From Consensus to Conflict: America’s Dangerous Political Spiral

The assassination of Charlie Kirk reopens a dark chapter in American political life: the normalization of violence as a political tool. What is striking is not only the tragedy itself, but the parabola that has led the United States from being a society of “non-politics” to one marked by polarization and hatred.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Republicans and Democrats were often accused of being almost the same party. Both competed for the centrist voter, and their positions overlapped on many crucial issues. Figures such as George H. W. Bush, Michael Dukakis, Bob Dole or even Bill Clinton could have been imagined on the opposite ticket without shaking the system. The game was about moderation, about attracting the suburban middle class, not about radical visions.

It is worth remembering that in those same years Europe was living through more intense ideological ferment. The political spectrum here still included strong communist or socialist parties, while in the U.S. such options were essentially absent. American politics, for decades, seemed to be the land of compromise — sometimes even to the point of boredom.

Today, the landscape could not be more different. Political debate has radicalized, and confrontation has turned into hostility. The assault on Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021, showed images more typical of countries where democracy is fragile or contested.  In June 2025, a Democratic congresswoman was shot and killed in Minneapolis together with her husband, while another lawmaker was seriously injured in the same attack. The current president Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt during the campaign, and now Kirk’s killing adds a new chapter to this spiral of violence.

This transformation is not only an American problem. The United States remains a central actor in the global order, and its internal divisions reverberate worldwide. The inability to keep rivalry within the bounds of peaceful competition undermines the credibility of democracy itself and offers a dangerous example to other nations where institutions are weaker.

How can the U.S. emerge from this climate of hatred and violence? The answer cannot lie in repression alone, nor in the illusion of returning to the consensus politics of the past. It requires rebuilding trust in institutions, restoring the value of compromise, and recognizing the legitimacy of political opponents. Without this cultural shift, every election risks becoming not just a contest of ideas, but a battle for survival — with consequences that extend far beyond America’s borders.

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