A deeply reported look at how polarization and compounding crises, including the war in Gaza and threats to democracy, have reshaped American politics

Fascism or Genocide is New York Times Magazine writer Ross Barkan’s sweeping report on the 2024 US election and the decade of political upheaval that led up to it. The political tumult of the 2010s—the rise of Donald Trump, the Bernie Sanders insurgency, Black Lives Matter—gave way to a pandemic and then Joe Biden who, for a second time, decided to run against Trump. As in 2020, Biden campaigned on a platform to save democracy, but fewer voters were enthused. Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 election after a disastrous debate performance and Kamala Harris’s subsequent nomination have riveted the country amid a tumultuous political moment. 

During the Democratic primary season more than half a million Americans cast votes for “Uncommitted” ballot options to send Biden a message about the urgent need to end the killing in Gaza, with some tagging him “Genocide Joe.” These voters contrast with the sentiments of mainstream liberals, who believe Trump puts America on the road to fascism. As the director of an influential Palestinian advocacy group tells Barkan, it was a "choice between fascism or genocide.” 

Fascism or Genocide will be among the first books published after the 2024 election, fully analyzing the election results and focusing on the future of the Democratic Party, which has been ruptured by a decade of political infighting and an unprecedented election year.