White nationalism. White power. Racism. Identity politics. The Alt-Right. When former Breitbart News editor Steve Bannon took over Donald Trump's presidential campaign in 2016 and steered him to victory, the term "Alt-Right" entered the American conversation. Then, violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, in the summer of 2017 fueled the prominence of Alt-Rightism as a political force.

What is the Alt-Right? Is it an ideology, a trend, or just an unorganized group of people far outside the political mainstream in America? What effect is it having on American politics today, and what are the prospects for the Alt-Right in the futre?

In The Rise of the Alt-Right, Thomas J. Main addresses these and related questions through careful research and analysis, including extensive interviews with Alt-Right thought leaders and a unique analysis of traffic to online political magazines. Main also traces the movement's intellectual roots from the founding of modern conservatism in post-World War II America to the current Trump era.

Although the Alt-Right might seems to be just the latest extremist group to arise in the United States--one likely to take its place in the graveyard of its many predecessors--Main analyzes evidence that the Alt-Right is having a greater influence on the American political mainstream than did past extremist tendencies. Main argues that the Alt-Right represents a central challenge to democratic liberalism not only in America but in the Western world today.

The Rise of the Alt-Right is an important study for anyone intersted in the Alt-Right's challenge to democratic discourse--and the future of American politics and public life.