Case studies

Political Polarization in America

We are the United States, but as citizens, we are becoming more and more divided, on issues, on parties, and on policies.  In this paper, please do the following:

Research political polarization, its causes and consequences, in the following five (5) articles:

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/06/12/7-things-to-know-about-polarization-in-america/

https://www.brookings.edu/research/thinking-about-political-polarization/

https://www.the-american-interest.com/2018/05/16/the-top-14-causes-of-political-polarization/

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/03/whats-the-answer-to-political-polarization/470163/

https://www.vox.com/polyarchy/2017/6/27/15880328/how-to-reduce-partisan-polarization

• Define political polarization and discuss WHY it is of concern to American democracy.
• From the readings, please discuss the main causes of polarization.  Was the US always polarized or is this a relatively new concept?  What causes are consistent across all the articles?
• What are the consequences of growing political polarization? 
• How can we lessen this growing political divide?  Discuss the solutions provided by the authors of the given articles.  Which do you find most compelling? Which seem the most likely to be implemented?