The Negative Impact of Polarization on Democracy

The political developments in many countries have shown that political polarization, which is defined as the ideological distance between opposing political camps, is one of the reasons for the democratic recession. Yet not every form of polarization is harmful to democratic processes. The most perilous form of polarization for democracy is the one based on identity issues, because by its very nature it has the greatest potential to become toxic. Such conditions characterize many countries in the OSCE region. Societies, therefore, need new ways to counteract polarization.