Perceptions of extremism among the American public and elected officials

Abstract

Democracies face rising concerns about extremism. At the same time, citizens and political actors define extremism in different ways with different consequences. In light of this, what do American citizens and elected officials consider to be extreme, and what political penalties are associated with extreme behavior and beliefs? To answer these questions, we rely on three surveys, two of the American public and one with American elected officials. Respondents' open-ended definitions of extremism and two conjoint experiments suggest that Americans do have ideas about extremism that correspond to research and theorizing about democracy – focusing, for example, on spatial extremity and an unwillingness to listen to others. However, the use of these standards is slanted in favor of one's own political position and does not indicate a robust recognition or rejection of many normatively troubling forms of extremism.