Conversation on the Lake

An Especially Consequential Election: Placing the 2016 Elections in Historical Context

The 2016 election holds the potential to deliver the control of the entire Federal Government to one of the two major parties. At the same time, as we witness the unanticipated success of outsider candidates like Trump, Cruz and Sanders, it seems clear that, for better or worse, populism has returned with a vengeance to American politics. What changes in American society and politics are driving this populist resurgence? Will the left or the right be more likely to benefit? Are there opportunities for systemic reform contained in our unsettled politics?

This lecture by Professor David Peritz will trace the roots of the current populist wave to recent sociopolitical changes in order to illuminate its sources and crosscutting political potentials.