For the United States to maintain its ability to respond to societal challenges and crises in ways that remain consistent with the spirit of democratic and pluralistic ideals, we must find ways to effectively stem the tide of political polarization that is fracturing the nation’s political environment. That’s the conclusion of Fulton Schools Professor Stephanie Forrest and Joshua Daymude, a postdoctoral researcher with ASU’s Biodesign Institute. They teamed with University of Michigan political scientist Robert Axelrod to explore the factors involved in the evolution of political polarization in the U.S. in recent times and propose ways in which its socially destabilizing impacts might be diminished. Their study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In this detailing of that research and its conclusions, computer scientists Forrest and Daymude suggest paths that politicians, the news media and the citizenry can take to “resist the poison of extremism.” Read more about their research.

See Also: Researchers look to technology to find out what’s increasing the country’s social and political divide, “Arizona Horizon”/Arizona PBS, January 27