and to strengthen the hands of leaders with authoritarian leanings.
Harris Mylonas is a Professor of Political Science and International Affairs George Washington University. Professor Mylonas is also the editor-in-chief of Nationalities Papers. He serves as an independent voice on thorny political issues—including geopolitical trends and risks, the role of nationalism in international and domestic politics, as well as polarization and identity politics in the US.
Professor Mylonas can comment on Partisanship, Polarization & Identity Politics in the United States and beyond: America’s growing political partisanship and tribalism, undermines its national cohesion. This is a result of a variety of processes that have popularized a worrisome type of nationalism—often dubbed “new nationalism”—not just in the United States but also in various European countries, Argentina, India, China and beyond, manifesting itself across the globe in economic, health and civilizational terms. Major nations around the world are experiencing governmental efforts to reintroduce old hierarchies and restrict the boundaries of belonging. These types of leaders are also more likely to pursue trade protectionism and isolationist foreign policy. America’s polarization along party lines and its deleterious effects on national cohesion at home will also have implications for its foreign policy challenges abroad. These trends are troubling, but they are not irreversible.
To address the rise of this “new nationalism,” we need to understand its root causes: economic and status dislocation resulting from globalization, fast-paced societal change, and the fragmentation of the public sphere, which the digital revolution has facilitated, if not accelerated. Our focus should be on what it would take for identity politics in the US to become less divisive. For more examples of public engagement see: https://harrismylonas.com/public_engagement/
If you are looking for context on this matter or would like to speak with Professor Mylonas, please contact GW Media Relations at [email protected] or 202-994-6460.
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