''The Right Nation'' () is a book published in 2004 which charts the rise of the Republican Party in the United States since Barry Goldwater's defeat in 1964. It was written by two British journalists,

John Micklethwait Richard John Micklethwait (born 11 August 1962) is editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News, a position he has held since February 2015. A British journalist, he was previously the editor-in-chief of '' The Economist'' from 2006 to 2015. Life and ...

and

Adrian Wooldridge Adrian Wooldridge (born 1959) is an author and columnist. He is the Global Business Columnist at Bloomberg Opinion. Life and career Wooldridge was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, where he studied modern history and was awarded a fellowshi ...

. ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' described the book as an "engaging study of American conservatism" and a "penetrating analysis." The book is composed of four parts: *''History'', which comprises a discussion of the government careers of the

Bush family The Bush family is an American dynastic family that is prominent in the fields of American politics, news, sports, entertainment, and business. They were the first family of the United States from 1989 to 1993 and again from 2001 to 2009, and w ...

, a discussion of

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

's psychology, and an outline of the fortunes of the GOP during the second half of the 20th century. *''Anatomy'', which discusses the way in which the Republican Party set about recovering from its near-catastrophic defeat in 1964, the role that

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

s play in the development of policy and political philosophy, particularly the

American Enterprise Institute The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known simply as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is a center-right Washington, D.C.–based think tank that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare. A ...

and

The Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (abbreviated to Heritage) is an American conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. that is primarily geared toward public policy. The foundation took a leading role in the conservative movement during the presiden ...

, and the power of footsoldiers motivated by cultural values in winning elections. *''Prophecy'', which envisages two possible near-futures: why a Republican

hegemony Hegemony (, , ) is the political, economic, and military predominance of one State (polity), state over other states. In Ancient Greece (8th BC – AD 6th ), hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of the ''hegemon'' city-state over oth ...

is (they argue) approaching, and reasons why this future may not come to pass. And lastly, *''Exception'' discusses the theory of

American exceptionalism American exceptionalism is the belief that the United States is inherently different from other nations. Peggy Noonan, an American political pundit, wrote in ''The Wall Street Journal'' that "America is not exceptional because it has long att ...

and what it portends for the fortunes of political philosophies in the U.S. Micklethwait and Wooldridge were, respectively, the U.S. editor and Washington correspondent for ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...

''.

References

External links

* Five part excerpt
1234
an
5
from ''The Right Nation'', published in the ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief ...

''
Book Forum on ''The Right Nation''
held at the

Cato Institute The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries.Koch Ind ...

and including links to
RealVideo stream
and
PowerPoint presentation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Right Nation, The 2004 non-fiction books Books about politics of the United States History books about the United States