The Origins and Consequences of Affective Polarization in the United States

Author's Introduction Our article outlines the need to bring together the literatures on personal and cultural identity – which have thus far been disconnected from one another. As one develops a sense of personal identity (e.g., goals, values, and beliefs), does one also develop a sense of cultural identity (e.g., how the individual and the group are prioritized, as well as attachment to and affiliation with one's ethnic, cultural, and national group)? This question is becoming increasingly important as Western countries become more and more diverse and multicultural, and as the world becomes more and more international and global. Individuals of European descent in the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, for example, are no longer insulated from other cultural streams. A generation ago, White Americans, for example, held dominion over the United States and over what ‘American culture’ was. With the advent of mass immigration of ethnic and cultural minorities, as well as globalizing technologies such as email, video conferencing, instant messaging, and virtual chatrooms, we are no longer insulated by our borders. Each of us is a citizen of the world, and this is becoming truer and truer over time. Thus, cultural identity and personal identity are increasingly likely to be related – and the ways in which they influence one another needs to be studied. How does my cultural position in my society (and in the world) influence who I am as a person? How do my cultural beliefs and worldviews influence my personal goals, values, and beliefs? Author Recommends Côté, James E., and Levine, Charles G. (2002). Identity formation, agency and culture: A social psychological synthesis . Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. This book discusses personal identity within the context of culture, and it clearly sets the stage for a discussion of how personal identity is affected by cultural processes. Arnett, Jeffrey Jensen. (2002). The psychology of globalization. American Psychologist , 57 , 774–783. This article discusses the ways in which globalization affects the personal and cultural identities of people around the world. In particular, the article stresses that individuals will be exposed to various cultural streams even if they never leave their countries of origin and do not come into direct contact with people from other parts of the world. The mass exportation of Western television programs, music, dress styles, fashion, and beliefs is leading people to ‘acculturate’ to Western values and behaviors. Bosma, Harke A., and Kunnen, E. Saskia. (2001). Determinants and mechanisms in ego identity development: A review and synthesis. Developmental Review , 21 , 39–66. This article reviews the ways in which personal identity is developed in ‘individualist’ and ‘collectivist’ contexts. In more individualistic contexts, personal identity is developed through active exploration of different alternatives, commitment to one or more of these, and an in‐depth evaluation of the commitment that has been made. In more collectivistic contexts, personal identity is developed through identification with the goals, values, and beliefs of significant others. This article was one of the first to address personal identity more broadly than through a Western lens. Matsumoto, David. (2003). The discrepancy between consensual‐level culture and individual‐level culture. Culture and Psychology , 9 , 89–95. This article argues that individualism and collectivism (and related constructs such as independence and interdependence) operate differently at the between‐individual level than at the between‐culture level. When studying the interface between personal identity and cultural identity, only individual‐level conceptions of cultural identity should be used. National‐level differences in cultural identity constructs tend to be fairly small – suggesting that most of the differences are between individual people. Schwartz, Seth J., Luyckx, Koen, and Vignoles, Vivian L. (editors, forthcoming). Handbook of identity theory and research . New York, NY: Springer. This forthcoming handbook will consist of state‐of‐the‐art summaries and reviews from some of the leading identity scholars in the world. Chapters will focus on many different domains of identity, including personal and cultural identity but also including national, religious/spiritual, sexual, gender, social, and vocational identity. The book will be an important resource both for students and for professors interested in the field of identity. Sample Syllabus Please add all or a portion of a syllabus that might adopt your article and present it in a broader context to the classroom. Eg. Topics for Lecture & Discussion Week 1 – Overview (What is Identity) Cote, James E. 1996. Sociological perspectives on identity formation: The culture‐identity link and identity capital. Journal of Adolescence . 19: 417–428. A framework for understanding identity formation in an interdisciplinary fashion by addressing the relationship between culture and identity. Grotevant, Harold D. 1987. Toward a process model of identity formation. Journal of Adolescent Research . 2: 203–222. Proposes a model for conceptualizing identity formation that is developmental, contextual and life‐span in scope. Four major components are as follows: individual characteristics, contexts of development, identity process in specific domains, and interdependencies among the identity domains. Weeks 2–4 Neo‐Eriksonian Identity Perspectives (Identity Status, Identity Style, Et Cetera) Berzonsky, Michael D. 1989. Identity style: Conceptualization and measurement. Journal of Adolescent Research . 