How the Diploma Divide Is Polarizing American Politics with David Hopkins

"Many people assume that today’s polarized political environment means that voters rarely change parties, but in fact both the Democrats and Republicans are undergoing important transformations in their mass membership and approaches to governing. The Democratic Party is now the favored political home of college-educated citizens who prefer expert-led, culturally progressive governance. The Republicans, meanwhile, have gained support among working-class voters with nationalist and populist sympathies who have become suspicious of social institutions led by white-collar professionals. Political differences increasingly fall along the lines of educational experience rather than economic class both in the US and around the world, producing an emerging global culture war that leaves few corners of our lives free from political conflict."

David A. Hopkins is an associate professor of political science at Boston College, where he has taught since 2010. He is the author or co-author of four books on American politics. Professor Hopkins has regularly written about contemporary political issues for news publications such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Vox, and Bloomberg Opinion. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.