Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>The chapter introduces the central arguments of The Republican Civil War, including a summary of each chapter. It argues that the civil war is centered on disagreements that run far deeper than policy differences or priorities. It is actually about the meaning and purpose of politics. For old guard Republicans, politics is governing, especially solving local problems. For the new MAGA-aligned insurgents, the purpose of politics is to affirm and express an authentic conservative identity, grounded in social class and place—and oriented around national causes and leaders. These findings suggest that America’s political future may be driven as much by intra-party conflict as it is by polarization. And they speak to larger scholarly literatures on identity politics, polarization, the diploma divide, and rural consciousness.</jats:p>