4: 268–282. A conceptualization of three styles of personal problem solving and decision making – and information orientation that actively seeks and evaluates information, a normative orientation that focuses on internalized conventions, and a diffuse orientation that avoids action until affective cues dictate behavioral reactions. This study measures a validity of a self‐report measure of these styles. Meeus, Wim. 1996. Toward a psychosocial analysis of adolescent identity: An evaluation of the epigenetic theory (Erikson) and the identity status model (Marcia). Hurrelmann, Klaus (Ed.); Hamilton, Stephen F (Ed). (1996). Social problems and social contexts in adolescence: Perspectives across boundaries . (pp. 83–104). xiv, 299 pp. Hawthorne, NY: Aldine de Gruyter. This chapter discusses Erikson's identity theory and Marcia's identity status model, with application to adolescent identity. The author evaluates their empirical validity. Weeks 5–7 Social Identity Perspectives Worchel, Stephen; Morales, J. Francisco; Paez, Dario; Deschamps, Jean‐Claude (Eds.). 1998. Social identity: International perspectives. Social identity: International perspectives. xix, 263 pp. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. This books brings together the latest empirical and theoretical findings in the field of

Countries are dynamic social formations in which there is a constant clash and interplay between the forces of change and continuity. Capturing the essence of these complex social totalities necessitates a holistic approach that overwhelmingly concentrates on the entire political, economic, and ideological spheres. However, the vast majority of studies on Iran tend to focus solely on the dialectical relationship between reformists and conservatives when the current social dynamics of the country are analyzed. The examinations based on such a binary dichotomy not only ignore the impact of economics and ideology, but also fail to discern the essence of Iranian politics divided between parallel elected and non-elected institutions. The Islamic Republic of Iran has consolidated and institutionalized its Islamic revolution by establishing organizations, such as Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and revolutionary foundations (or the so-called Bonyads) that are functioning in the economic, political, and ideological spheres. The para-governmental character of these organizations blurs the line between public and private spheres of the country; therefore, revealing their functions and roles enables a better understanding of wider Iranian society.In this sense, Eric Lob's Iran's Reconstruction Jihad provides fresh insights into Iran since the institution that the book investigates has functioned as a revolutionary organization and later as a government ministry in the Islamic Republic. At the same time, the study enables readers to understand the parallel and dual institutional character of the Iranian state. Regarding the political, cultural, and economic functions of the Revolutionary Jihad (RJ), the book analytically represents the wider social dynamics of Iran through the political, cultural, and economic functions of the RJ. As Lob points out, RJ's organizational trajectory mirrors the Islamic Republic's broader evolution in the last four decades, reflecting (a) social changes and continuities, (b) state-society relations, (c) the Islamic Republic's centralization, consolidation, and state building, and, finally, (d) Iran's bureaucratic institutionalization and constraints/opportunities of associational life (335).Lob has produced a comprehensive study on the important yet understudied revolutionary organization and ministry. Revolutionary Jihad is a long-standing institution with its roots in the shah's regime, and through RJ's history Lob has managed to provide an overview of the Islamic Republic of Iran with a spectacular focus on the transformations in the political landscape. Lob's contribution to the scholarship lies in the fact that this is the first book-length study in English that analyzes the RJ based on primary sources. In order to explain the political and social changes and continuities that have transpired in the Islamic Republic of Iran since the revolution, the author conducted 130 interviews between 2009 and 2012 in Iran and Lebanon with government officials, revolutionary activists, war veterans, and development experts affiliated with the RJ. Lob's meticulous work, and his institutionalist approach to the history of RJ, explain the organization's role in the success of the Islamic revolution, the state's development policies, and the mobilization of the population.In the book's introduction Lob demonstrates that Iranian state differs from its Arab counterparts in the region in the sense that it is not fully based on coercive mechanisms in establishing legitimacy. In this regard, while the Arab Spring led to the overthrow of Arab leaders, who had come to power during military coups a generation earlier, the 2009 Green Movement in Iran was controlled by the revolutionary Iranian rulers. Therefore, the author asks, “If coercion did not fully explain the persistence of the Iranian state then what did?” (3). Concordantly, the book describes how revolutionary activists at the grassroots level and political officials at the state level have instrumentalized rural development and other noncoercive tactics to consolidate and maintain the power and influence of the Islamic State. In this sense, Revolutionary Jihad, as an organization instrumentalized for rural development, power consolidation, and overseas policies