Political Polarization and how it undermines democratic legitimacy
Political Polarization
Political Polarization is defined as an increasing ideological and cultural divide between political parties. In modern times, political polarization plagues the global geopolitical climate. In America, polarization is especially concerning. According to a 2025 article published by Syracuse University, Americans are more divided today than they have been since the civil war (Stirling). This claim is reinforced by data from the Pew Research Center, with their polls highlighting the intense partisan divide between Americans. According to their poll, a staggering 83% of Democrats opined that Republicans are close-minded, 72% of Republicans claimed democrats are more immoral than other Americans, and 62% of Republicans think that Democrats are lazy (Pew Research Center, 2022).
Trump and Polarization
The European Center for Populism Studies describes how this divergence is incredibly threatening to the stability of a nation. In their words, polarization influences the constituents to view “the opposing camp and its policies as an existential threat to their way of life or the nation as a whole” (ECPS, n.d.). This same article describes how polarization can encourage extremism, internal conflict, prevent nuance, and give rise to strong leaders. Strong leaders can profit off of division, and can use their opposing party as a scapegoat for political crises. Two authors from the Journal The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Alan Abramowitz and Jennifer McCoy, explain how racial, ideological, and cultural polarization promoted the success of Trump in the 2016 election, and polarizing ideals have been a backbone of his campaign since his initial victory. The Democratic Erosion Consortium says that “Trump is using affective polarization to amplify his platform and break democratic norms” (Ortiz, 2025). This is done through white nationalist sentiment that targets immigrants and democrats as the root cause of the American decline. Any rhetoric that paints a singular party as less than, or immoral, can create serious anti-democratic sentiment that only widens the ideological party gap. Trump has also continued to push anti-establishment views on his voters, discouraging trust in existing institutions, and fueling divisions. He has profited off of divisiveness and used polarization to help expand his platform (Segal, 2024). Trump has said things like, “We should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military”, “America is under invasion from within”, affordability is a “democrat scam” and has continuously blamed the “radical left” for political upheavals (Adams, 2025).
Polarization and its threat to democracy
Democracy thrives on open conversation, mutual understanding, and nuance. Polarization discourages all of this. As partisan politics expands, mutual understanding declines. A hostile political environment can prevent true diplomacy and can exacerbate already existing conflict. Jennifer McCoy, a renowned political science professor and author at Georgia State University directly asserts that “Severe polarization makes democracy vulnerable” (McCoy, n.d). A plethora of research validates this claim. A 2021 comparative evidence study by Yunus Ohran found that political polarization increases support for undemocratic candidates, weakening democratic institutions and encouraging backsliding. Another research paper, published by Druckman, Green, & Iyengar (2024) similarly produced results concluding that polarization weakens democracy and makes functional governance more difficult.
Conclusion
These are not isolated works. Political scientists globally have found that polarization is harmful to democratic institutions, and divisive leaders reverse the foundations of governance Americans find so dear and true. It is important to draw connections between patterns, and leaders. The scholars asserting that Trump is a divisive and polarizing figure, and the researchers proving that polarization accelerates democratic decline, creates an interesting relationship that further emphasizes the need for government accountability and skepticism to the actions of the Trump administration. Democratic preservation is essential to the wellbeing of American citizens, and by encouraging political polarization and continuing to paint the left of his enemy, Trump is contributing to the collapse of institutions on a national scale.
Bibliography
Druckman, J. N., Green, D. P., & Iyengar, S. (2023). Does Affective Polarization Contribute to Democratic Backsliding in America? the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science/the Annals, 708(1), 137–163. https://doi.org/10.1177/00027162241228952
European Center for Populism Studies. (2023). Political Polarization. European Center for Populism Studies. https://www.populismstudies.org/Vocabulary/political-polarization/
McCoy, J. (2019). Polarization harms democracy and society. Peace in Progress Magazine. https://www.icip.cat/perlapau/en/article/polarization-harms-democracy-and-society/
Pew Research Center. (2022, August 9). 5. Republicans and Democrats Increasingly Critical of People in the Opposing Party. Pew Research Center - U.S. Politics & Policy. https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2022/08/09/republicans-and-democrats-increasingly-critical-of-people-in-the-opposing-party/
Segal, J. (2025). Donald Trump: Source and Symptom of Polarization. 16(1). https://doi.org/10.5206/sc.v16i1.22577
Stirling, D. (2025, October 23). The “Great Divide”: Understanding US Political Polarization. Syracuse University Today. https://news.syr.edu/2025/10/23/the-great-divide-understanding-us-political-polarization/