Author Description
Initially published in 2013, Ian Haney-López's Dog Whistle Politics offered a sweeping account of how politicians and plutocrats deploy veiled racial appeals to persuade white voters to support policies that favor the extremely rich yet threaten their own interests. As he showed, such appeals generate middle-class enthusiasm for political candidates who promise to crack down on crime, curb undocumented immigration, and protect against Islamic infiltration, but ultimately vote in favor of corporations and the rich. Rejecting any simple story of malevolent and obvious racism, Haney-López linked the two central themes that dominate American politics today: the decline of the middle class and the Republican Party's increasing reliance on white voters.The book proved to be remarkably prescient. Donald Trump's 2016 campaign was built almost entirely around dog whistle politics, and he won the presidency because of it. This new edition of Dog Whistle Politics updates the book by a substantial new chapter on Trump that examines his appeal and places his campaign in the historical context that the first edition of Dog Whistle Politics so perceptively uncovered.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This book investigates how coded racial language is strategically employed by political elites to manipulate white voters into supporting economic policies that benefit the wealthy at the expense of the middle class. Ian Haney López, a professor of law, utilizes historical analysis and political data to argue that modern political discourse relies on 'dog whistles'—veiled appeals to racial anxiety—to distract from the concentration of economic power. He posits that this strategy has been central to the decline of the American middle class and the shifting electoral strategies of the Republican Party.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- Analysis of political rhetoric from the late 20th century to the present.
- A framework for identifying coded racial appeals in campaign messaging.
- Examination of the intersection between racial politics and economic deregulation.
Scope Limits
- The text does not provide a comprehensive history of all American racial legislation.
- It focuses primarily on the strategic use of rhetoric rather than the psychological motivations of individual voters.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Experts and political commentators frequently cite this work as a foundational text for understanding the mechanics of modern American political polarization. Readers often note the clarity of the author's argument, though some point to the dense academic nature of the historical evidence presented.
Page Count:
336
Publication Date:
2022-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
019084180X
ISBN-13:
9780190841805
United States
American History
Sociology
Communication in politics
Political Strategy
Race Relations
Racism
Community Tags
Similar Books