of the Islamic Republic, presents the most suitable case to understand the essence of the Iranian State. Established as a revolutionary organization in 1979, RJ has been active in (a) improving rural infrastructure, such as constructing bridges, roads and electricity systems and developing agricultural base; (b) determining political outcomes through political activities during election campaigns; and (c) propagating revolutionary and religious values through cultural and educational activities in the rural areas where almost the half of the Iranian population lives. In this context, Lob's detailed account of RJ also reflects state-society relations, wartime operations, bureaucratic centralization, factionalism, foreign policy, and cultural politics in Iran. In addition, the book goes beyond an analysis of Iran, since it provides valuable insights into revolutionary outcomes in other regions. Furthermore, with an analysis of the role of RJ in the Islamic Republic's foreign policy, the book also sheds light on further regional politics.Within this scope, the book examines RJ in nine chapters, which are organized chronologically and thematically. While the first six chapters put forth a detailed historical account of RJ and wider social transformations in the Islamic Republic, the following two chapters elucidate the instrumentalization of the organization in the foreign policymaking of Iran. The book's final chapter, on the other hand, not only critically elaborates on the concepts of jihadi culture and management, but also depicts the current political environment in Iran.In this sense, this book significantly advances our understanding of the Islamic Republic of Iran as it meticulously documents critical junctures in the history of RJ. Whenever Iran is concerned, there is a common tendency to believe that 1979 was a turning point that transformed all the social structures from top to bottom. However, as Lob's detailed account reveals in the first chapter, there are rooted continuities between Shah's Iran and the Islamic Republic. Through dating back the roots of RJ to 1962, starting with the shah's White Revolution, Lob identifies the continuities of rural and development policies between the shah and the Islamic Republic.As mentioned earlier, examining the parallel and dual institutional structure of the Iranian state is crucial for grasping the deeper social dynamics of the country. In chapter 2, the author's account of the official establishment of RJ as a revolutionary organization parallel to the Ministry of Agriculture in 1979 shows how in the early days of the Islamic Republic this Janus-faced state structure was constructed. Moreover, by demonstrating RJ's contribution to the suppression of leftist factions in the revolutionary process, Lob provides fresh insights into how the Islamic Republic instrumentalized revolutionary organizations to consolidate its political power.It should be noted that the new revolutionary state eliminated its rivals not only through coercive mechanisms but also through its development policies. As Lob analytically argues in chapter 3, while IRGC acted as a hard power to eliminate internal and external opponents of the Islamic revolution, RJ as a soft power integrated all segments of Iranian society into the revolution with its development policies in the early post-revolutionary years. This process has resulted in the consolidation of RJ as an institutional mechanism and its transformation from a revolutionary organization into a ministry. With this analysis, Lob presents how state-making in the Islamic Republic was intertwined with revolutionary practices and institutions.In fact, the Islamic Republic consolidated its power through para-governmental organizations such as IRGC, RJ, and various Bonyads. This is why those para-governmental organizations formed the core institutional structure of the new state. Therefore, it is very interesting that RJ as a revolutionary organization was demobilized and institutionalized as a government ministry, but not as a para-governmental organization. The author examines the reasons behind this policy in chapter 4, where he concentrates on the role of factionalism in the bureaucratization of RJ. Moreover, the writer cogently argues that factionalism in the case of RJ, with its expansion and centralization as a ministry, reflects factionalism in the larger state.Even though RJ was institutionalized as a ministry, it established close connections with those other para-governmental organizations during the course of the Islamic Republic. As it is revealed by the author, RJ has used legal loopholes to establish manufacturing and construction companies through Foundation of Oppressed and War Veterans since 1986. This is a significant finding as it reflects that the division between public and private sectors or between civil and political spheres is blurred in the case of Iran. This results in the emergence of public, private, or semi-public institutions having similar functions. In chapter 5 the author correctly notes that the overlap in the duties between the Ministry of RJ and Ministry of Agriculture resulted in President Mohammad Khatami's decision to unite these two ministries in 2001. Lob demonstrates how the dual institutional structure of the Islamic Republic operated in the case of RJ. The office of the representative of the Supreme Leader, which overshadowed the office of the Minister, remained in power even after RJ had been transformed into a ministry. In fact, the RJ itself has benefited from this dual state structure to access state funds. For example, in instances when the government has not allocated sufficient