Final answer:
A political crisis can occur when divisive issues underpin leadership, with polarization and the rise of strong presidents or populist leaders challenging democracy.
Step-by-step explanation:
A political crisis occurs when the emergence of an unusually powerful and divisive issue seriously undermines the current ruling political party's leadership. In many modern democracies, party discipline tends to be weaker, and the rise of strong presidents or populist leaders can present significant challenges to the functionality of democracy. Polarization, a systemic threat to politics, is often seen when political actors and voters become increasingly divided between two extremes on major issues or positions, leading to greater partisanship.
In legislatures, polarization can threaten the ability to effectively govern, causing gridlock where support is only provided by co-partisans, and bipartisan cooperation becomes a rarity. The increase in polarization within the United States government, for instance, has resulted from the parties adhering to more extreme and partisan positions, moving away from the bipartisan cooperation that was more common in the latter part of the 20th century.
The political landscape is further complicated when traditional parties fail to adapt to societal changes or to represent the wide ideological spectrum of voters, as seen in countries like Venezuela and Peru. This can lead to the rise of populist leaders and potentially undermine the party system. Finally, the balance between majority and minority politics is disturbed during periods of divided government, making it difficult for political parties to fulfill campaign promises and for the government to function smoothly due to reduced cooperation between legislative and executive branches.