Many posts have discussed partisan polarization and political violence.
Although Americans are most likely to name road accidents and crime as the two biggest threats to their personal safety, no other population in the world is more likely to identify politics as a safety concern.
According to a 2026 Lloyd's Register Foundation World Risk Poll report, one in 10 U.S. adults identify politics as the greatest source of risk to their personal safety when asked an open-ended question. This is up from 6% in both 2021 and 2023 and 10 times the global average of 1% across 140 countries.
The U.S. statistically ties with Hungary (at 9%, measured several months before the recent election) for the highest percentage of adults identifying politics as their top safety concern. Other countries with relatively high percentages of mentions include Serbia, Latvia and Lithuania (at 6% each) and Slovakia, Russia, Myanmar, Spain and Israel (all at 5%).
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Polarization unites these responses, whether people express it directly or indirectly. Many Democrats cite the current administration, while many Republicans point to the Democratic Party — both indirect demonstrations of polarization. However, others from across the political spectrum name polarization and the wider political climate directly when thinking about risks to their safety:
“I would have to say the state of polarization of the American people.” (Republican, 54, Male)
“I would say political extremism. I don't have a lot of personal risk, but I do feel the biggest risk is people that are fanatical about their position and that they could be violent.” (Independent, 42, Male)
“The political situation has a lot to do with the fact whether if I am safe or not. I am concerned where we're going or might go.” (Democrat, 69, Female)