funds to the RJ, it applied directly to the Supreme Leader to increase its funding.This blurred distinction between public and private sectors continued even after the RJ was transformed into a ministry. In chapter 6 Lob spells out how the RJ played a major role in political, economic, and ideological spheres of the Islamic Republic. First of all, it was an effective institution in the factional politics of Iran. For instance, during President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad's election campaign the ministry was instrumentalized to gather support for the Principlists. Second, with its developmental and populist policies, the RJ was an effective instrument of the state's social, cultural, and ideological practices. Finally, the RJ was also a major player in the economic sphere as its affiliated firms received projects and contracts through their contacts with the Ministry of Agricultural Jihad. Therefore, contextualizing the broad role of RJ provides a clearer understanding of the wider political, economic, and ideological institutional structures of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Lob's detailed account contributes to such efforts.Iran's Reconstruction Jihad also advances our understanding of the Islamic Republic's foreign policy. The examination of the foreign policy of Iran provided in chapters 7 and 8 is insightful and original, in the sense that it is not a repetition of the existing literature, which mainly concentrates on Iran's relations with the United States or the Middle East, especially the Shiʿi populated regions. In chapter 7, the author thoughtfully concentrates on Iran's (and the RJ's) relations with Africa, where Sunnis or non-Muslims form the majority of the population. In chapter 8, on the other hand, Lob concentrates on Islamic Republic's relations with Lebanon with his original and special effort to present the role of RJ in the development policies of the country. This initiative clearly indicates how Iranian foreign policy has changed with the transformation of a radical interpretation of revolution into a pragmatic understanding of it.The analysis of the RJ's developmental activities in Sub-Saharan Africa is a major piece of scholarship and contribution to the literature on Iran, since there are few studies concentrating on how Iran uses soft power in foreign policymaking. Lob, on the other hand, presents the instrumentalization of development by Iranian policymakers to reinforce the country's security by establishing diplomatic and commercial relations with Africa. Since its establishment, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been subjected to various international sanctions. Lob's examination of the Islamic Republic's relations with Africa also reveals how Iranian policymakers use relations with African states to mitigate isolation and circumvent sanctions. In this sense, the book stands out for its discussion of the importance and possibilities of South-South cooperation, as well as its limits.Even though there is an enormous literature on the Islamic Republic's relations with Lebanon, Lob was still able to produce an original contribution in chapter 8 with his specific concentration on the role of the RJ in Lebanon. The book discusses how the motivation to export revolution has resulted in RJ's policy of supporting and sponsoring Hizballah's effort to establish a similar organization. This led to the creation of Lebanese version of the RJ called Jihad al-Bina. This focus enabled the author to depict the complex relationship between Hizballah, IRGC, RJ, and Jihad al-Bina and to make remarkable contributions to the existing scholarship on Iran-Lebanon relations.One of the other crucial contributions of the book is that it traces the transformation of the cultural role of RJ and the concept of Jihad. At the last chapter, while discussing what the concept of “jihadi culture and management” means and why Iranian politicians and officials were frequently using the term, the author also presents the current political landscape in the Islamic Republic of Iran. By providing examples from politicians of different factions such as the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, President Hassan Rouhani, and the conservative Speaker of the Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the writer scrutinizes how the concept of jihadi culture is being propagated by the modern political elites. The discussion vividly reveals the rising popularity and visibility of the term “jihadi culture and management” during and after Rouhani's victory in 2013 presidential elections.In short, Lob's major piece of scholarship meticulously researches the instrumentalization of the RJ by the Islamic government to consolidate power at home and abroad. This detailed analysis of RJ as the soft power of the Iranian state also mirrors the Islamic Republic's broader evolution throughout the study. If there is a criticism of Lob's study, it is that the author indicates (in chapter 5) that even though there is rent-seeking behavior in the country the Iranian state cannot be defined as a rentier state. Therefore, he prefers to label the Islamic Republic of Iran as a developmental state. The criticism here is not related to the arguments or the findings of the author, but with his insufficient elaboration of the discussion. Both rentier state and developmental state literatures are built upon deep-rooted scholarly heritages and theoretical discussions. Therefore, describing the Iranian state as a developmental state without debating the vast literature on the topic, the author weakens his argument and therefore superficially approaches the