Government & Politics

Pulling Back From Polarization

The political divide seems wider than ever. How citizens, leaders, and organizations can begin to bridge the gap.

October 19, 2022

| by Kevin Cool Dave Gilson
Illustration of construction workers standing on scaffolding and looking at a blueprint, with the broken remains of pillars pained in red white a blue below them. Illustration by Álvaro Bernis

Illustrations by Álvaro Bernis

By just about any measure, the United States is more politically divided today than at any time in recent history. Polarization isn’t just an obstacle to tackling serious problems, it’s preventing Americans from seeing their partisan rivals as people they’d want to hang out with, work with, or live near — much less share a country with.

How does a divided society begin to repair itself? A range of Stanford Graduate School of Business faculty and alumni are seeking answers to that question. Here, some of those researchers, policy experts, and politicians discuss ways to establish common ground, work together, and strengthen democracy.

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