Trump and Trumpism: How did we get here and what are the lessons for all of us?
Trump and Trumpism: How did we get here and what are the lessons for all of us? Sunday National, 26 January 2025 Gerry Hassan There has only been one international political story this week - the return of Donald Trump as US President. Beyond the bombastic inauguration and plethora of executive orders is the story of how we got to this sorry state. Long term factors about the founding and nature of America combined with a more immediate set of reasons relevant to the UK and West provide insights about what the Trump phenomenon means for politics and leadership and
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How to defeat fascism and the far-right in Britain and elsewhere
How to defeat fascism and the far-right in Britain and elsewhere Gerry Hassan Sunday National, 27 October 2024 Twenty-five years ago, at the height of Blair, Bill Clinton and “The Third Way”, many felt that the future direction and progress of the world was safe and secure. Widespread optimism and belief in globalisation and economic freedom leading to political liberty ran from Thomas Friedman in the New York Times and Malcolm Gladwell in the New Yorker to cliché-filled PowerPoints by public agencies such as Scottish Enterprise. This was a mixture of projection, groupthink and propaganda. Fast forward to the present
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The World in 2018: Trump, Brexit, Britain and the Scottish Debate
The World in 2018: Trump, Brexit, Britain and the Scottish Debate Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, January 10th 2018 The New Year is always a time for reflection. I spent the Christmas and New Year break in the United States, providing an opportunity for reflection and a different take on the world. Two and a half weeks in an American urban setting, even in one of the wealthiest and most creative clusters in the country around Boston and Cambridge, showcases what works and what doesn’t. Conspicuous wealth sits side-by-side crumbling infrastructure and poverty personified by the MBTA train system that looks
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