discussion. However, the central aim of the book is not to discuss the Iranian state model, and so this criticism does not go beyond an intellectual contention.Another criticism may be directed at the analysis of the RJ's policies in Lebanon in chapter 8. The author at a certain point focuses more on Lebanon's version of RJ, instead of digging out the impact of the policies of the RJ and Iran in Lebanon. Even though he presents the complex relationship between these two organizations in the chapter, as a reader of a book structured around a specific institution, I expected to see more on the RJ's role in Lebanon. Despite these minor points of criticism, the book is a valuable resource and a comprehensive study that advances our understanding of the current political, economic, and ideological structures of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Prosociality, Political Identity, and Redistribution of Earned Income: Theory and Evidence

PARTY COHESION AND PARTY COOPERATION IN THE SWEDISH PARLIAMENT IN 1964 AND 1966*

Background: Evidence-based hospital antimicrobial stewardship interventions, such as postprescription review with feedback, prior authorization, and handshake stewardship, involve communication between stewards and frontline prescribers. Hierarchy, asymmetric responsibility, prescribing etiquette, and autonomy can obstruct high-quality communication in stewardship. Little is known about the strategies that stewards use to overcome these barriers. The objective of this study was to identify how stewards navigate communication challenges when interacting with prescribers. Methods: We conducted semistructured interviews with antimicrobial stewards recruited from hospitals across the United States. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using a flexible coding approach and the framework method. Social identity theory and role theory were used to interpret framework matrices. Results: Interviews were conducted with 58 antimicrobial stewards (25 physicians and 33 pharmacists) from 10 hospitals (4 academic medical centers, 4 community hospitals, and 2 children’s hospitals). Respondents who felt empowered in their interactions with prescribers explicitly adopted a social identity that conceptualized stewards and prescribers as being on the “same team” with shared goals (in-group orientation). Drawing on the meaning conferred via this social role identity, respondents engaged in communication strategies to build and maintain common bonds with prescribers. These strategies included moderating language to minimize defensive recommendations when delivering stewardship recommendations, aligning the goals of stewardship with the goals of the clinical team, communicating with prescribers about things other than stewardship, compromising for the sake of future interactions, and engaging in strategic face-to-face interaction. Respondents who felt less empowered in their interactions thought of themselves as outsiders to the clinical team and experienced a heightened sense of “us versus them” mentality with the perception that stewards primarily serve a gate-keeping function (ie, outgroup orientation). These respondents expressed deference to hierarchy, a reluctance to engage in face-to-face interaction, a feeling of cynicism about the impact of stewardship, and a sense of low professional accomplishment within the role. Respondents who exhibited an in-group orientation were more likely than those who did not to describe the positive impact of stewardship mentors or colleagues on their social role identity. Conclusions: The way antimicrobial stewards perceive their role and identity within the social context of their healthcare organization influences how they approach communication with prescribers. Social role identity in stewardship is shaped by the influence of mentors and colleagues, indicating the importance of supportive relationships for the development of steward skill and confidence.Funding: NoDisclosures: None

Scholars have identified a variety of mechanisms through which religion could impact vote choice in the United States. Researchers have long recognized that, like other social identities, religion is an important factor in the development of party identification. In the United States, evangelical Protestants and highly committed members of other religious traditions tend to favor the Republican Party, while seculars and low-commitment members of other religious traditions tend to favor the Democratic Party. Religion also impacts views on a variety of issues, including abortion, social welfare policy, and foreign affairs. Under the right circumstances, religious voters may incorporate these policy positions into their vote choice. Finally, a growing body of research recognizes that voters use a candidate’s religious views as a heuristic to infer partisanship, ideology, competence, trustworthiness, and a variety of other traits. Given these numerous paths of influence, it is no surprise that researchers regularly find that religion is an important factor in electoral choice. Researchers have also identified a variety of ways in which religion can impact turnout, thereby creating a second means for religion to influence American elections. Religion helps in the development of social networks and civic skills, thus reducing the costs of political participation. Religion can also be a factor in the development of sociopsychological traits such as threat, thereby facilitating mobilization. By understanding the capacity of religion to impact both turnout and electoral choice, scholars can better understand the myriad ways in which religion influences elections in the United States.

