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Red and Blue Nation? Causes, Consequences, and Correction of America’s Polarized Politics

In light of the extreme divisiveness of recent presidential elections, the Brookings Institution in collaboration with the Hoover Institution convened a conference of leading political experts to discuss polarization and the state of American politics. In the first of two such conferences, held on March 13 and 14 of this year, participants considered the extent and root causes of today’s polarization. A conference scheduled for January 2007 will take up the consequences of polarization for American politics as well as what might be done to address the problem. A comprehensive two volume study, the first of its kind, will be published on the subject by the Brookings Press.