American Affairs
Journal; founded 2017; co-founded by Julius Krein (“Plautus”) and Gladden Pappin; published Integration from Within by Adrian Vermeule
What It Is
American Affairs is a quarterly journal that emerged from the intellectual milieu of the Journal of American Greatness — the anonymous blog that developed early Trumpist arguments in 2016. It was co-founded by Julius Krein (who wrote for JAG under the pseudonym “Plautus”) and Gladden Pappin.
The journal occupies an unusual space: it takes seriously the economic critique of neoliberalism (publishing pieces on industrial policy, labor economics, and market concentration) while also serving as a major venue for Postliberal and New Right ideas. It has been associated with what some call “Trumpist political economy.”
Significance
American Affairs published Adrian Vermeule’s landmark essay Integration from Within in its inaugural year (Spring 2018), which became one of the founding documents of practical Catholic integralism. The journal’s combination of serious economic heterodoxy with postliberal politics made it distinctive in the New Right intellectual ecosystem.
Cross-References
- Julius Krein — co-founder (“Plautus”)
- Gladden Pappin — co-founder
- Adrian Vermeule — published Integration from Within here
- Integration from Within — the journal’s most influential article
- Journal of American Greatness — the anonymous blog precursor
- Postliberalism — the movement the journal helps define