Only lastly, the American media has shed light on the role of the American nationalist right-wing movements that flourished during the era of former US President Donald Trump.
To try to explore the religion and nationalism controversy in the United States, Al Jazeera interviewed Geoffrey Haynes, professor of politics and international relations at London Metropolitan University, about his recent book entitled "Trump and the Politics of Neo-Nationalism in America" (Trump and the Politics of Neo-Nationalism) : The Christian Right and Secular Nationalism in America, by Routledge, in 2021.
It should be noted that Geoffrey Hines is the co-editor of the journal Democratization, and he has more than 18 books, including Religion, Conflict and Post-Secular Politics published by Routledge. 2020, An Introduction to International Relations and Religion by Routledge in 2013, and From Huntington to Trump: From Huntington to Trump: Thirty Years of the Clash of Civilizations) published by Lexington House in 2019, to the dialogue.
You mentioned in your important book that Trump is a direct "cause" and "consequence" of political differences in America, can you explain this idea?
The Trump presidency can be seen as employing the growing political, social, economic and cultural anxiety, as well as the post-2008 economic crisis and associated global turmoil, to formulate policies that are strongly in harmony with the Christian right and many secular nationalists;
As everyone knows, Trump divided American views of opinion, yet he did not cause the political polarization that is characteristic of America today.
The book "Trump and the New Politics of Nationalism: The Christian Right and Secular Nationalism in America" by Jeffrey Hines (Al Jazeera)
Trump is a direct cause and a consequence of the blatant political differences in America.
It is a direct cause of his style and his participation in social media, and it is the result of a long process of division that developed at least since Ronald Reagan's presidency four decades ago. After a period of lull during the administration of George W. Bush, Barack Obama's presidency brought the main political and social divisions to the fore again. .
Obama was the catalyst, and it was Trump who benefited from the sparking of these "culture wars" that had resurfaced in the United States.
For conservatives, Obama was very liberal and overly concerned with gender equality and racial equality, and indifferent to the problems of "white" conservatives, especially Christians.
There is also a belief that Obama owes Islam and is a foreigner;
In short, Obama was the catalyst and Trump was the one who benefited from the sparking of these "culture wars" that have resurfaced in the United States. Those who voted for Trump were not necessarily his supporters;
Many conservatives voted in his favor in 2016 not only because they were "anti-Hillary (Clinton)" (for holding the slogan "lock her up"), but also because they liked Trump's nationalist policies as he was seen as "anti-establishment" and "anti-establishment". "Anti-immigration" and "family supportive".
Trump sought to attract millions of American voters with the simple slogan "Make America Great Again." Does this have specific implications?
An important question, which in turn brings us to other questions: When was America not great?
How do we measure "greatness" in this context?
What is meant by "greatness"?
Here it should be noted that the slogan "Make America Great Again" won the support of Trump's support base;
It is made up mainly of "white" Christian conservatives and "white" nationalists who can be considered less Christian (secular) and who are also campaigners of the "America First" slogan;
These segments of America share what can be considered a yearning for the days of the Halsians (a Greek myth indicating a time of happiness and contentment) for a thriving white America;
That is, "going back" to the time when the "American Dream" could be realized;
And that is because for many white Americans it carries the prosperity embodied in the postwar era;
That is, the 1950s and early 1960s;
When "white" Americans were the majority demographically, the United States also enjoyed strong and consistent economic growth;
Through it, many "white" Americans have grown increasingly prosperous in a country overwhelmed by the start-up dynamism.
In this regard, for many Trump voters, the slogan "Make America Great Again" is a promise to fight against the "corrupt" American bureaucratic system and which Trump referred to as "the deep state" and "the swamp."
For many white conservatives, his campaign slogan was a symbol that condensed the meaning of Trump's promise to return the United States to a position that would guarantee it sovereignty according to their social and political views.
The political polarization in America is characterized by cultural wars in which the "Christian Right" and "secular conservatives" on the one hand, and "religious liberals" and secularists on the other hand.
When Trump assumed the presidency at the beginning of 2017, the political, social and cultural gap between "conservatives" and "liberals" reached its climax, and in your words, "wars of American culture" are fueling. Can you explain this?
The political polarization in America is characterized by cultural wars in which the "Christian Right" and "secular conservatives" on the one hand, and "religious liberals" and secularists on the other hand;
Many "white" Christian conservatives, Protestants and Catholics agreed with Trump's proposal which aims at America's need for a religion, especially Christianity.
On the other hand, many secular "white" conservatives liked Trump's announcement that he would initiate a new era of American prosperity by strictly controlling immigration and increasing the provision of well-paid jobs for Native Americans;
The new nationalism gave Trump the ability to focus and direct his policies, which drew millions of Americans to his proposal;
Especially 73% of Americans who described themselves in 2017 as "white."
Many Westerners, including Americans, continue to show their limited knowledge of Islam, which is exacerbated in America as a result of social secularization and the accompanying social practices, which leads to less interest in non-Western religions and diminished sympathy for them.
Is Trump's stance towards Muslims due to his stance against "globalization"?
Is this position that gave legitimacy to the new nationalism in the United States?
