With the US presidential election (as well as elections to the Senate and the House of Representatives) nearing, all eyes are on the polls. Readers can check our results model and polling overview, both updated daily, on our US election hub here.
It is also the moment to reflect on the events of the last four years, the significance of the choice between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, and what is in store for the US.
Now, in the final days before election day on 3 November, the New Statesman is publishing a series of three dossiers of selected pieces providing depth and perspective on the race for the White House.
This is the first, focusing on American democracy, the strain the republic’s norms and institutions have been put under, the contest between Trump and Biden, and the election campaign itself. The second surveys the US beyond the Beltway: the crucial swing states, the issues affecting citizens’ everyday lives and the mood on the ground. The third rounds off the series with an exploration of America’s place in the world: its foreign policy, relations with other powers and role in global affairs.
Why US democracy as we know it may soon be over
By Emily Tamkin
A second term for Donald Trump could put America on the path to being a “hybrid authoritarian” state.
Even if Donald Trump is defeated, the left must get ready to fight Trumpism
By Paul Mason
Should Joe Biden become president, he will face a four-year campaign of far-right resistance.
The making of Kamala Harris
By Sophie McBain
Why Democrats are pinning their hopes on Joe Biden’s running mate.
Liberalism will remain vulnerable unless it can speak to our need for emotional storytelling
By Jeremy Cliffe
Even if Joe Biden does triumph on 3 November, this should not be mistaken for a restoration of some temporarily disrupted order.
Can Joe Biden defeat Donald Trump?
By Emily Tamkin
The Democratic presidential hopeful and veteran insider could end the Trump era. If he succeeds, will he set the US on a path to renewal?
What the rise of Reagan tells us about the age of Trump
By Nick Burns
Rick Perlstein’s Reaganland charts the conservative counter-revolution that moved the US to the right.
Amy Coney Barrett: the US judge poised to undo Ginsburg’s legacy
By Sophie McBain
How an ultra-conservative mother of seven rose to become Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee.
Donald Trump’s hubris in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic is pure Americana
By Emily Tamkin
Pretending things are fine when they are not is the American way. It is time the president, and the rest of the nation, faced up to reality.
To transform the US, the Democrats must win the Senate
By Harry Lambert
Taking the upper chamber from the Republicans would give Joe Biden crucial legislative and patronage powers
To save American democracy, Democrats must learn from Republican ruthlessness
By Emily Tamkin
Should Joe Biden win, the Democrats could add Supreme Court justices or give statehood to Puerto Rico and Washington, DC.
Joe Biden must heed the lessons of Andrew Johnson’s presidency: unity, but not at any cost
By Emily Tamkin
If Biden wins he will inherit an economic crisis and divided society. He should seize the chance to build something better than what we had before Trump.
Will disinformation decide the 2020 election?
By Nina Jankowicz
Individuals will be the main line of defence against online misinformation.
The crisis facing the US media
By Sophie McBain
In an era of hostility towards the press, strong investigative reporting is harder than ever.
Covid-19 and the threat of voter suppression
By Theodore R Johnson
Lower turnout in the 2020 race for the White House could play to the Republicans’ advantage.
The return of American fascism
By Sarah Churchwell
How a legacy of violent nationalism haunts the republic in the age of Trump.
Masha Gessen: Why this is a revolutionary moment for American democracy
By Sophie McBain
The New Yorker columnist and author of Surviving Autocracy believes there can be no return to the pre-Trump normal.
Russia’s disinformation war
Nina Jankowicz joins Emily Tamkin and Jeremy Cliffe on the World Review podcast to discuss the role of disinformation and election interference.
“Imagine the damage a president could cause”: What would happen if Trump refused defeat?
By Emily Tamkin
US legal scholar Lawrence Douglas has examined how well prepared American political institutions are for a president who doesn’t want to go.
The new intellectuals of the American right
By Nick Burns
In political and media circles, an array of thinkers are crossing ideological boundaries.
After Bernie: what next for the US left?
By Emily Tamkin
The reborn progressive movement is determined to wield its influence and transform the Democratic Party from within.
Content from our partners
Related
