A tiny shift toward moderation in one political party can cause a sudden and total collapse of extremism in the opposing party.
Polarization operates as a fragile feedback loop where each side reacts to the radicalization of the other. Most political observers believe that anger is a permanent state that only grows over time. The math shows that extremism is a mutual equilibrium that can be broken by a small change in a single electorate. Moderation is an exportable quality that can force the other side to move back toward the center. This discovery offers a glimmer of hope for repairing deeply divided democratic systems.
Mutual Party Extremism
SSRN · 6379558
With four political candidates competing first in two primaries and then in a general election, even a modestly polarized electorate can sustain (in equilibrium) much more extremist candidates. However, a party can sustain extremism only if the other side is extreme, too. A small moderation of one side's voting electorate can trigger a discontinuous collapse of candidate extremism on both sides-a "moderation export" effect. The converse is also true: minute increases in voter polarization on the