The Dawn of a National Democracy Movement: The Resistance to Donald Trump

• Date: April 1, 2019. 14:00~15:30

• Venue: 214, International Studies Hall, Korea University

• Presenter: Sidney Tarrow (Cornell University)

On April 1, 2019, PDI invited Professor Sidney Tarrow of Cornell University in America for the Peace and Democracy Forum. Professor Sidney Tarrow is an emeritus professor of political science in Cornell University, and an inviting professor of the Cornell Law School. Also he is a prominent scholar in comparative politics for his works on social movements and political conflicts.

The theme of the forum was “The Dawn of a National Democracy Movement: The Resistance to Donald Trump”. The speaker saw that Trump’s support base is more about his charisma than about policy, race, or nationality. That’s why Trumpism is a social movement, and the speaker said that Trump is the leader of the movement. As a resistance to this social movement (Trumpism), we saw a counter-movement which interacts with the existing movement that we were dealing with. The speaker emphasized that Trumpism, the result of the long-standing discontent of white Americans, is not just a confrontation between conservatism and progressivism, but also a confrontation between authoritarianism and democracy. In this aspect, he believed that ordinary citizens’ participation, like Korea’s candlelight struggle, is needed to protect democracy.