Whiteness, populism and the racialisation of the working class in the United Kingdom and the United States

Article


Mondon, Aurelien and Winter, A. 2018. Whiteness, populism and the racialisation of the working class in the United Kingdom and the United States. Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power. 26 (5), pp. 510-528. https://doi.org/10.1080/1070289X.2018.1552440
AuthorsMondon, Aurelien and Winter, A.
Abstract

The election of Donald Trump and the Brexit vote were widely hailed as examples of (white) working class revolts. This article examines the populist racialisation of the working class as white and ‘left behind’, and representative of the ‘people’ or ‘demos’, in the campaigns and commentaries. We argue that such constructions made race central, obscured the class make-up, allowed for the re-assertion of white identity as a legitimate political category and legitimised, mainstreamed and normalised racism and the far right. Moreover, it delegitimised Black, Minority Ethnic and immigrant experiences and interests, including working class ones. We show that the construction of the votes as (white) working class revolts, and representing the 'people' and/or 'demos', is based on a partial reading of electoral data, misrepresents the votes, stigmatises the working class, and supports an ideological purpose which maintains the racial, political and economic status quo.

KeywordsWhiteness; Populism; Racism; Brexit; Donald Trump; UK; US
JournalIdentities: Global Studies in Culture and Power
Journal citation26 (5), pp. 510-528
ISSN1070-289X
Year2018
PublisherTaylor & Francis
Accepted author manuscript
License
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/1070289X.2018.1552440
Web address (URL)https://doi.org/10.1080/1070289X.2018.1552440
Publication dates
Online06 Dec 2018
Publication process dates
Deposited14 Dec 2018
Accepted22 Nov 2018
Accepted22 Nov 2018
Copyright information© 2018 Taylor & Francis. This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power on 06/12/2018, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/1070289X.2018.1552440.
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