Workshop on Polarization in American Politics
Organized by Professor David King, Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
Despite the seemingly deep divisions in the American electorate, there is little agreement on what polarization is – it certainly has to be something more than “differences” of opinion – and what it means for democratic government in the United States. This authors’ workshop will provide a comprehensive assessment of polarization within the “mass public,” the U.S. Congress, the Presidency, and the news media, and its impact on policymaking in the United States. The workshop will establish the basis for a forthcoming book on Polarization in the United States.