La polarisation comme stratégie politique : lorsque pragmatisme et idéologie vont de pair

Abstract

This paper explores the notion of polarization from the angle of a political strategy that has been deliberately implemented by the left wing of the Democratic Party in order to radically overhaul the latter’s ideology and, in so doing, present the American electorate with a real political alternative. Indeed, we show that, under the aegis of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, the contemporary American left denounces the political class’ lack of representativity towards the electorate and proposes polarization as a remedy for the endemic disaffection of the party’s electoral base. Against the strategy of moderation touted by the centrist wing of the Democratic Party, the left intends to reassert a clear Democratic identity, one that would be firmly rooted in a populist, class-war rhetoric.

Keywords

• ideology
• Bernie Sanders
• Democratic Party
• polarization
• electoral strategy.