Changing Polarisation in the USA: Main Social Groups and Contributing Factors

Student: Gleb Ignatev

Educational Programme: Applied Politics (Master)

Year of Graduation: 2024

Polarization in the United States is on the rise. Huge events like the Capitol riot on January 6th, long list of Black Lives Matter protests contributed to the rise of hatred between different political sides. Political figures played their part too: Donald Trump has championed the rhetoric, which was named racist, sexist and xenophobic , Joe Biden has equalled members of the Republican Party to undemocratic political activists on numerous occasions. While all of this is true, the question remains whether this phenomenon is new. American society was divided for a century from the Civil War until the fall of segregation. Is current polarization just a continuation of a permanent state of American society, or is it something new? What factors contribute to any change in levels of polarization? This research uses data from Comparative Study of Electoral Systems to observe the change in polarization of American society and factors that played the biggest role in this change.

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