Polarized Politics and Policy ConsequencesTo elucidate the impact of polarization on the daily lives of U.S. citizens, the research community may need to modify its benchmarks for what constitutes a successful public policy. The authors suggest that we need a better understanding of how polarization affects the quantity and substance of rulemaking, regulations, and judicial decisions. We also need to examine the effects of partisan polarization at the state and local levels of government, how much polarization complicates the conduct of defense and foreign policy, and precisely how polarization affects different policy areas. The publication should be of interest to members of Congress, presidential candidates, civil servants, political scientists, reporters, and stakeholders seeking to influence public policy. |
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2006 Midterm Elections America's Polarized Politics American Politics August 27 Binder bipartisan Blue Nation Brady Brookings Institution Press campaigns candidates Causes of America's centrists changes Characteristics and Causes citizens consequences of polarization decline deliberative democracy Democrats divided electorate Eugene and Maxine extreme fewer Figure Fiorina Fleisher foreign policy future research agenda gerrymandering House and Senate House Seats ideological increase interest groups Iraq Jacobson Latino Layman liberal-conservative Mann and Ornstein Maxine Rosenfeld members of Congress Mutz National Election Studies Nivola and David Number of Marginal Pardee RAND Graduate participation particularly Paul Volcker partisan polarization party activists party leaders Party Polarization percent Pietro Polarization in Congress political elites political parties political polarization primary elections RAND Corporation RAND Graduate School RAND occasional papers Red and Blue reduce polarization representative democracy role roll-call votes salient issues social tend turnout rate Volcker and Eugene voter turnout war in Iraq Washington