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Political Science Germany: "Has Trumpism gone Global? Study Abroad Summer 2020

Prof. Christopher S. Parker and Sebastian Mayer are conducting a study abroad program in Berlin, Germany, for the third time during Summer A-Term 2020. The program is entitled “Has Trumpism Gone Global: Causes and Consequences of the Resurgence of Reactionary Movements in the U.S. and Europe”. A brief description follows:

Has Trumpism gone global? In a word: yes. America isn't the only country in the West experiencing political upheaval. Recent events suggests something amiss in the West. With the election of Donald Trump in the US, and Brexit in Great Britain, politics in the West has taken on a reactionary mood, and these are only the places in which it's achieved a measure of success. Reactionary politics, a style of politics in which the historically dominant cultural group seeks a return to its past glory, seems to have also taken root in Austria, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, to name but a few other locales in which it's taken root. This seminar will examine why such politics are sweeping the West, but not before we learn about the history of such movements in the US and Europe. We then discuss competing theoretical explanations for these kinds of movements: populism, nationalism, facism, reactionary conservatism. What, in other words, explains the rise of Trump, as well as competitive right-wing movements in Europe?

The course takes place in Berlin, the capital of Germany. Beyond it serving as the social and political center of the country, Berlin was heart of the Third Reich, perhaps the most well-known right-wing movement certainly of the 20th Century. At the present time, the Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) is the chief political threat on the German right. Humboldt University, Berlin will serve as home base. Moreover, being in Berlin allows direct access to many political institutions and actors. We will, among other things, visit with German elected officials, both at the federal and local level, take a tour of the Bundestag (German parliament building), and visit a government agency.

The program will take place from June 26-July 26, 2020. No prerequisites or language requirements, open to all majors.

Interested students can start the application process at: https://studyabroad.washington.edu/PolisciBerlin

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