“Trump's win over Harris was surprisingly large”
“There seems to be a strong distrust of Democrats among Americans,” says Adam Hjorthén. Foto: Tobias Sterner
Adam Hjorthén, senior lecturer at the Swedish Institute for North American Studies (SINAS) at Uppsala University, has been following the US presidential election, where Donald Trump defeated the Democrats' Kamala Harris. Although the polls indicated a close race, the victory was bigger than expected.
Were you surprised by the election results?
“Trump’s victory was not exactly surprising, considering the polls leading up to the election indicated that the race would be really close. What was surprising was the way he won. He seems to have won the popular vote by quite a big margin. Not many people had predicted that.”
Why did Trump win so big?
“More studies are needed to find the reasons behind it, but there seems to be a strong distrust of Democrats among Americans. In part, this is due to the economy. Many low- and middle-income earners feel their financial situation has become much tougher, with the high cost of living and inflation. They are drawn to Trump because they still see him as something of a political outsider. Meanwhile, in her campaign, Kamala Harris found it difficult to navigate her connection to the Biden administration, which has a very low approval rating.”
Is Trump a threat to democracy?
“There are several dimensions to this. One relates to how Trump may expand presidential power. Learning from his previous presidency, he has indicated that he wants to circumvent certain democratic processes, for example by appointing acting ministers to avoid the need for Senate approval. He also threatened journalists and political opponents during his campaign.”
“At the same time, there are inherent checks and balances within the system. The USA has a strong separation of powers between the president, Congress and the Supreme Court. The states also have a great deal of autonomy that the president cannot easily influence.”
What are you researching at SINAS?
“I have two research projects, both of which are based on political polarisation in the USA. One is about the Constitution as cultural heritage and a source of civic nationalism, and the other studies the consequences of polarisation for Swedish-American ethnicity today. I have grown increasingly interested in political polarisation as a cultural phenomenon.”
In partnership with the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, SINAS is organising a post-election analysis in Stockholm in December. Why is that?
“We usually organise panel discussions and the like in connection with elections, both presidential and mid-term, and see collaboration as one of our key tasks. There is a great deal of public interest in the United States in general, but also more specifically in American politics. We believe and hope that we have a role to play here.”
“The media interest in this election this autumn has been enormous. Many people may think that there is a lot of research and teaching about the United States and American politics at Swedish universities. But that is not really the case. In all of Sweden, there are only two of us employed in a permanent position in the subject of North American Studies.”
Annica Hulth