Political Polarization

Jost's Model of Political Affiiliation

Two dimensions: Attitudes toward social change; and Attitudes toward inequality

On Stability of the Left-Right Spectrum: Mill and Emerson

Mill: It is "commonplace" to have "a party of order or stability and a party of progress or reform."

Emerson: "The two parties which divide the state, the party of conservatism and that of innovation, have disputed the possession of the world ever since it was made."

Polarization

The division of society into mutually distrustful political camps in which political identity becomes a social identity

Tribalism

individuals subjectively perceive each of the following:

1. Affiliation defined by clear social boundaries

2. the existence of one or more groups of clearly-defined outsiders;

3. a zero-sum competition for resources (power, status, money, etc.) among the groups

4. ingroup loyalty as the paramount value in the competition

Party Sorting

-Correlation between ideology and political party

-Data: American National Election Studies

-Spearman's correlation coefficient of two 7- point ordinal variables: party and ideology

Political Sectarianism

the tendency to adopt a moralized identification with one political group and against another, motivated by religion

Othering

view or treat (a person or group of people) as intrinsically different from and alien to oneself.

Cross-Cutting Cleavages

Divisions within society that cut across demographic categories to produce groups that are more heterogeneous or different

Mega-Identity

multiple social identities reinforce and magnify each other (liberals are poc, republicans are Christian)

Moralization

The process through which preferences are converted into values

Causes of Moralization

1. Ideological party sorting

2. Partisan mass media

3. Elite influence

Possible Interventions

1. Correcting misperceptions

2. Reforming social media algorithms

3. Addressing elite hostility