In Polarization: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford University Press, 2019), Nolan McCarty synthesizes what scholars know and don't know about the origins, development, and implications of rising political conflicts in the United States. While the current political climate feels like extreme views are becoming more popular, McCarty also shows that, contrary to conventional belief, the 2016 election was a natural outgrowth of 40 years of polarized politics, rather than a significant break with the past. He concludes the book reflecting on the election and presidency of Donald Trump in the context of polarization.

McCarty is Susan Dod Brown Professor of Politics and Public Affairs at Princeton University.