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Political polarization throughout the years
How political polarization is bad
Political party polarization
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The consequences of political polarization for American foreign and national security policymaking are increasing gridlock in Congress which refers to limit the number of legislation passed and reduce policy inaction in the discussion during Dr. Scott’s lecture. Also, it is important fact to examine how the political preferences of the U.S. Congress have been changed and to analyze which factors have been influencing the political preferences. Persily defines the problems of polarization which are ideological convergence within parties, characteristics of “gridlock” in terms of the inability of policy-making due to obstructionist tackle, and government dysfunction. Consequently, most solutions to gridlock begin with reforms of Senate and House …show more content…
In view of Guantanamo Bay, the existing population stands low. However, still open are the special military courts and camp. The Obama administration continues to retain broad programs on National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance, as well as formulating only modest reforms. On the same, the justice system shows great focus on cracking down on leakers of government secrets, while it clearly guards against court reviews of these secrets. For instance, the current administration has placed a ban on harsh interrogation, similarly to Bush administration. Conversely, the Obama administration under the arm of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) upheld the increase on drone strikes. Savage explores the process of policy continuation, with a broader insight into the underlying causes. The practical approach by the Obama administration on addressing threats, and resistance from congress and the Republican sides becomes unclear as pertains to the reasons for the current misunderstanding on policy formulations. A clear fact remains: both parties play a major role in the emergent policy frameworks under Obama administration. The current American government has created a philosophical strategy to reform that show sustenance of a variety of controversial decisions from past administrations, …show more content…
Certainly, there is less coordination between political parties as well as between the House of Representatives and the United States Senate. This political trend in Congress and many bills are still passed with bipartisan support in the U.S. In addition, political polarization “can refer to the divergence of political attitudes to ideological extremes” (“Polarization (politics)).” It means that polarization is the similar meaning of divergence on a broad range of issues or set of beliefs. This may occur at the same time or independently of each other on the same issues within the party-in-government, party-as-organization, media, or public. Therefore, as long as judicial system is not affected by the implications of political polarization, the U.S. policy may not be big differences if Congress were less
A Not So 50:50 Nation Culture Wars? The Myth of a Polarized America: Book Review The book Culture Wars? The Myth of a Polarized America by Morris P. Fiorina, Samuel J. Abrams, and Jeremy C. Pope is a persuasive text regarding America and its division on political topics. In chapter one, Fiorina begins with a powerful quote from Pat Buchanan’s 1992 speech at the Republican National Convention, “There is a religious war…a cultural war as critical to the…nation…as the cold war…for this war is for the soul of America” (Fiorina et al. 1).
Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp was established in the year 2002, when Donald Rumsfeld was the United States secretary of defense. Rumsfeld stated that the main intention of building the Guantanamo Bay Prison was to detain prisoners of war and to try criminals accused of odious crimes (Rose, 32-33). Moreover, was turned into a full-fledged ultra-modern detention camp for the criminals guilty of extra-ordinary crimes (Smith, 21). Although Rumsfeld had said during the opening of the Guantanamo Bay Camp that the aim of the detention camp would be to detain criminals convicted of crimes of very high magnitude, it later proved that the camp was actually just a political tool.
Friedman goes on to write that the United States has been very lax when it comes to punishing those United States officials and officers in charge during the time that prisoners of war have been tortured and killed. Friedman calls for President Bush and the United States government to “Just find out who were the cabinet, C.I.A. and military officers on whose watch these 26 homicides occurred and fire them. That will do more to improve America's image in the Arab-Muslim world than any ad campaign, which will be useless if this sort of prisoner abuse is shrugged off.”
The trend of political polarization has many roots, but one particular cause over the last decade
Much of society is categorized into groups, subcultures and/or subspecies; Politics is much the same. While many different political parties have arose throughout history and had their major moments, two common parties stand out today in the United States political system. America’s government is comprised of ideals and paradigms that date back to the Roman Empire and Ancient Greece. The leading political parties, the Democrats and Republicans, are two separate yet similar entities that run the country’s government from the inside and out. The actions each politician takes effects the very world we live in. These parties share many similarities, many differences, and because of this a polarization of parties has dominated the day to day activities of Capitol Hill and the White House.
Political Polarization is the conflict regarding Republican and Democratic political parties not agreeing to make decisions for the national issues like federal funding. (Lindqvist E. & Ostling R., 2010, p.543)
Guantanamo Bay, a US naval base on the southern point of Cuba, has long been a source of controversy for it’s alleged interrogation tactics and torture. The sitting President, Trump, has made it clear he wants to revive the use of waterboarding, and other extreme practices. On the other hand, General Mattis, White House Chief of Staff, commented, “Give me a pack of cigarettes and a couple of beers and I can do better with that than I do with torture” (Cooper). With terrorist attacks becoming more common events in American life, many have called to continue the questioning of the top jihadists at Guantanamo. The US should continue using Guantanamo Bay as a detention center that is necessary to national security.
