Contemporary History | American Political Polarization in Comparative Perspective, Oct. 21

The Ohio University  Contemporary History Institute  hosts a virtual talk by Thomas Carothers discussing "American Political Polarization in Comparative Perspective" for the Elizabeth Evans Baker Endowed Lecture on Thursday, Oct. 21, at noon.

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Political polarization is on many Americans’ short list of serious problems gripping U.S. democracy.  Yet looking at political polarization only in the light of the U.S. experience misses a striking wider reality: political polarization is increasingly afflicting many countries around the world, from Brazil and Turkey to India and Poland. To what extent is the U.S. experience with polarization similar to or different from that of other countries and are there lessons from abroad that might be helpful as Americans search for ways to lessen polarization at home?

Carothers is interim president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, an independent global think tank. He oversees all of the endowment’s research programs and directs the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program. Widely recognized as a leading authority on democratization and international support for democracy, he has worked on democracy and governance assistance projects around the world for many public and private organizations.  His most recent book is "Democracies Divided: The Global Challenge of Political Polarization" (co-edited with Andrew O’Donohue). He has been a visiting faculty member at Oxford University, the Central European University, and Johns Hopkins SAIS. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School, the London School of Economics, and Harvard College.

The lecture is free and open to the general public.