Featured Post from University of Rochester

Can political polarization threaten American democracy?

New research suggests partisan hostility can erode democratic institutions.

Jul 22, 2024

1 min

James Druckman


CaptionResizeWrap TextRemove


Partisan hostility in the United States is at a fever pitch and is a dominant theme in the 2024 election cycle. But how much does it matter to everyday life in America? What is really at stake?


James Druckman, a professor of political science at the University of Rochester who is widely considered one of the country's foremost experts on political polarization and its impact on American democracy, is poised to answer those questions and back up his conclusions with data. 


His latest book, Partisan Hostility and American Democracy: Explaining Political Divisions and When They Matter, outlines the potential consequences of extreme partisan animus by distilling empirical evidence gathered between 2019 and 2021. The upshot? Partisan hostility alone is unlikely to lead to the collapse of American democracy. But it nonetheless has a deleterious effect on democracy and could erode democratic institutions and functioning over time.


In the end, the book concludes, American democracy hinges more on how political leaders respond to the polarization than the polarization itself. 


Druckman has been cited by The New York Times columnist Thomas Edsall as among the political scientists in the country "working on getting us to hate one another less."  

Connect with:
James Druckman

James Druckman

Martin Brewer Anderson Professor of Political Science

Druckman is an expert in American political behavior and survey methodology.

American DemocracyPolitical DividesAmerican Political CultureTrust in ScienceSurvey Methodology

You might also like...

Check out some other posts from University of Rochester

1 min

'Brain-on-a-chip': Engineering tomorrow’s breakthroughs today

A “brain-on-a-chip” technology might sound like science fiction, but it’s real-world hope. James McGrath, a biomedical engineer at the University of Rochester, leads a team that develops micro-scale tissue chips to study diseases in lieu of conducting animal experiments. The team’s “brain-on-a-chip” model replicates the blood-brain barrier — the critical membrane separating the brain from the bloodstream — to mimic how the barrier functions under healthy conditions and the duress of infections, toxins, and immune responses that can weaken it. Recent findings from McGrath’s team show how systemic inflammation, such as that caused by sepsis, can compromise the barrier and harm brain cells. The researchers also demonstrated how pericytes — supportive vascular cells — can help repair barrier damage, an insight that could guide new therapies for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The research culminated in a pair of recent studies published in Advanced Science and Materials Today Bio. “We hope that by building these tissue models in chip format, we can arrange many brain models in a high-density array to screen candidates for neuroprotective drugs and develop brain models with diverse genetic backgrounds,” McGrath says. McGrath aims to transform how scientists test drugs and predict neurological side effects before they occur — helping rewrite how we study, and one day safeguard, the brain. Contact McGrath by clicking on his profile

1 min

Government Shutdown: With Senate in the spotlight, expert Gerald Gamm offers insight

The Senate returned to Capitol Hill on the first day of a government shutdown to vote on two funding bills aimed at getting the government up and running amid an ongoing blame game among congressional leaders. University of Rochester political scientist Gerald Gamm is watching the deliberations and political maneuverings closely and is in a unique position to lend insight on the negotiations and gamesmanship. Gamm is a co-author of Steering the Senate (Cambridge University Press, June 2025). The book has received high praise from a multitude of sources, and has been called "essential reading for all who care — or worry — about the past and future of institutional leadership and capacity on Capitol Hill," "the best book we have about the organizational development of the Senate," and "a masterpiece . . . that unearths new information on the emergence of leadership institutions and the role of parties and showing their relevance for the Senate of today." Gamm is available for interviews and can be contacted by clicking on his profile.

2 min

How well-meaning parents sink their child's chances of college admission

"What's the number one parent behavior that will hurt a child's chance of admission?"  The question was posed to Robert Alexander, the University of Rochester vice provost and dean of enrollment management, on the podcast "College Knowledge." He was quick to answer. "Parents needs to be empowering the student and not driving the conversation" when it comes to choosing a college and engaging with college admissions professionals, Alexander replied. He explained that too many parents have a narrow view of what they deem as "acceptable" institutions of higher education for their child. They come by it honestly, he said, with most of their knowledge derived from their own college searches and dreams a generation ago.  They tend to home in on 20 or 30 schools when, in reality, the universe of quality colleges and universities has expanded exponentially since the days these parents were considering where to study, Alexander said. "Widening that lends and thinking beyond the 20 or 30 schools they know a lot about or think they know a lot about or see a lot of bumper stickers for, that's really important," Alexander said. "There are many more really great institutions and what's important is not your child getting into 'the best college' that they can, but instead their child finding the best fit at one or maybe a range of different institutions." Alexander is an expert in undergraduate admissions and enrollment management who speaks on the subjects to national audiences and whose work has been published in national publications. Click his profile to reach him.

View all posts
Powered by