The recent hysterics in the press over the treatment of al Qaeda prisoners give the impression that Cuba is some idyllic bastion of human rights save for that American eyesore Guantanamo Bay. The overzealous reporters en route to the communist isle are hell-bent on discovering some form of torture or mistreatment of the prisoners. Upon discovering that the envisioned inhumanity of "Gitmo" in reality is nothing more than conditions of mild discomfort, these same reporters responded with irresponsible exaggeration. One British editorial describes the prisoners as "trapped in open cages, manacled hand and foot, brutalized, tortured and humiliated." Despite the fictitiousness of such commentaries, the righteous indignation of the international community, dampened somewhat in the aftermath of September 11th, is gaining momentum with the aid of unscrupulous reporters.
Applebaum believes that torture should not be used as a means of gaining information from suspects. Applebaum's opinion is supported through details that the practice has not been proven optimally successful. After debating the topic, I have deliberated on agreeing with Applebaum's stance towards the torture policy. I personally agree with the thought to discontinue the practice of torture as a means of acquiring intel. I find it unacceptable that under the Bush Administration, the President decided prisoners to be considered exceptions to the Geneva Convention. As far as moral and ethical consideration, I do not believe that it is anyone's right to harm anyone else, especially if the tactic is not proven successful. After concluding an interview with Academic, Darius Rejali, Applebaum inserted that he had “recently trolled through French archives, found no clear examples of how torture helped the French in Algeria -- and they lost that war anyway.” There are alternative...
If the Senate majority becomes the minority following an election, the national party with the majority takes over. This means committee assignments, chairmanships, and key positions in the Senate would be controlled by the new majority leader. This happens in the Senate more frequently than in the House; however, when the senate changes and the House majority remains the same, the capability of both Houses to agree on the substance of new legislation is compromised. The difficulty is difference in philosophy of the two bodies. Thus negotiations between the two Houses is the only way to approach as solution. This means compromise and flexibility which is more likely to occur in the
After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the fear of another catastrophic event in the United States became a greater concern for the American public. To subdue the growing fear amongst the public, political officials across America were compelled to address new debates on the nation’s tactics to prevent another atrocity. Possibly the most heated, and still argued debate, is that of the appropriateness of the employment of torture to acquire necessary intelligence; and as in most debates in our nation, our political representatives are bitterly divided concerning the issue. While many claim that the use of torture in any case is morally wrong, more radical advocates for the use of torture believe that it is “morally mandatory”. This ethical dilemma, however, must come to a conclusion if the nation is to improve its moral and diplomatic relations.
The author’s research focuses on Harvard professors Philip B. Heymann and Juliette N. Kayyem’s book Protecting Liberty in an Age of Terror. This book supports banning torture and CID through authorization by the President of the United States. However, even though the two professors believe that the use of torture can be minimalized, Roth does not trust that the president can decrease the instances of torture. Roth goes on to detail how the Bush administration refused to support torture, but they narrowly defined it so that only pain similar to the loss of a bodily organ constituted as torture. Similarly, Israel permitted the use of slight physical pressure, which the author defines as a situation of CID that morphs into torture. Moreover, Roth criticizes the Bush administration’s detention of American citizens and other non-Americans in prisons such as Guantanamo Bay without probable cause or sufficient evidence. In general, the author’s use of a critical tone when analyzing of the Bush administration make him less credible. Overall, this article will support the thesis that claims the practice of torture is unethical and
Morgenthau said that “International politics, like all politics, is a struggle for power.” The world of global politics is dynamic where every action results in a complex outcome. International relations are affected by sovereign states, militias, terrorists, strategic alliances and global organizations. However, there is uncertainty in the world due to natural disasters, environmental changes, economic instability and geographic, as well as demographic changes. In order to process the intricate global dynamics, power is distributed through the system of polarity. Polarity is the state of having opposite or contradictory opinions or ideas. Three types of polar systems exist: unipolar, bipolar and multipolar.
Los partidos políticos han existido desde que existe la vida o obra política. Aunque las condiciones políticas hayan sido otras han estado ahí, antes se llamaban facciones, banderías, camarillas, etc. Se puede decir que “mientas haya diferencia en el modo de ser humano, y siempre las habrá, habrá partidos”(1). Mientras haya desconfianza y diferentes intereses económicos, políticos y sociales, van a ver partidos políticos. Los partidos políticos son instrumentos usados para la lucha constante de clases. Existen muchas diferentes definiciones para los partidos políticos pero la definición mas concreta la dice Andrés Serra Rojas, y afirma que “Un partido político se constituye por un grupo de hombres y mujeres, que son ciudadanos en el pleno ejercicio de sus derechos cívicos y que legalmente se organizan en forma permanente para representar a una parte de la comunidad social, con el propósito de elaborar y ejecutar una plataforma política y un programa nacional con un equipo gubernamental”(1).
Polarization can be described as “An intense commitment to a candidate, a culture, or an ideology that sets people in one group definitively apart from people in another rival group” (Kernell & Smith 494). Two distinct political parties without any overlapping policies may make it easier for the voter to identify with a party. However, party polarization has a hidden cost which is only evident when politicians of these parties are elected to office. Party polarization leads to an inefficient government and at the end of the day, the voters suffer as their preferred policies are stalled in the House of Representatives and Congress respectively. Polarization creates two conflicting ideologies and an unwillingness to negotiate that eventually leads to government failure. Thus, from the façade it may seem as if the voters are the beneficiaries of party polarization but in reality, society as a whole suffers.