Solutions to Political Polarization in America

solutions to political polarization in america Political polarization dominates discussions of contemporary American politics. Despite widespread agreement that the dysfunction in the political system can be attributed to political polarization, commentators cannot come to a consensus on what that means. The coarseness of our political discourse, the ideological distance between opposing partisans, and, most of all, an inability to pass much-needed and widely supported policies all stem from the polarization in our politics. This volume assembles several of the nation’s top analysts of American politics to focus on solutions to polarization. The proposals range from constitutional change to good-government reforms to measures to strengthen political parties. Each tackles one or more aspects of America’s polarization problem. This book begins a serious dialogue about reform proposals to address the obstacles that polarization poses for contemporary governance. Nathaniel Persily is the James B. McClatchy Professor of Law at Stanford Law School. He is an award-winning teacher and a nationally recognized constitutional law expert who focuses on the law of democracy, addressing issues such as voting rights, political parties, campaign finance, and redistricting. He has been appointed as a special master or court-appointed nonpartisan expert to draw redistricting plans for several states, including New York, Maryland, Georgia, and Connecticut. In 2014, he served as the senior research director for the bipartisan Presidential Commission on Election Administration.