The 2024 US Presidential Election as an Historical Conjuncture

Date: Wednesday, November 27

Time: 3 PM

Location: AQ 5008, SFU, Burnaby campus

*Coffee and light refreshments will be provided at the event.

About the Event:

Popular analysis of the upcoming US election focuses on the spectre of a Trump victory, with a lack of substantive reasons to explain the seemingly irrational appeal to US voters, particularly Trump’s cult-like following among blue collar workers in key swing states that determine national elections.

In his 2019 book, , Dr. Andy Hira argues that Trump’s success in 2016 needs to be understood from a broader historical and comparative perspective. Longer-term forces linked to economic disruption, demographics, global bipolarity, and climate change hold the key to understanding the rise and eventual failure of far right populist movements throughout the West.

Such forces push forward the potential for a progressive evolution of society, both in the West and on a global scale, in contrast with the authoritarian capitalist model of China. The timing of the shift depends more on the potential for pragmatic leadership in the West rather than a particular election outcome.

About the speaker:

Andy Hira is Professor and Chair of Political Science at Simon Fraser University. He runs the Clean Energy Research Group, which produces policy papers and presentations on topics related to climate change and the circular economy. Andy spent over a decade studying and working in Washington, DC, including work on the Hill, the State Dept, the Dept. of Agriculture, the International Trade Commission, and various think tanks.

Host or Publisher SFU Political Science