Drivers of Political Violence in the United States

• Published in: Journal of public policy & marketing 2023-01, Vol.42 (1), p.11-14
• Main Author: Piazza, James A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Assaults; Civil war; Ethnic identity; Polarization; Political violence; Politics; Presidents; Public opinion research; Public opinion surveys; Social unrest; Testimony; Tolerance; Violence
• ISSN: 0743-9156; 1547-7207
• DOI: 10.1177/07439156221133763

In the wake of the January 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump, expert and public attention has turned to the issue of political violence in the United States. Public opinion surveys show that more than one-third of Americans regard the use of political violence against the government or political opponents to be acceptable (Balz, Clement, and Guskin 2022), and there is evidence that public tolerance for political violence may be increasing (Diamond et al. 2020). Recent public opinion research also finds that a plurality of Americans is concerned about the specter of violent civil unrest in the United States (Orth 2022). Scholars who typically study civil wars in other countries have begun to examine whether the United States is on track to itself experience widespread domestic violent civil conflict (Walter 2022). In recent testimony before Congress, Rachel Kleinfeld of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace noted that, according to polling, the current level of public What explains the volatile situation in which the United States presently finds itself? This commentary investigates four important drivers of political violence in the United States today: toxic political polarization, toxic identity-based ideologies, assaults on democratic norms, and disinformation and political conspiracies. Each of these contributes to violent political instability. I briefly explain each in turn and discuss some potential ways to address them.