Editing Openai/696da7f9-7e00-800e-821b-a23fbdde6b12 (section)

=== 2) Deepening political polarization and erosion of trust ===

Problem: Ideological and affective polarization makes compromise difficult, fuels distrust in institutions, and raises the risk of political violence and democratic dysfunction.
What to do: adopt electoral reforms that reduce primary extremism and incentive for partisan purity — e.g., open or top-two primaries, ranked-choice voting for multi-candidate races, nonpartisan redistricting (see below), and sustained civics/media literacy in schools. Improve transparency and moderation incentives on social platforms, and strengthen bipartisan civic forums and local deliberative bodies to rebuild trust. (Pew research documents rising polarization and falling institutional trust.) Pew Research Center<ref>{{cite web|title=Pew Research Center|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/topic/politics-policy/political-parties-polarization/political-polarization/|publisher=Pew Research Center|access-date=2026-01-20}}</ref>