COMEBACK

Fish and Aghaie chart a path to defeating Trumpism in this nonfiction book.

On November 9, 2016, Fish recalls following the news of Donald Trump’s presidential victory: “I collapsed onto the couch, spent and dejected.” His wife, co-author Aghaie, reminded him that his “life’s work has been the study of democracy” in faraway places as a political scientist whose research had brought him to the front line of Ukrainian coal workers’ strikes, Solidarity-infused church services in communist Poland, and whispered interviews in dictatorial Uzbekistan—and that he now had “the responsibility, the privilege, of fighting for democracy” in his home country. The book begins with a somber introductory piece, “Democracy on the Line,” that surveys the state of the contemporary Republican Party. The authors’ cogent analysis argues that ideological conservatism in itself is not a threat, noting that Republicans from Ronald Reagan to John McCain were “far more consistent God-and-country conservative than Trump” in their tax policies, spending on social programs, and skepticism of big government. Ironically, per the book, many “genuine conservatives,” such as David Brooks and Tom Nichols, have left Republican ranks as the party has fallen under the spell of authoritarian Trumpism. Beyond the scathing introductory survey of Trump’s grip on the Republican establishment, the book focuses on the Democratic Party’s tepid response, which has been unable to mount a compelling countermovement to rid American politics of, in the authors’ view, the xenophobic, violent, and antidemocratic ethos of Trump.

Divided into four parts, the book first surveys today’s politics, rejecting common myths that dominate the “Standard Story” of contemporary narratives with chapters that argue that fears of economic decline or constitutional flaws like the Electoral College are not to blame for our democratic crisis. Part two explores the Republican obsession with “a high-dominance political style” (exemplified by their glee when Trump “owns the libs”) that, per the authors, thrives on divisive rhetoric, eschews compromise, and normalizes coercion and cruelty. This approach is contrasted with, in the authors’ estimation, the ineffective, low-dominance style deployed by Democrats, whose “pathologically risk-averse and poll-driven” approach means that they refuse to meaningfully engage with any politically difficult, hot-button issues (aside from abortion). Fish and Aghaie assert that, for many Americans who don’t closely follow politics, it’s difficult to see the Democratic Party as a vibrant, fresh, and determined alternative. Part three of the book centers on the necessity of Democrats to retake the mantle of patriotism from Republicans by championing a “National-Democratic Narrative” that juxtaposes American democracy against the authoritarian, nativist rhetoric of Trumpism. The book concludes with a collection of historical vignettes and primary source excerpts written by America’s greatest prodemocratic voices, reminding readers that a central aspect of U.S. history has been the expansion of democracy at both the grassroots and national levels. Those profiled include Black activists like Frederick Douglass and Mary McLeod Bethune (whose acclaimed 1939 speech, “What American Democracy Means to Me,” concludes the book) and U.S. presidents from Franklin Roosevelt to Ronald Reagan, whose eloquent defenses of democracy stand in stark contrast to Trump’s actions. A professor at the University of California, Berkeley, Fish displays his academic bona fides with almost 400 scholarly endnotes, while Aghaie’s background as an educational consultant for community-based organizations informs the book’s accessible, grounded writing style.

A well-researched, proactive guidebook for defeating Trumpism.