The Green Party of the United States: Establishment and Entry into Big Politics

Abstract

The article considers the long and complicated history of the Green Party in the United States (from 1984 to 2001), as well as its further political role as a «third party» – up to the establishment of the Green New Deal as its main ideological and election platform for the 2012 presidential elections. This topic is of interest due to the fact that, amid the global relevance of «green» political and economic agenda in the 21st century, the environmental parties are meant to play a special role – let alone in the country that claims leadership in the field of environmental (primarily, climate) policy. In this context, the situation that the Green Party in the United States is in a secondary position and does not have a decisive influence on real politics, looks all the more illogical. The specifics of the American Greens’ political strategy and tactics are analyzed, which allowed to reach a new level of political struggle as an alternative and oppositional political force towards both establishment parties – the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. Nevertheless, the Democrats led by President J. Biden have intercepted the Green Party’s preelection program and won the 2020 elections with it. This testifies to strategic mistakes made by the American Greens and casts doubt on their future political fate.