Apr
18
For Times Such as This: Unstable Majorities Gives New Meaning to Political Polarization
Filed Under From the Field, Unstable Majorities | Leave a Comment
Dr. Robin Lauermann, professor of politics, edits this series
This post is the thirteenth of our new season, For Times Such as This. If you have not yet done so, please read this season-opening post for some brief context.
It seems impossible to turn on the news or talk about the political climate without the issue of red versus blue parties, officials and citizens arising. Unlike the more pessimistic perspective of our prior course read – Things Are Never So Bad That They Can’t Get Worse – the author of the final book of our capstone this year offers us important insight for constructive change. Dr. Morris Fiorina of Stanford University and its Hoover Institution is among the most renowned scholars of the political behavior of voters and members of Congress. His knack is not only brilliant insight about the developments in these areas, but also his willingness and ability to write for a general audience.
(We are fortunate to welcome him this coming fall for our annual American Democracy Lecture – more details will follow, but please save the date for Monday October 28, 2024!)
In his 2017 Unstable Majorities: Polarization, Party Sorting and Political Stalemate, Dr. Fiorina offers a clear and compelling alternative account for polarization within contemporary American politics. Amid gridlock, acrimony and widely fluctuating policies (when passage can occur), the idea of polarization is front and center in our system. However, as we shall read in the analyses ahead, the causes are not what common thought would have us believe. As a result, realistic opportunities exist to work towards an improved political climate.
If you are motivated by the video summary above and analyses that follow, a number of excellent, practical resources exist. Here are just a few:
- The social science podcast Hidden Brain produced 5 excellent episodes within its You 2.0 segment about how to address political conflict
- Pew Research has a wonderful season of its After the Fact podcast entitled Beyond Polarization.
- StoryCorps has a series called One Small Step that matches interested individuals on a notable difference, gives them background on each other and includes them in a moderated conversation, allowing them to learn more about each other and why they hold the views that they do.
- Listen to a great episode with individuals from different parties who have held office –it is one of MANY great episodes.
- Check out a podcast series from Messiah University, modeled on this approach. The Politics of Listening presents the fruits of an assignment by students in my Polling and Public Opinion course last spring.
- The National Governors Association has an initiative “Disagree Better” that has many great resources providing food for thought and action.
- Starts with Us is an initiative that offers information and strategies to help the vast majority of individuals frustrated with the current state of conflict take action.
As capstone closed at the end of the semester, students worked in groups to apply the lessons from Fiorina t0 problem-solving reforms. They left encouraged – and I hope you will too! These students also participated in an amazing panel at Messiah’s Humanities Symposium in late February. Read on for the first analysis in this segment!