EW researchers have examined whether a legislator’s party membership may influence the kind or amount of government funds her district receives. Party membership is known to have a strong effect on the voting behavior of U.S. members of Congress (Lee, Moretti, & Butler, 2004; Albouy, 2011), but it is unclear whether party membership influences actual funding, either because of ideological differences or because of power imbalances between parties. Existing theories of distributional politics give little theoretical guidance as to how or why funding might be influenced by party membership, and empirical studies have yet to establish that party membership does make a difference at the federal level. This article investigates both theoretically and empirically how party membership of legislators in Congress may influence the distribution of federal funds in the United States. The theoretical investigation introduces two political parties to the game-theoretic legislative bargaining model of Baron and Ferejohn (1989, henceforth BF), enriching the model in a number of significant ways. First, majority status may confer greater proposal, or agenda-setting, power to legislators, increasing their access to federal funds. Second, if legislators prefer to form voting coalitions with members of the same party, members of the majority can procure additional funding through a party-coalition effect, which increases with the majority’s size. Beyond the effects due to imbalances in bargaining power, differences in ideology, or taste, between parties may mean that a district will receive a different assortment of funding types depending on the party membership of its representatives. These taste differences may also explain why members of the same party prefer forming coalitions with each other.

Reviewed by: A Vanished Ideology: Essays on the Jewish Communist Movement in the English-Speaking World in the Twentieth Century ed. by Matthew B. Hoffman and Henry F. Srebrnik Christine Elie Matthew B. Hoffman and Henry F. Srebrnik, eds., A Vanished Ideology: Essays on the Jewish Communist Movement in the English-Speaking World in the Twentieth Century (Albany: State University of New York Press 2016) Histories of the Communist Party lend themselves well to collected works. While these histories are transnational, the nature of organizing – often under circumstances of repression – make them deeply local. Following directives from [End Page 358] the USSR, Communist Parties around the world shared common ideology, but no two shared the same experiences. A Vanished Ideology is located along this intersection of local and global. Focusing specifically on Jewish Communist Party members adds fascinating complexity to the already gripping historiography of transnational leftism. In A Vanished Ideology, Matthew B. Hoffman and Henry F. Srebrnik thoughtfully curate a collection of essays on the local experiences of Jewish Communists in the English-speaking world. Central to this work are the competing identity politics that often challenged the allegiance of Jewish Communist Party members. Connecting these pieces is the pervasive issue of the primary affiliation of such Party members – often posed is the question: were they Communist Jews or were they Jewish Communists? This distinction was even more pronounced when local party members faced international schisms and debates – among the most ravenous to the Party were the rise (and subsequent Soviet criticism) of Zionism, the escalation of fascism in Europe, and ultimately the revelations of Khrushchev's secret speech in 1956. Hoffman opens the collection with his piece on the place of Yiddish-speaking Communists in the Communist Party of the United States (cpusa). He examines the role of both Jewish particularism and the forging of a distinct Jewish communist culture. Jennifer Young similarly addresses the cpusa, doing so through an analysis of the allegiance of the Jewish Peoples' Fraternal Order (jppo) and its role in forging the Jewish Communist movement. Young argues that the jppo contributed to the creation of a community that lasted far beyond its affiliation with the Communist Party. Gennady Estraikh explores Jewish Communism in the United States through the lens of Paul Novick – editor of the daily Frayhayt. Estraikh follows Novick's career and dedication to the daily from its inception in 1922 until its final edition in 1988 during which time it weathered myriad international scandals. Henry Srebrnik introduces the Communist Party of Canada (cpc) and the role of the Jewish community in fostering Jewish identity while both reacting to and resisting burgeoning Zionism. Srebrnik contends that following the 1956 Khrushchev revelations, Jewish Party members had to confront the reality that the USSR and its promised Birobidzhan