Despite all the talk hovering over globalization as it brings about increasing diversity, many Westerners, including Americans, continue to show the limited knowledge of Islam, which is an issue that is exacerbated in America, as a result of social secularization and its accompanying social practices, which leads to less interest. In non-Western religions and diminishing sympathy for them;
This helps explain how right-wing populist politicians succeed and be elected in the United States and other Western countries, in order to employ an imagined existential threat from "Islam" and Muslims - especially what has come to be known as "Islamic terrorism" - to justify brutal and anti-Muslim policies with the logic of defending "security."
Right-wing populist politicians in America employ an imagined existential threat from "Islam" and "Muslims" - especially what has come to be known as "Islamic terrorism" - to justify brutal and anti-Muslim policies with the logic of defending "security".
There are several examples of this, including the executive order issued by President Trump to prevent citizens of 6 countries, most of which are Muslim, from entering the United States.
In short, the new nationalism in the United States of America was built on the foundations of the growing anti-globalization sentiment, which considered globalization the root cause of America's failure to advance economically.
Is there a difference between the new nationalism and populism?
Will the new nationalism be strengthened by its use of populism?
Nationalism has developed in the West as a secular ideology since the 19th century, and to explain how it developed into a new nationalism, we need to bring together the religious, cultural, civilizational and secular concerns that shaped the scene in Europe.
The new nationalism tends to be cultural rather than religious, and thus it is linked to the advanced regional state of secularization. On the other hand, we see in the United States that the new nationalism supports Christian nationalism and the "American first" nationalism;
Both groups primarily include white American conservatives, who are the main adherents of neo-nationalism in the United States. Trump has also successfully used his populist approach to mobilizing voters by appealing to "common people" who blame "elites" for not contenting themselves with their existential desires.
The new nationalism tends to be cultural rather than religious, and thus it is linked to the advanced regional state of secularization. On the other hand, we see in the United States that the new nationalism supports Christian nationalism and the "American first" nationalism;
Both factions include mainly white American conservatives.
In your book, you talk about two groups of Trump voters, "Christian Nationalists" and "American Nationals First"; what do you mean by them?
How did they contribute to the rise of Trump?
The policies of "Christian nationalism" are manifested in the quest to enact laws that coincide with the rhetoric of the Christian right, and the policies of "American nationalism first" are reflected in the efforts made to combat immigration and are directed primarily against Mexico and Muslims, which were preferred by Trump.
The main goal of Christian nationalists in America is to increase religious freedom and reduce the influence of the state, and critics claim that this is primarily about protecting Christians, and although there are some other religious groups (such as the Uighurs in China) that gain support from the United States, the promotion of religious freedom Internationalism was a major goal of US foreign policy during Trump's presidency, just as Trump's preference for Christian national goals was a direct response to his popularity among his constituencies, especially among conservative white Christians;
This is what made his policy dominated by a reciprocal character, meaning that it could be condensed with the following phrase “vote for me, and I will do what you want”, which we can also see in his dealings with “America's nationalists first.” He says to them: vote for me and I will return the jobs that China “robbed” of you. He also promises them to present an America that is not subject to the United Nations and its failed "liberal" policies, according to his opinion.
Huntington believed that the values, beliefs, and behavior of China and Islam were in contradiction to the thesis of the United States of America, formed from the European-style Protestant Christian narrative
This makes cooperation impossible and conflict very likely.
Can Trump's rejection of immigrants be attributed to Samuel Huntington's thesis on the clash of civilizations, and does the emergence of these theories today confirm the suffering of the United States of America and its democracy?
Huntington saw two major threats to America's welfare, namely the ethnic threat at home and international threats from China and Islam. Globalization has made international interactions inevitable, and Huntington believes that the values, beliefs, and behavior of China and Islam were contradictory to the thesis of the United States of America formed from the narrative of Protestant Christianity according to the pattern European;
This makes cooperation impossible and conflict very likely.
In his recent book, Who Are We? The Challenges to America's National Identity, published in 2004, Huntington argues that the United States is experiencing a challenge linked to ethnic diversity.
In it, Huntington argued that peace and prosperity in America have foundations dating back to the culture of Christianity taken from Europe, and for Huntington, the "reduction" of non-Protestant immigrants such as the Mexican Catholics and Muslims also greatly undermined America's ability to be a "melting pot."
A space that integrates a number of cultures without excessive conflict, which marked the 150 years that followed the end of the American Civil War in 1865, and these politically polarized ideas and feelings in America helped create a great challenge to democracy.
How has the Corona pandemic affected Trump and his policies, and can it be said that the new nationalism will disappear after Joe Biden's victory over Trump?
Whether it is "building a wall" to keep "Mexicans" or protecting America's Christian heritage from attacks by "secularists", conservatives were firmly behind Trump in the 2016 presidential elections, and he kept the support of many of them in the 2020 presidential elections, despite the fact that That many Americans blamed the Trump administration's weak response to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) epidemic that killed more than 230,000 Americans, which made the epidemic the main reason for Trump's failure in the elections, and I do not expect that Biden's presidency will do much to reduce support for the new nationalism In the United States, America is going through, like other countries, a "moment" in which nationalism intensifies as international cooperation has become increasingly suspicious in the United States, a "moment" that it has not reached before during the post-World War II era.