Andrew Yarrow

Project at the MaCI

March - July 2026

In the United States and France—and throughout the European Union—growing numbers of young men have been drawn to rightwing, “populist,” and anti-feminist or « masculinist » political movements. In 2024, 18-to-34-year-old men were significantly more likely than young women to vote for the National Rally and Reconquete in European Parliament and National Assembly elections, and Donald Trump improved his vote tally among 18-to-29-year-old men from 41% in 2020 to 50%. Whereas there has been considerable media attention to this rightward shift in voting, less attention has been paid to how comparable these political shifts and a range of underlying problems are in different Western democracies.
 

I intend to build on my methodologies in Man Out to: 1) compare the circumstances and attitudes of men in France and the United States; 2) focus on men born between about 1990 and 2007 (younger Millennials and Gen Z); and 3) test the hypothesis that a broad range of problems of many young men—from poor education and labor market outcomes to misogyny, violence, isolation, and poor physical and mental health—are correlated, if not causally related, to rightwing politics. I will also examine how these men in both countries—men who came of age between the Great Recession and the Covid pandemic—compare to older male cohorts, notably Baby Boomers who grew up and became young adults during les trentes glorieueses.
 

Given my deep concerns about the state of democracy and social cohesion in the United States, France, and other Western democracies, and the well-being of those marginalized and struggling in these societies, I want to examine problems that many young men both experience and cause and their relationship to rightwing politics. Through analysis of electoral and socioeconomic data, politicians’ and influencers’ rhetoric, and surveys and interviews, I aim to shed light on these issues in advance of elections in France in 2027 and the U.S. in 2026 and 2028. Personally, I hope to benefit from the wisdom of colleagues at MACI, UGA, and elsewhere in France.