region had not offered a viable safe heaven from anti-Semitism. Ester Reiter also addresses the cpc, exploring the internationalism that marked eastern European Jewish migrants as secular socialists inclined towards working-class movements. Reiter zeroes in on women's activism and confronts several challenges to Canada's left – notably the Padlock law and 1951 expulsion of the United Jewish People's Order from the Canadian Jewish Congress. Stephen M. Cullen takes us out of North America with his piece on the Communist Party of Great Britain (cpgb). Cullen argues that Jewish Party members are inaccurately painted out of the picture in Great Britain in part due to the reliance on class as the primary unit of analysis in Communist historiography. In addition, Cullen contends, there has been intentional negligence by Stalinist historiography to acknowledge the presence and contributions of Jewish Party members. Basing his work on sound recordings, Cullen "tests" his theories on Jewish presence by relying on interviews with notable Jewish members of the cpgb. Philip Mendes examines the small yet present group of Jewish Communists in Australia. Mendes argues that while they were by no means a mass, Jewish Communists (and their allies) were active participants in the Jewish community. [End Page 359] Concluding the volume, David Yoram Saks delves into the fascinating world of the Communist Party of South Africa. Saks follows the trajectory of several Jewish Communists as they achieved...

Despite a rise in identity-centric communication scholarship, there is a lack of theory and evidence regarding how media use relates to the on-going alignment between political and social identities (i.e., identity alignment). We offer a framework for theorizing this dynamic and apply it to examine the relationship between Americans’ media diets and on-going psychological alignment between political and social identities in the United States (i.e., partisan social sorting). We use data from 33,690 American respondents from three national surveys: one longitudinal (1972–2020) and two fielded in 2020. There is evidence that identity alignment (i.e., sorting) has grown over time, but only among those who are most interested and attentive to politics and media. In 2020 surveys, we find no evidence that the frequency of media use was a significant predictor of social sorting. Instead, the composition of individuals’ media diets predicted the alignment between their social and political identities.

As the United States of America becomes more socially diverse, it is more important now than ever for health care providers to become more aware of their patients' social identities. It is imperative that providers engage with their patients and see how each of them identifies personally in relation to social construction terminology. As with the terminology of human anatomy, there is a vast and diverse vocabulary concerning the anatomy of society, which is also clinically relevant to health care providers. If health care providers take the initiative to discuss how their patients identify, they can understand better how those patients experience the world, and this can significantly affect many facets of their health and health care experience. Giving respect fosters the creation of a strong relationship within which patients can share very personal and intimate information, which in turn allows health care providers the possibility of providing the best healthcare. This discussion will build upon and integrate current academic research and opinion for tangible clinical use while discussing various social and personal identities, including but not limited to race, gender, gender expression, sex, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, and physical and mental abilities. Clin. Anat. 31:136-139, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

In this article, we model and analyze the dynamic behavior of political networks, both at the individual (party member) and ideological community levels. Our study relies on public data covering 15 years of voting sessions of the House of Representatives of two diverse party system, namely, Brazil and the United States. Whereas the former is an example of a highly fragmented party system, the latter illustrates the case of a highly polarized and non-fragmented system. We characterize the ideological communities, their member polarization and how such communities evolve over time. Also, we propose a temporal ideological space model, based on temporal vertice embeddings, which allows us to assess the individual changes in ideological behavior over time, as expressed by the party members' voting patterns. Our results reveal very distinct patterns across the two case studies, in terms of both structural and dynamic properties.

