The place and role of the “green party” in the United States’ political system

The study is dedicated to the actual status of the «Green Party of the United States» in the political system of the influential country which during Democratic adminisrations strives for the world leadership in combating climate change and in the green transition. The electoral strategies of the Green Party are analyzed, starting with the establishment of the «Green New Deal» (2010s) – the main ideological and electoral platform of the American Greens, comparing it with a similar program of the Democratic Party (captured from the Greens, which finally allowed J. Biden to win the 2020 presidential election). By supporting the environmentally oriented democratic candidate (B. Obama) in the presidential elections of 2008 and 2012, the Green Party counted on the popularization of environmental ideas in the American society and their implementation at the state policy level. However, strategically, this was a mistake that allowed its main competitor – the Democratic Party – to claim these ideas as their own. The «Republican turn» of 2024 in American politics also creates significant challenges for the «Green Party of the United States». While the Greens continue to fight for their agenda and thus their political identity, the question remains: do they have a political future in the United States? The conclusion is that in the case of failure, there is a threat for the Green Party of becoming an unclaimed political force in American society; however, in the case of success, the party may uplevel its political competition with two monopolist parties, and thus contribute to changing the marginal position of the third parties in the U.S. political system.

Green Party of the United States, Green New Deal, green transition, «energy democracy», J. Stein, H. Hawkins, Democratic Party, B. Obama, J. Biden, D. Trump