Is political polarization worse than it's been in the past?

Short answer: In some important ways, yes — especially in the U.S.

The research is nuanced, but several distinct measures point in different directions, and it's worth separating them:

1. Affective polarization (how much partisans dislike the other side) — Yes, historically high

This is the area where the "worse than ever" claim is best supported by data:

•Longitudinal analysis across twelve countries confirms that affective polarization has grown strongest in the United States compared to other democracies.

•Referencing data from 12 OECD countries, researchers argue that U.S. affective polarization is exceptional, with the U.S. having suffered the largest increase in affective polarization over the last 40 years.

•Pew polling shows this trend accelerating recently: in 2022, 72% of Republicans and 63% of Democrats viewed the opposing party as more immoral than other Americans—up dramatically from 47% and 35% in 2016.

2. Ideological polarization (actual policy disagreement) — Increasing, but more contested

•Democrats and Republicans have become ideologically more distant in the past 30 years.

•However, globally this trend isn't universal: at a global scale, ideological polarization does not appear to have increased among the mass public, in contrast to the trend observed in the United States where growing ideological polarization is now well documented.

•Interestingly, partisan sorting has actually declined since 2010 even as ideological distance between the parties has grown — a reminder that polarization isn't one simple trend.

3. Compared to U.S. history specifically

•Americans increasingly see the country as more divided than at any time since the Civil War — though that's a perception, not necessarily an objective measure.

•Political scientists have noted this isn't new to note, either: this polarization partially reflects political realignment that accelerated in the early 1990s, when members and officials of the two parties did not differ markedly on policy issues — but this is no longer true.

4. Elite/institutional dysfunction and trust — Also historically low

•trust in government and institutions has reached historical lows, which compounds the polarization problem, according to researchers at Syracuse's Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship.

The caveat: it's not uniform, and it's not purely national

•Interestingly, polarization looks much worse when people think about the country than when they think about their own community: 89% of local officials say polarization is negatively affecting the United States nationally — the highest figure since data collection began — while only 30% say polarization is hurting their local community, a figure that suggests community life remains resilient despite national strife.

•And in a global context, the U.S. isn't uniquely extreme in absolute terms: estimates of the absolute levels of affective polarization from 53 countries point towards countries such as Türkiye, Hungary, and Kenya as examples of high affective polarization — the U.S. stands out more for the rate of increase than for having the highest level.

Bottom line

The U.S. genuinely appears to be in a historically distinctive period of division, particularly in terms of emotional animosity between partisans (affective polarization) and perceived stakes of political conflict — with data suggesting this is worse than most other periods measured since research on this began in earnest (1960s–70s onward). Whether it's literally "the worst ever" (e.g., versus the Civil War era or 1960s upheaval) is harder to quantify empirically, but by the specific metrics political scientists track today, current U.S. polarization is at or near record highs for the post-WWII era.

Citations (12)

1oup.comAcademic
Affective Polarization in Comparative and Longitudinal Perspective | Public Opinion Quarterly | Oxford Academic
Source excerpt: “These results largely corroborate those stemming from Boxell, Gentzkow, and Shapiro’s (2021) longitudinal analysis of twelve countries (see Supplement...”
2arxiv.orgAcademic
Towards global equity in political polarization research
Source excerpt: “Referencing data from 12 OECD countries, Finkel et al. argue that the state of U.S. affective polarization is exceptional, with the U.S. having suffer...”
3syr.eduAcademic
The 'Great Divide': Understanding US Political Polarization | Syracuse University Today
Source excerpt: “Pew Research Center polling reveals a sharp rise in partisan hostility: in 2022, 72% of Republicans and 63% of Democrats viewed the opposing party as ...”
4nature.comAcademic
Charting multidimensional ideological polarization across demographic groups in the USA | Nature Human Behaviour
Source excerpt: “Instead, Democrats and Republicans have become ideologically more distant in the past 30 years: Both parties ... ”
5arxiv.orgAcademic
Towards global equity in political polarization research
Source excerpt: “However, at a global scale, ideological polarization does not appear to have increased amongst the mass public ([6], SM). This is in contrast to the t...”
6nature.comAcademic
Charting multidimensional ideological polarization across demographic groups in the USA | Nature Human Behaviour
Source excerpt: “Democrats and Republicans have grown more polarized over the past 30 years, while partisan sorting has declined since 2010. ”
7syr.eduAcademic
The 'Great Divide': Understanding US Political Polarization | Syracuse University Today
Source excerpt: “Diane Stirling Oct. 23, 2025 ... Americans increasingly see the country as more divided than at any time since the Civil War. ”
8asisonline.orgNot yet classified
Unwell: National Survey Finds Americans Are Polarized and Distrustful
Source excerpt: ““This polarization partially reflects political realignment that accelerated in the early 1990s,” the authors wrote. “It used to be, for example, that...”
9syr.eduAcademic
The 'Great Divide': Understanding US Political Polarization | Syracuse University Today
Source excerpt: ““Government often seems out of touch or unresponsive, which is one reason trust in government and institutions has reached historical lows. ”
10carnegie.orgNonprofits and think tanks
Polarization Rising Nationally While Remaining Moderate Within Local Communities According to Survey of Public Officials : News | Carnegie Corporation of New York
Source excerpt: “New York, NY, December 9, 2025 — A new survey finds that 89 percent of local officials say polarization is negatively affecting the United States, the...”
11carnegie.orgNonprofits and think tanks
Polarization Rising Nationally While Remaining Moderate Within Local Communities According to Survey of Public Officials : News | Carnegie Corporation of New York
Source excerpt: “In contrast, 30 percent of the same officials say polarization is hurting their local community, a figure unchanged during the past year, suggesting t...”
12arxiv.orgAcademic
Towards global equity in political polarization research
Source excerpt: “However, estimates of the absolute levels of affective polarization from 53 countries point towards countries such as Türkiye, Hungary, and Kenya as e...”