Predsednički izbori u SAD 2016. godine: društvene podele i izborne strategije glavnih predsedničkih kandidata
Presidential Elections in the USA 2016: Social Divisions and Campaign Strategies of two Presidential Candidates

Summary/Abstract: This paper aims to research social divisions in the United States of America in the context of the 2016 presidential elections, as well as the campaign strategies of the main presidential candidates of the Republican and Democratic parties, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Therefore, in addition to public opinion research, we will also consider speeches from party conventions, three presidential debates and party program platforms in order to examine whether and to what extent the candidates responded to voters preferences. First, we will talk about social cleavages in political science, starting with the “freezing hypothesis”, through “silent revolution” to authoritarian populism and “cultural backlash”. We will then put all of this in the context of the 2016 US elections, to identify issues that divide American society and look at how these issues were communicated and what positions the presidential candidates took. The main conclusion is that there is a noticeable trend of growing party polarization in the USA, that Donald Trump’s success is the result of long-term changes in American society, and that thanks to the confrontation of presidential candidates, who took different political positions on issues that divide American voters, these elections were an indicative example of a populist and authoritarian response to socio-political changes and generational changes, as well as a good case study for insight into the cleavages in American society.

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