Karina V. Korostelina - Trump Effect

Professor Karina V. Korostelina presents insights into the Trump effect and explains how the support for Trump among the American general public is based on three complementary pillars. First, Trump champions a specific conception of American national identity that empowers his supporters. Second, Trumps leadership has, to an extent, been crafted from his ability to recognize where and with whom he can get the most return on his investment (e.g. his political comments) and address the perceived general malaise in the U.S. Trump also mirrors the emotions of a disenfranchised American public and inspires the use of frustration-based anger and insults to achieve desired aims. He addresses the publics intolerance of uncertainty and ambivalence by providing simpler solutions to complex national problems and by blurring the boundary between the leading political parties. Further, Trump employs existing political polarization and has established a new kind of morality. Third, Trump challenges the existing political balance of power within the U.S. and globally.

The overarching goal of this book is to show how the popularity of Trump has revealed substantial problems in the social, political, and economic fabric of American life.

Aimed at the general public and students in the U.S. and internationally, the book goes beyond many explanations of the Trump effect. Using a multidisciplinary theoretical lens, it provides a systemic multifaceted analysis based on multiple theories of social identity, emotions, cognitions, morality, and power to explain the broader social phenomena of the rise of individuals in society.

Karina V. Korostelina is a Professor at the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, and a Director of the Program on History, Memory, and Conflict at George Mason University. Professor Korostelina is a social psychologist whose work focuses on social identity and identity-based conflicts, intergroup insult, the nation building processes, role of history in conflict and post-conflict societies, conflict resolution, and peacebuilding. She is a recipient of thirty-nine fellowships and grants. She has edited six books and authored nine books and numerous articles.

First published 2017

by Routledge

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and by Routledge

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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2017 Taylor & Francis

The right of Karina V. Korostelina to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Korostelina, K. V. (Karina Valentinovna) author.
Title: Trump effect / Karina V. Korostelina.
Description: Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY :
Routledge, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016033938 | ISBN 9781138281462 (hbk) |
ISBN 9781315271170 (ebk)
Subjects: LCSH: Trump, Donald, 1946 | PresidentsUnited States
Election2016. | Presidential candidatesUnited States. | Political
cultureUnited States. | United StatesPolitics and government2009
Classification: LCC E901.1.T78 K67 2017 | DDC 973.932092dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016033938

ISBN: 978-1-138-28146-2 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-315-27117-0 (ebk)

Typeset in Times New Roman

by Apex CoVantage, LLC

To Charles, my husband and best friend, a partner in intellectual endeavors, and a fellow world explorer.

I want to express my gratitude to all my colleagues who supported me in this endeavor, especially to Sandra Cheldelin, Leila Dane, Daniel Rothbart, and Mara Schoeny. Special thanks to Kevin Avruch, the Dean of my home institution, the School of Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University, for creating the encouraging environment of creativity. The help of my graduate assistant, Laura Collins, was essential for the success of this project.

I am very thankful to my three reviewers whose detailed comments helped shape the book. I offer special thanks to Natalja Mortensen, senior editor at Routledge, for her support, professionalism, and efficiency at various stages of this work.

I also express my deepest gratitude to my husband, Charles, who inspired and supported me in writing this book and provided numerous invaluable insights and comments. I am very thankful to my daughter, Olivia, for her suggestions at the last stages of the writing. Discussions and conversations with them were the best part of this project.

People are largely united in their pursuit to make their communities, nations, and the world a better place. They are, however, often sharply divided over which beliefs and actions are needed to achieve it. In this pursuit, people adopt a set of beliefs and ideas that represent their own reality in the most satisfying way. This perception of the world typically represents the values they have developed over time and helps them explain current affairs and predict the future. People construct their version of reality based on several selected facts and certain interpretations. They purposefully choose to stress some matters while completely undermining other values, and they prefer to adopt some explanations of current events rather than others. People make these constructed realities meaningful for themselves through interaction with others, helping to crystalize their own beliefs into the facts and norms they use in their everyday social communication. These created realities then function as a framework defining peoples behavior. As a result, people follow particular authority figures while entirely mistrusting others.