What's Happening to American Democracy?

We investigate how the erosion of democracy in the US is being revealed by the 2016 presidential campaign.


When billionaire and reality TV star Donald Trump announced his bid for the presidency last June, few pundits took it seriously.

They thought it was a stunt to boost the Trump brand, and that he would soon be gone. But Trump has not only stuck around, he is now the odds-on favourite to beat out his rivals in the race to become the Republican Party's candidate for November's general election.

Trump's simply stated goal to "Make America great again" targets the economic anxieties of voters who feel they have long been neglected by their elected officials in Washington DC.

With great success, Trump has resorted to the tried and tested populist strategy of providing frustrated and fearful voters with scapegoats. The construction of a wall on the southern border to keep out illegal immigrants - whom Trump has famously accused of "bringing drugs", "bringing crime" and being "rapists" - is a central element of his platform. So is a ban on Muslim immigration to the United States playing to a strain of terror-driven Islamophobia, which resonates with a considerable portion of the US electorate.