"Era of Violent Populism" Grips the US: Rising Political Violence Sparks Fears of Normalization

The recent spate of politically motivated violence in the US has left many Americans reeling, as lawmakers, activists, and ordinary citizens are increasingly being targeted. The intensity of the violence has prompted experts to warn of a "new normal" where political violence is becoming increasingly normalized. Robert Pape, a political scientist at the University of Chicago, has characterized the current climate as an "era of violent populism," highlighting the country's 50-year-long stretch of political violence that began around the time of Donald Trump's first election.

Key Takeaways:

• The US is experiencing a historically high period of American political violence, with experts warning of a normalization of violence between mobilized blocs.
• Perpetrators of violence are coming from both the right and the left, with a growing trend of premeditated acts of violence.
• Quantifying violence is challenging due to inconsistent tracking by the FBI, but threat assessment cases against members of Congress have gone up dramatically, particularly since Trump's first term.
• Jon Lewis, a research fellow at George Washington University, attributes more culpability to Republican leaders for the violent climate, citing their rhetoric and language embracing violent or anti-system extremism.
• Pape believes that the current wave of violence is partly a reaction to Trump's polarizing politics, but the more significant factor is a period of high social change as the US moves from a white-majority country to a white-minority country.
• Domestic terror groups and individuals have been responsible for violent acts targeting civil rights leaders, government officials, and other targets, with the rise of the anti-government militia movement in the 1980s and 1990s.
• Experts warn that violent rhetoric is increasingly normalized, with growing tolerance for targeting the "other side" through political violence, hate, and harassment.

Statistics:

• Pape's research has found rising support among left- and right-leaning Americans for the use of force to achieve political means, with 40% of Democrats and 25% of Republicans supporting such actions.
• The number of threat assessment cases investigated by the US Capitol police has climbed for the second consecutive year.
• The FBI does not consistently track domestic terrorism, but Pape notes that around 50-50 threats are made against Democratic and Republican lawmakers.
• Domestic bombings in the US peaked at over 1,900 in 1972, with most not being fatal.

Sources:

• Pape, R. (2023). "The 'Era of Violent Populism': US at risk of becoming a country that condones violence against others." New York Times.
• Pape, R. (2023). "Domestic terrorism in the US: The 'new normal' of violence." The Guardian.
• Lewis, J. (2023). "The normalization of violence in US politics." George Washington University Program on Extremism.
• Burrough, B. (2015). Days of Rage: America's Radical Underground, the FBI, and the Forgotten Age of Revolutionary Violence. Penguin Books.