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Sam Rosenfeld is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Colgate University and author of The Polarizers: Postwar Architects of Our Partisan Era (University of Chicago Press). He studies history of political parties, the intersection of social movements and formal politics, and the politics of social and economic policymaking. His writing has also appeared in The American Prospect, Democracy, The New York Times, Politico, The Washington Post, and Vox.
To combat the new normal of two-party gridlock in U.S. politics, many call for more political parties. But what works in parliamentary governments might not help in our presidential system.
We may not like it, but when it comes to U.S. politics, polarization may very well be part of the solution.
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