{"id":964,"date":"2016-07-19T16:45:20","date_gmt":"2016-07-19T21:45:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/?p=964"},"modified":"2016-09-14T09:39:03","modified_gmt":"2016-09-14T14:39:03","slug":"how-institutions-trump-personal-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/2016\/07\/19\/how-institutions-trump-personal-politics\/","title":{"rendered":"How Institutions Trump Personal Politics"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Screenshot via getreligion.org.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At this week\u2019s Republican National Convention, Donald Trump will accept the party\u2019s nomination for president. Social scientists explain Trump\u2019s primary success by looking at his supporters, especially at their racial biases<\/a> and class grievances. The nomination is still surprising, though, because Trump has managed to win reluctant support<\/a> from party leaders, influence the GOP platform<\/a>, and gain traction among\u00a0Evangelical<\/a> Christians<\/a> (despite not seeming all that pious himself<\/a>)<\/u>. Sociological research on political parties and organizing show how an unlikely leader can win institutional favor even when they seem to clash with the individuals who run the show.<\/p>\n

How is Trump winning over party elites?<\/em> We often think about political parties as groups of savvy leaders who design the system to keep themselves in office (and challengers out). A longstanding sociological take, however, shows how parties represent deep divisions in the public along race, class, and ideology. This means that emerging public interest groups can and do swing party politics, such as the Democrats\u2019 shift toward a civil rights agenda or the rise of the Tea Party coalition among Republicans.<\/h5>\n