November 10, 2026 “Polarization Is Not the Problem” A New Essay From The Journal of Democracy Last month, the Journal of Democracy published “Polarization Is Not the Problem,” the second article in an HFG-supported series examining polarization and political violence. “The thing to ‘fix’ is not polarization” wrote the essay’s author Lilliana Mason, SNF Agora Institute Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University. “Polarization is the country’s immune response to an unpopular, antidemocratic, and intentionally divisive faction grabbing for disproportionate power to the detriment of national success, reputation, and democratic self-government.” Rather than focusing on decreasing partisan polarization, Mason argues that US democracy needs leaders and voters to defend social progress in America, which remains under threat. Jeffrey Kosptein, Chancellor’s Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Irvine, contributed the first essay of this special series in July 2026. In “When Polarization Turns Violent,” Kopstein challenges the assumption that political polarization naturally leads to political violence. “The challenge for democracies is not eliminating polarization but preventing political conflict from hardening into existential warfare,” Kopstein argued. This collaboration with the Journal of Democracy, the world’s leading publication on the theory and practice of democracy, represents the Foundation’s continued commitment to investigating the relationship between polarization and political violence in the United States. The next several issues will, with support from HFG, feature expert knowledge on the causes of polarization, and how to prevent it from erupting into bloodshed. For more work on this topic, read the Polarization Project interview series by HFG Distinguished Fellow of Practice Greg Berman. For more information contact: Halima Gikandi, Senior Communications Manager info@hfg.org | 646.428.0973
