Why is there a much bigger split between Sefardim and Ashkenzim and not, say, between Sefardim and people who lived in Bavel? The distance between Spain, and say, Israel should have been big enough to make it hard to come to a consensus among their poskim as to a common psak.
Answer
I think the main issue is not how close/far they were from one another, but who was in charge. By and large, Sepharadim were under Muslim rule, which allowed them freedoms that were not given to Ashkenazim by their Christian overlords. It was more of an Iron Curtain barrier than a distance barrier.
One might also note the consistency with which Sepharadim followed the same Posekim, as contrasted with the many upstart communities in Ashkenaz that followed local Rabbeim whenever it was too difficult to send communications long distances.
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