Griffiths Article on a National Divorce in America Published in The Hill
September 26, 2025
The Hill
“An American divorce will not be peaceful,” written by Professor of Political Science Ryan Griffiths, was published in The Hill. Following is an excerpt:
The truth is that a national divorce would require a dangerous unmixing and re-sorting of Americans. Imagine trying to draw a new map that is coherent yet still satisfies the greatest number of people.
In a hyper-polarized environment, there would be security dilemmas, stranded populations and refugees on the run. Each side would strive to get what assets they could, and there would be no law or police force to stop them.
Americans are right to worry about the country’s increasing polarization and political violence. In the immediate aftermath of Kirk’s murder, concerns over civil war spiked in the national consciousness. And the antagonism is worsened when political leaders take a partisan position on the violence and blame the other side.
The only workable solution is to take action that mitigates this growing schism. That things will get worse is not a foregone conclusion, and the potential for reversing course is not only possible but necessary.
It’s important to remember that Americans have more in common than they may realize. The term affective polarization underscores this phenomenon, where individuals on the political wings tend to perceive their differences as far greater than they are in reality.
In Other News
Griffiths also wrote a piece on civil war and polarization titled “How might future historians explain the events that led to a second civil war?” that was published by the Albany Times Union.
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