History PlayingWith / TheHorseshoeEffect

* '''Parodied''': Party A and Party B attend a rally with politicians and thugs on each side looking and acting the exact same with the only difference between them being the logos they wear.

* '''Played for Drama''': The politicians on each parties find themselves lost as they find themselves agreeing with their nominal enemy more and more.

'''Basic Trope''': Two groups purport to be ideological opponents, and yet have numerous beliefs in common. NotSoDifferent as applied to political ideology.

* '''Enforced''': The creators of ''The West Trope'' had intended the show's political landscape to be highly diverse in reflection of the complexity of real-life politics. However, for fear of inciting controversy, [[ExecutiveMeddling the executives restrict their characters to expressing political opinions within a very narrow political spectrum]]; ergo, even political opponents end up being NotSoDifferent by default.

* '''Subverted''': Party A and Party B claim to be viciously opposed to each other. Close inspection of Party A's manifesto reveals that their platform is very similar to Party B's. However, this is a clever ploy by the leader of Party A to make their platform sound more palatable to Party B, so that they can join them in coalition [[TheMole and then start subverting Party B from within.]]

** While ideological true believers dominate the parties' respective rank and file, their respective leaders and decision-makers are relatively levelheaded, moderate politicians.

* '''Zig Zagged''': The Parties use similar tactics and promote similar positions, but that's only for {{pragmatic|Villainy}} short-term purposes while the two have very opposing long-term goals, but in practice their ideologies would result in a FullCircleRevolution that leads to the same thing anyway in practice.

** A third party, Party C, builds a large support base by highlighting the similarities between Party A and Party B and presenting itself as [[TakeAThirdOption the only real alternative]] to people frustrated by either.
* '''Defied''': Party A and B, Alice and Bob more than anybody else, flat-out reject any claims that they're similar by pointing out that their end goals are incompatible and any similarities are just the result of them opposing the same status quo, which is a given for anyone opposing the current order.

* '''Played for Drama''': The politicians on each parties find themselves lost as they find themselves agreeing with their enemy more and more.

* '''Justified''': Both parties hate the same government, so of course they would hold the same positions needed to take it down.
* '''Inverted''': Party A and Party B are allied with each other and claim to be working towards the same goals, but are in fact opposed on almost every issue.
* '''Subverted''': Party A and Party B claim to be viciously opposed to each other. Close inspection of Party A's manifesto reveals that their platform is very similar to Party B's. However, this is a clever ploy by the leader of Party A to make their platform sound more palatable to Party B, so that they can join them in coalition and then start subverting Party B from within.
* '''Double Subverted''': ... but even after the ploy is successful and Party A joins Party B in coalition, the leader of Party A is forced to admit that he agrees with the leader of Party B on numerous political issues.

* '''Zig Zagged''': The Parties make use of similar tactics and promote similar positions, but that's only for pragmatic short run purposes while the two have very opposing long term goals, but in practice their ideologies would result in a FullCircleRevolution that leads to the same thing anyway in practice.

* '''Enforced''': The creators of ''The West Trope'' had intended the show's political landscape to be highly diverse in reflection of the complexity of real life politics. However, for fear of inciting controversy, the executives restrict their characters to expressing political opinions within a very narrow political spectrum; ergo, even political opponents end up being NotSoDifferent by default.
* '''Lampshaded''': "Seems like the more different these politicians get from each other, the more they start to look the same."

* '''Defied''': Party A and B flat out reject any claims that they're similar by pointing out that their end goals are incompatible and any similarities are just the result of them opposing the same status quo, which is a given for anyone opposing the current order.
* '''Discussed''': The protagonists do a run down of the beliefs of the parties and find many similarities in their supposedly different economic, political and social end goals.

* '''Reconstructed''': The parties decide to work out their differences and use their strengths to form a syncretic and new ideology based off their old ones and manage to topple the government with a broad appeal.
* '''Played For Laughs''': [[TheButterBattleBook "We eat our bread with the butter side down, while they ear their bread with the butter side up"]]
* '''Played For Drama''': The politicians on each parties find themselves lost as they find themselves agreeing with their enemy more and more.

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%% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
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* '''Justified''': The Party's hate the same government, so of course they would hold the same positions needed to take it down.

* '''Exploited''': The drama holds a centrist bias and simplifies its extreme opponents as the same people as a sort of propaganda.

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* '''Defied''': Party A and B flat out reject any claims that they're similar by pointing out that their end goals are incompatible and any similarities are just the result of them

* '''Justified''': ???

* '''Parodied''': ???
* '''Zig Zagged''': ???

* '''Invoked''': ???
* '''Exploited''': ???
* '''Defied''': ???
* '''Discussed''': ???
* '''Conversed''': ???

Back to TheHorseshoeEffect.

%%* '''Implied''': ???
%%* '''Deconstructed''': ???
%%* '''Reconstructed''': ???
%%* '''Played For Laughs''': ???
%%* '''Played For Drama''': ???

* '''Straight''': The popular political drama ''The West Trope'' features Party A and Party B, claim to be viciously opposed to one another, and yet they share numerous attitudes and goals (although neither would ever admit it).
* '''Exaggerated''': Party A's manifesto is literally identical to Party B's, just with every instance of "Party B" replaced by "Party A".

* '''Straight''': The popular political drama ''Alice and Bob'' features Party A and Party B, claim to be viciously opposed to one another, and yet they share numerous attitudes and goals (although neither would ever admit it).

* '''Enforced''': The creators of ''Alice and Bob'' had intended the show's political landscape to be highly diverse in reflection of the complexity of real life politics. However, for fear of inciting controversy, the executives restrict their characters to expressing political opinions within a very narrow political spectrum; ergo, even political opponents end up being NotSoDifferent by default.

* '''Subverted''': ???
* '''Double Subverted''': ???