Conservatism in a Divided America - by George Hawley

About the Book

Although conservatives have for years complained of identity politics on the left, recent years have seen an increase in right-wing identity politics. This has been most pronounced in the rise of the so-called Alt-Right, a recent iteration of the American white nationalist movement. What accounts for this movement's rapid rise and fall? If identity politics really are inevitable, why did this effort to bring explicit white racial identity politics out in the open fall apart in such a short amount of time? Hawley strives to deal with the very nature of identity politics in the United States: how conservatives view and understand it, how they embrace their own versions of identity, and how liberal and conservative intellectuals and politicians navigate this equally dangerous and potentially explosive landscape.

Book Synopsis

Although conservatives have for years complained of identity politics on the left, recent years have seen an increase in right-wing identity politics. This has been most pronounced in the rise of the so-called Alt-Right, a recent iteration of the American white nationalist movement. What accounts for this movement's rapid rise and fall? If identity politics really are inevitable, why did this effort to bring explicit white racial identity politics out in the open fall apart in such a short amount of time? Hawley strives to deal with the very nature of identity politics in the United States: how conservatives view and understand it, how they embrace their own versions of identity, and how liberal and conservative intellectuals and politicians navigate this equally dangerous and potentially explosive landscape.

Review Quotes

"This is one of the most comprehensive, data driven looks at modern conservatism written in the past decades, an amazing addition to a stellar career." --Maiseh Review

"In this balanced, profound, and honest book, George Hawley delves into the history of American conservatism and traces its development from an intellectual enterprise to a real-world movement. If, as argued by Hawley, the call of identity in American politics is unlikely to fade, Conservatism in a Divided America provides a gentle warning to not dismiss its implications for the future of American politics--and conservatism itself--in the twenty-first century." --José Pedro Zúquete, author of The Identitarians

"[Hawley's] engaging intellectual and social scientific tour de force helps the reader grasp how the new generation of conservatives and classical liberals is building on the foundations laid by previous generations." --Law & Liberty

"[Hawley] builds a scrupulous case. This has the power to change minds." --Publishers Weekly

"George Hawley has already distinguished himself as one of the leading scholars of polarization, ideology, and American conservatism. But in Conservatism in a Divided America, Hawley has exceeded his own standard of excellence. In the era of identity politics and wokeness, this book is by far his most insightful--and provocative." --Jesse Merriam, Patrick Henry College

"Hawley argues that many conservatives are ill-equipped to deal with identity issues largely because of their adherence to an outdated and inadequate 'canon' of conservative movement literature that was largely produced in the 1950s and 1960s." --D. J. Mulloy, author of The World of the John Birch Society

"Hawley is a careful, cautious internal critic of U.S. conservatism. He argues that partisan 'identity politics' is pervasive among present-day conservatives, despite their insistence that liberals are the ones to politicize race, gender, and other aspects of identity." --Library Journal

"In a work that will interest students of both political theory and public opinion, Hawley examines the evolving meanings of conservatism and, specifically, its complicated history with the idea of 'identity politics.'" --Choice

About the Author

George Hawley is associate professor of political science at the University of Alabama. He is the author of a number of books, including The Moderate Majority, Making Sense of the Alt-Right, and Right-Wing Critics of American Conservatism.