Politics and Polarization: Where Are We Going?
Stanford Professor Morris P. Fiorina, Ph.D., to Speak March 25 at Ohio Wesleyan
Morris P. Fiorina, Ph.D.
DELAWARE, Ohio – Morris P. Fiorina, Ph.D., of Stanford University will discuss “Unstable Majorities, Polarization, and the Contemporary American Electorate” March 25 at Ohio Wesleyan University.
Fiorina, the Wendt Family Professor of Political Science and a senior fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, specializes in the study of Congress, elections, and public opinion. He will speak at 4:10 p.m. March 25 in Benes Rooms A and B of Hamilton-Williams Campus Center, 40 Rowland Ave., Delaware.
Fiorina says although the United States is perceived by some to be in an era of indecision and unstable majorities, the nation is not experiencing greater party polarization. Instead, he contends, it is experiencing “greater party sorting, meaning fewer liberal conservatives and conservative liberals in the Republican and Democratic Parties, respectively.”
“This is partly driven by greater polarization in political elites, although the majority of the population remains constant,” he states.
Using historical examples as evidence, Fiorina argues that much of this indecision and instability is due to large societal changes, such as economic transformations, globalization, and mass immigration.
Fiorina has written or edited 12 books, including the groundbreaking “Culture War: The Myth of a Polarized America,” “Disconnect: The Breakdown of Representation in American Politics,” and “Can We Talk? The Rise of Rude, Nasty, Stubborn Politics.”
He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences, and he received a career contributions award from the American Political Science Association in 2006.
His presentation will represent Ohio Wesleyan’s annual Benjamin F. Marsh Lecture Series on Public Affairs. The Marsh Lecture series, started in 2001, is coordinated by Ohio Wesleyan’s Department of Politics and Government and the Arneson Institute for Practical Politics and Public Affairs.
During his lifetime, Marsh, a 1950 OWU graduate and attorney, held numerous political posts at local, state, and national levels, and served as registration supervisor and adjudicator for the U.S. Department of State to the Organization and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and as an election supervisor in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Learn more the Marsh Lecture at https://www.owu.edu/academics/departments-programs/department-of-politics-government/.
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers 86 undergraduate majors and competes in 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Ohio Wesleyan combines a challenging, internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities to connect classroom theory with real-world experience. OWU’s 1,750 students represent 46 U.S. states and territories and 43 countries. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the latest President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.