Partisan affective polarization—the degree to which political party supporters dislike one another or their rival party—is on the rise in many countries, but especially the United States. Research shows or suggests that this type of polarization can have political, economic, and social consequences. For example, studies report that affective polarization can increase hiring discrimination and the propensity to dehumanize others. Many scholars are concerned that affective polarization can thwart compromise and block policies with strong support across party lines. Partisan bias refers to the individual-level measure of interparty animosity, while affective polarization is a system-level measure. Many studies focus on one or the other level, while some attempt to identify the relationship between individual-level mechanisms and aggregate trends. Scholars also study positive and negative partisanship—the constitutive parts of affective polarization—separately. Thermometer ratings are a commonly used measure, but alternative operationalizations have been developed to improve precision or capture a variety of definitions, dimensions, and scope conditions. Alternative causal hypotheses have been proposed and tested, but debates continue about their relative importance, scope conditions, and interaction. Much research has focused on the role of social and political identity in fostering group conflict. Alternatively, scholars posit that substantive policy disagreements and ideological polarization fuel partisan animosity. Independent of whether identity or ideology matters more, research suggests misperception, elite cues, radicalism, and fractionalization—on- and offline—can exacerbate rival-party dislike. An increasing number of studies focus on discriminating between alternative hypotheses and disentangling mechanisms. Practitioners and scholars explore ways to ameliorate affective polarization. While several promising approaches have been identified, there are also examples of interventions making things worse. Research shows that providing accurate information about the identity and policy preferences of rival-party supporters reduces affective polarization. Other successful examples include priming a cross-cutting identity and fostering deliberation among citizens. This bibliography outlines the literature and debates on partisan affective polarization, including its measures, effects, causes, and mitigation attempts. The term “affective polarization” can refer to many types of emotional divisions across various social groups. This bibliography centers on affective polarization among political party supporters. For simplicity, the shorthand term “affective polarization” is used instead of “partisan affective polarization.”

Candidate selection is one of the most relevant tasks of parties and has important consequences for various aspects of political representation. While previous research has addressed many important aspects of the candidate selection process, we know little about the question of which candidate characteristics are preferred by party members. We address this research gap by conducting a conjoint experiment among more than 300 local party leaders in Germany. In the experiment, potential candidates differed on various important dimensions regarding their socio-demographic background, prior political experience, local roots, and work within the political party. We find that prior political experience and engagement within the party are the most important features. However, socio-demographic characteristics and deviation from the party line also matter. These findings have implications for theories of descriptive representation as well as the impact of decentralization on party cohesiveness.

How the Greek Radical Left and Extreme Right are Perceiving Democracy: A Research Attempt at a Social Epistemological Explanation

Several scholars in the United States have recently addressed an increased partisan animosity between Democrats and Republicans, and have termed this phenomenon ‘affective polarisation’. This surge in partisan affective polarisation is perceived to be highly problematic, as it has been found to have a negative impact on the functioning of the party system and even society at large. The aim of this article is to study the concept of affective polarisation in European party systems. It introduces the Affective Polarisation Index (API) that allows for measuring and comparing levels of affective polarisation also in multiparty systems. This novel measure is applied to 22 European democracies and the United States between 2005 and 2016. The results indicate that affective polarisation is acutely present in European party systems, as partisans are often extremely hostile towards competing parties. The most affectively polarised countries are in Central Eastern and Southern Europe where the degree of affective polarisation is notably higher than it is in the United States, while Northwestern European countries are more moderate in terms of partisan feelings. Further analysis reveals that affective polarisation is significantly correlated with ideological polarisation, but the relationship between the two appears to be conditional: in some Western European political systems ideological polarisation does not lead itself to strong interparty hostility, while in Central Eastern Europe a high degree of affective polarisation can be present even in ideologically centrist party structures. These findings validate the claim that ideological and affective polarisation are two distinct aspects of polarisation, and that the latter also merits additional attention.