According to studyfinds.org, the research, conducted by Zachary Neal, an associate professor of psychology and global urban studies at Michigan State University, is among the first to measure polarization not only by examining the frequency of parties working together, but also by demonstrating how they’ve grown more distant than any other time in modern history.
Neal points out that neither side is to blame for the growing rift. Regardless of the party that holds the majority in Congress or controls the White House, the political divide has widened all the same.
“What I’ve found is that polarization has been steadily getting worse since the early 1970s,” he explains in a university release. “Today, we’ve hit the ceiling on polarization. At these levels, it will be difficult to make any progress on social or economic policies.”
For the study, Neal examined the legislative networks of every U.S. Senator and Representative between 1973 and 2016. He also reviewed bills presented before Congress during the period, specifically looking for bipartisan legislation that was co-sponsored by members from both parties. He found that while polarization was still strong in the 1970s, it’s continued to worsen, particularly since the early 1990s.
Neal defines polarization in two ways: weak polarization, which occurs when parties simply don’t work together; and strong polarization, which occurs when a party not only shuns the other side, but also outwardly attacks opponents or paints them in a negative light.
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