The factor of American national character in the victory of Donald Trump
Tetiana Orlova, Dr. habil. (history), Professor National Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv
Abstract
In the current Ukrainian historical science, the perception of requiring new conceptual approaches for explaining past and current processes and events is growing fast. An important part belongs to interdisciplinarity that considerably increases the opportunities of research in shaping and explaining topical issues, including the factors of influence by the USA and on the USA. The article researches the influences of American national character on the run of 2016 American presidential campaign, combining analyses at the micro- and macro-levels, i.e. electoral and individual. Donald Trump has demonstrated his proximity to the majority of voters, appealing to the American nature. At the same time, the national temper has been manifested in his activities. As history witnesses, under conditions of deep crisis some features of a national temper may come to the forefront, determining people’s political behavior. Today’s USA wouldn’t evade the crisis phenomena both in terms of economy and identity. Donald Trump and his team have sensed it well and used it in their pre-electoral work, whereas their adversaries have underestimated the weight of the psychological component in the real historical process. The comments of American analytics on the subject demonstrate the discrepancy between the views of the “elite” and the “masses”. The victory in the elections to the highest position in a leading nation of the world serves as another example of the importance of the broad public as the makers of history, as well as of the factors that ensure success to extraordinary personalities, to which Donald Trump most certainly belongs.
Keywords
the USA, presidential elections, national character, Donald Trump
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References
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