affective polarisation , negative partisanship , social identity , measurement
Abstract:
This article-based dissertation examines how citizens relate negatively to political out-groups and argues that political hostility should not be treated as a single phenomenon. It distinguishes three dimensions: the nature of hostility, particularly strong out-party dislike versus negative identification; its object, especially political elites versus ordinary supporters; and its expression, from diffuse negative affect to hostile and illiberal attitudes.
Across three papers, the dissertation develops and tests this differentiated approach using panel and comparative survey data. The first paper shows that opposition to a political party can constitute a meaningful social identity distinct from both positive party identification and out-party dislike, and that negative identification is independently associated with hostility towards out-voters. The second demonstrates that citizens distinguish between political elites and their supporters, meaning that hostility towards parties cannot automatically be treated as equivalent to hostility towards voters. It further shows that negative partisans are especially prone to generalise hostility from elites to ordinary citizens. The third develops a four-fold typology combining strong out-party dislike and negative identification. These dimensions overlap imperfectly and have distinct correlates, although both are associated with hostile and illiberal attitudes, and their combination constitutes the most troubling profile.
Together, the findings show that the democratic consequences of political hostility depend not only on how strongly citizens reject the other side, but also on how that rejection is organised, whom it targets, and whether it becomes connected to identity, exclusion, and illiberalism.
Dieser Eintrag ist Teil der Universitätsbibliographie.
Das Dokument wird vom Publikationsserver der Universitätsbibliothek Mannheim bereitgestellt.
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
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