American Nationalism in the Early Twenty-first Century:  A Discursive Analysis of the Politics of Immigration and National Security

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dc.contributor.authorClark, Deanna Jacqueline Perryen
dc.contributor.committeechairNelson, Scott G.en
dc.contributor.committeememberDebrix, Francoisen
dc.contributor.committeememberZanotti, Lauraen
dc.contributor.departmentPolitical Scienceen
dc.date.accessioned2018-02-17T09:00:18Zen
dc.date.available2018-02-17T09:00:18Zen
dc.date.issued2018-02-16en
dc.description.abstractThis thesis uses Benedict Anderson's theoretical contributions on the topic of national identity and Michel Foucault's contributions toward discourse analysis to perform a discursive analysis of Donald Trump's campaign speeches in which he exploits pre-existing anti-immigration sentiments among certain voters to gain political power. The research question addressed herein is: How has Donald Trump invoked the issue of national security to single out groups of immigrants as threats to U.S. national security, and what conditions exists so that he is able to do so in a way that enlists the support of a sizeable portion of the American public? First, this thesis works to put into context what drove post-World War II immigration in the U.S. to provide insight into what conditions lead to certain groups being encouraged or discouraged from immigrating. Second, I contrast Anderson's concept of nationalism with that of Samuel Huntington, whose idea of nationalism more closely aligns with Trump's nativist sense of national identity. Third, having put the history of U.S. immigration and the concept of national identity into context, I perform a discursive analysis of three of Trump's campaign speeches and tweets that focus on immigration and make problematic his racist, far-right ideology and its purpose toward the de-politicization and de-historicization of immigration as a national security and economic issue. I conclude by reminding the reader that allowing anti-immigrant discourse to become normalized without the burden of proof can lead to curbed freedoms under an authoritarian regime, a direction toward which Trump appears ready and willing to lead the American electorate.en
dc.description.abstractgeneralThis thesis poses the question: How has Donald Trump invoked the issue of national security to single out groups of immigrants as threats to U.S. national security, and what conditions exists so that he is able to do so in a way that enlists the support of a sizeable portion of the American public? This question is answered through a discursive analysis of Trump’s campaign speeches, a discussion of how national identity is derived, and a brief consideration of a few policies that have impacted immigration to the U.S. and its political landscape. Ultimately, this thesis identifies a discursive apparatus that has been leveraged by Donald Trump and his supporters in order to gain political favor. If left unchecked, this discourse could have a damaging effect on the U.S. and its citizens by making it acceptable to cast certain groups as un-American.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Artsen
dc.format.mediumETDen
dc.identifier.othervt_gsexam:13918en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/82151en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectImmigrationen
dc.subjectDiscourseen
dc.subjectAndersonen
dc.subjectTrumpen
dc.subjectNational Identityen
dc.subjectNationalismen
dc.titleAmerican Nationalism in the Early Twenty-first Century:  A Discursive Analysis of the Politics of Immigration and National Securityen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplinePolitical Scienceen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Artsen

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