Publications of the Bavarian American Academy

During the four years of Donald Trump’s presidency, questions of race, discrimination, and ethnonationalism have been gaining importance in American culture and politics once again. Racism and antisemitism have been tolerated, and at times even encouraged, by the current administration’s policies and actions, ranging from the so called “Muslim ban” and the constant demands for building a “wall” on the Mexican-American border to openly calling the neo-Nazi marchers in Charlottesville “very fine people” and to the events following the killing of George Floyd.

All this, alongside the Covid-19 pandemic, has impacted the social and political climate in the USA, even though the roots for current problems and polarizations reach deep into the American past. This volume examines recent developments in comparative perspective, analyzes their histories, and discusses their possible impact on the future.