Polarization: Addressing Populism

The School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University hosted a two-day conference to debate and discuss polarization both on campus and in American society. William Galston and William Kristol discussed how pluralism and American institutions can address the challenge of populism.

About the Speakers

William A. Galston is the Ezra K. Zilkha Chair and Senior Fellow in the Brookings Institution’s Governance Studies Program. Prior to January 2006, he was the Saul Stern Professor and Acting Dean at the School of Public Policy, University of Maryland, director of the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, and founding director of the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE). Galston was Deputy Assistant to President Clinton for Domestic Policy from 1993-1995.

William Kristol is a founding director of Defending Democracy Together, an educational and advocacy organization dedicated to defending America’s liberal democratic norms, principles and institutions. Kristol was a founder of The Weekly Standard in 1995 and edited the influential magazine for over two decades. Kristol served in senior positions in the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations.

About the Series

The polarized and compartmentalized intellectual climate on American campuses both mirrors and contributes to similar maladies in American civic life.

To examine the problem and begin to discuss possible solutions both at the level of the campus and society, Arizona State University’s School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership, together with its partners in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, is hosting a lecture series and conference, “Polarization and Civil Disagreement: Confronting America’s Civic Crisis.” You can also watch discussions and join the conversation on Facebook.

WATCH: See the full list of episodes of “Polarization: A Civic Crisis”