Date of Award

1-1-2023

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School/Department

Department of Political Science

Content Description

1 online resource (vi, 386 pages)

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Bruce L Miroff

Committee Members

Timothy P Weaver, Peter D Breiner

Keywords

Ascriptive, Benjamin Tillman, Dog whistle, Donald Trump, George Wallace, Political entrepreneur, Political entrepreneurship

Subject Categories

Political Science

Abstract

My dissertation identifies a type of political actor, the ascriptive entrepreneur, who through innovative and creative methods advances the ascriptive tradition. I expand upon two branches of political science literature: political entrepreneurship and Rogers Smith’s multiple tradition thesis. Political entrepreneurs are able to recombine political alignments, causing endogenous shocks to a political system. The concept of the ascriptive entrepreneur augments Rogers Smith’s multiple tradition thesis to include those actors who use the ascriptive tradition to obtain power at the expense of Lockean liberalism and civic republicanism. These political actors, through their own individual efforts, restructure American politics in favor of the ascriptive tradition and help legitimize what was once considered at the fringes of American politics. Three figures, Benjamin Tillman, George Wallace, and Donald Trump, show the characteristics of an ascriptive entrepreneur: individualization, showmanship, creativity, innovation, and disruptive effects. Benjamin Tillman helped establish a new type of political figure: the Southern demagogue. Tillman’s appeal remained regional despite his efforts to find a national audience. George Wallace honed a message of ascriptive Americanism that blended both Northern and Southern elements and was central to developing racial dog whistles. While Wallace failed to win the presidency, the Republican Party adapted his message and coded language, specifically under Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. The ascriptive message developed by Wallace was modified over time, but it dominated Republican politics from the 1980s to the rise of Donald Trump. It was Trump, during his 2016 campaign, who uncoded the ascriptive message developed by Wallace. Trump was the most successful of the three ascriptive entrepreneurs as he remade the Republican Party in his image and intensified divisions with the country. Each of these figures had limits to their appeal because the ascriptive message is predicated on an “us versus them” mentality. All three figures pushed issues of racism, chauvinism, and general bigotry in a way that dehumanized those in the “outgroup” and weakened commitments to democratic principles. The ascriptive entrepreneur may be a rare individual, but recognizing this category of political actor will aid in understanding critical moments when governing authority is shifted in favor of the ascriptive tradition.

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