Comparative studies place the Republican Party on the far right of the Western political spectrum and the Democrats closer to the center. Trump may carry some blame for the combustible atmosphere surrounding Washington, but the problems run deeper, down to the aging pillars of the American political experiment. Citing different models found in other advanced democracies, a growing cohort of experts fault both the American two-party system and the electoral politics it engenders. An angry, conspiratorial brand of politics backed by a minority of voters captured half of the two-party system. But the entire architecture of the American electoral system disincentivizes political splintering.

Source: Washington Post February 16, 2021 04:52 UTC