When Donald Trump takes office as president for the second time later this month, he’ll become leader of a country that some now argue is more politically and ideologically divided than at any point since the American civil war.

In recent decades in particular, US politics has become less about differing opinions and more about fundamentally conflicting identities and worldviews across party lines.

This alignment amplifies partisanship and emotional investment in political outcomes, leading to a cycle of division – as seen in heated “culture war” debates around issues like immigration.

Frank Sharry was an immigration adviser to Kamala Harris’s campaign and founder and former executive director of the immigration reform group America’s Voice.

Sharry argues that while immigration was recently a winning issue for Democrats, it has now become a weakness, as the party has followed progressive advocates too far to the left. At the same time, many voters may have squirmed at Trump’s rhetoric and radical immigration proposals, yet he won in part because they at least saw him as someone who took the problem seriously, he says.

Join us to hear from Sharry, as well as our panel, who will discuss whether extreme polarisation and the rise of culture war issues like immigration could affect the UK and other countries to the same extent, and how we can avoid following the US down this dangerous path.

Panel:

• Frank Sharry, Immigration Adviser to Kamala Harris's Campaign and Founder and Former Executive Director of America's Voice
• Maria Sobolewska, Professor of Political Science at the University of Manchester
• Sunder Katwala, Director of British Future
• Bobby Duffy, Director of The Policy Institute at King's College London (Chair)