So what is Mr. Trump talking about when he talks about globalism? His spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, provided a definition in an email before the election last week:

“An economic and political ideology which puts allegiance to international institutions ahead of the nation-state; seeks the unrestricted movement of goods, labor and people across borders; and rejects the principle that the citizens of a country are entitled to preference for jobs and other economic considerations as a virtue of their citizenship.”

Where Did This Idea Come From?

Far-right groups in the United States began to refer to globalism at the end of the Cold War, when it replaced communism as an idea that was an ever-present danger to the nation, Mr. Pitcavage said. They have also referred to it as the New World Order, and soon they saw its tentacles everywhere.

The shape of that conspiracy had distinctly anti-Semitic overtones, in part because many of communism’s foes had historically seen communism as inextricably linked to Judaism, Mr. Pitcavage said. Members of the far right became fixated on prominent Jews like the businessman and philanthropist George Soros.

Those conspiratorial beliefs were bolstered when former President George Bush celebrated the end of the Cold War in a 1991 speech by saying it was the dawn of a “new world order.” His use of the phrase was taken as proof by many that a globalist conspiracy really was afoot.

“It was very easy for them, especially because he was the one who said it, to take that ball and run with it,” Mr. Pitcavage said. “From that point on, the phrase became the short hand for that kind of globalism conspiracy theory.”



How Does It Fit Into American Politics?

The term’s multiple meanings have made it a powerful political tool, and Mr. Trump’s and his allies’ frequent references to globalism have drawn in a wide and varied audience.

“Anti-globalism is a very efficient net to unite disparate parts of the right” from the mainstream to the extreme, said Brian Levin, the director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino.