The Implications of Our Polarized Politics

Abstract

AbstractThis final chapter discusses the consequences of our increasingly polarized politics. The chapter begins by advocating taking context seriously in the study of public opinion and political behavior. Public opinion and political behavior are conditional upon context. The chapter argues we must account for the broader political and social contexts if we with understand public opinion and political behavior. It moves on to discuss how polarization might affect democratic accountability. People must be willing to sanction members of their own party to hold them accountable and yet they are less likely to do so in polarized contexts. However, there is robust evidence that incumbents’ fortunes still rise and fall on the state of the economy, which suggests the electorate still holds politicians accountable for their performance. The chapter concludes with some thoughts about potential directions for future research.