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The 9/11 Era Is Now History

Max Bergmann and James Lamond explain why the 2020 election marks the end of the 9/11 era.

In a new FES Perspective Paper, Max Bergmann and James Lamond argue that over the last decade, the 9/11 era has started to become history.

The events of that day two decades ago have cast a long shadow on America, and especially American foreign policy. While the centrality of terrorism in America’s political conscience and discourse has been waning for some time, terrorism as a topic was largely absent in the 2020 election. Issues of systemic racism and police brutality, which were major topics prior to 9/11 burst back into national consciousness with the murder of George Floyd. COVID exposed the deep contradictions of the 9/11 era. While there was a massive expansion of state power through the military, the police, and the state’s intelligence capabilities, the era saw a tremendous weakening of the government’s ability to support the wellbeing of its public. The events of the past year in the United States have brought about a clear end to the era.

The above excerpt was originally published in Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. Click here to view the full article.

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Authors

Max Bergmann

Former Senior Fellow

James Lamond

Fellow