Political Polarization Research Articles

ON THE HISTORY OF THE SECRET POLITICAL POLICE OF RUSSIA IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

The article is a publication of and extended commentary on Mikhail Kirillovich Gribovsky’s text. He was in charge of the Guards Corps’ secret military police service organized in the early 1820s, after the “Semenovsky history”. In 1822, he compiled a note which is kept in the Russian State Military History Archive. The commentary describes the prehistory of the creation of the secret police: Gribovsky’s activities, his brochure On the State of Landlords’ Peasants in Russia and its perception by contemporaries. The article provides general information about the service created by Gribovsky and peculiarities of its financing. It refers to Gribovsky’s note on the Decembrist Union of Prosperity (thanks to it Alexander I had information about this society) and his three more notes, published in the last decades. The author concludes that Gribovsky writes in his note about the attempts to find the Brief Instructions to Russian Knights by M.A. Dmitriev-Mamonov, which were published in 1816 in limited edition and have not been preserved. He gives a brief history of the organization, the Order of Russian Knights, for which this brochure was compiled, and implies that this Order did not exist. Celebrities involved in the project of the Order of Russian Knights are listed. Despite the fact that the note is not signed, the author attributes it to Gribovsky on the basis of handwriting analysis and identifies the likely person behind the abbreviation. The note shows how political police worked in Russia at the end of Alexander I’s reign. For example, the Gribovsky’s interest in the Order of Russian Knights was caused by the assumption that M.A. Dmitriev-Mamonov’s Brief Instructions to Russian Knights were, in fact, a charter of the Union of Prosperity.

Younger Americans are less politically polarized than older Americans about climate policies (but not about other policy domains).

Political polarization of Americans' support for climate policies often impedes the adoption of new, urgently needed climate solutions. However, recent polls suggest that younger conservatives favor adopting pro-climate policies to a greater degree than older conservatives, resulting in less political polarization among younger Americans relative to older Americans. To better understand these patterns, we analyzed Americans' support for various climate policies from 1982-2020, across 16 waves of historical, nationally representative survey data from the American National Election Studies (total N = 29,467). Regression models consistently show that, since 2012, younger Americans have been less politically polarized than older Americans on support for climate policies. Before 2012 and on non-climate policy topics, we did not find consistent statistical evidence for political polarization varying with age. These findings can inform policy debates about climate change and offer hope to environmentalists and policymakers who seek to build broad consensus for climate action at the policy level.

Issues, Interactions, and Group Images as Mechanisms of Affective Polarization in Two Environmental Conflicts in Argentina

Affective polarization happens when groups develop mutual negative perceptions and feelings. This phenomenon has raised concern among journalists, opinion leaders, and academics, many of whom have related polarization to partisan politics. Previous research has relied mainly on quantitative data focused on the national-level political polarization of Western societies. In this article, we show that polarization and its negative consequences—the damage to relationships and the rise of violence—may arise after divergence with relevant issues unrelated to political positions or identities. We process trace two communities in Argentina with local environmental conflicts to show the interaction mechanisms that start with an issue difference, continue with affective polarization, and may end with escalation or depolarization. By showing the mechanisms of interaction that lead to polarization, we offer a precise and clear explanation of the process that can be tested in further research.

The Potential Rise of Populism among the Indonesian Muslim Middle Class. Post Covid-19 Pandemic

The economic and political insecurity faced by Indonesia's Muslim middle class may create opportunities for the rise of populism in Indonesia. This study aims to examine the potential for populism supported by Indonesia's Muslim middle class in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. The critical political economy approach, specifically the class-based approach, has been used in this study. This article uses qualitative research methodology and draws on literary sources. The findings suggest the likely emergence of populist politics in Indonesia, triggered by the economic instability caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, which severely affected the Muslim middle class. This has been exacerbated by long-standing socio-economic insecurity caused by unfavorable labor policies. Furthermore, the emergence of Indonesian populist politics is reinforced by the political polarization of the last decade. The mobilization of the vulnerable Muslim middle class by a charismatic leader could fuel the potential rise of populist politics in Indonesia

Politics Rules Everything Around Me? A Review of Pandemic Politics

Politics Rules Everything Around Me? A Review of <i>Pandemic Politics</i>

News participation is declining: Evidence from 46 countries between 2015 and 2022

Digital media are often praised for having offered new ways to participate with news. But how has participation with news changed in recent years? A pre-registered analysis of survey data from 2015 to 2022 in 46 countries ( N = 577,859) shows that participation with news has declined. This decrease is observed in most countries and for most forms of participation, including liking, sharing, commenting on news on social media and talking about the news offline. The only form of participation that has increased is news sharing via private messaging apps. Overall, participation with news was higher among younger people, the university-educated, those with high interest in news and those with low trust in news. Over time, participation has declined more for those with lower trust in news, those without a bachelor’s degree and for women. Within countries, increases in political polarization were associated with lower participation.

The emergence of externally active representative bureaucracy, a narrative review

This article analyzes the evolution of governance models within public administrations as they respond to complex socio-political challenges. It emphasizes the need to enhance the legitimacy and representativeness of decision-making processes in the face of persistent issues, social fragmentation, increasing inequalities, and political polarization. The study discusses two primary models: citizen participation, which promotes a more engaged form of democracy, and representative bureaucracy, which seeks to ensure that public administration reflects socio-demographic diversity. However, these frameworks have flaws, particularly in achieving representativeness and maintaining administrative efficiency. To address these issues, the concept of “Externally Active Representative Bureaucracy” (EARB) is proposed, which involves incorporating citizens directly into administrative structures to address specific challenges while improving the legitimacy and representativeness of decisions. The article reviews 155 academic articles to explore the various dimensions and effects of representative bureaucracy and citizen participation. The objective is to illustrate that EARB provides an innovative approach to public administration that bridges bureaucratic efficiency with citizen inclusion, inviting further research into this hybrid model to enhance our understanding of the operation of modern public administrations.

Kondisi Demokrasi Indonesia Antara Harapan dan Kekhawatiran Pasca Pemilu 2024

Indonesia's democracy has been at the center of intense debate in recent years, with many parties criticizing its increasingly fragile and threatened state. This article aims to analyze why Indonesian democracy is considered destroyed by some parties. First, the analysis begins by examining the decline in the quality of democracy which is reflected in the classification of Indonesian democracy in the implementation of its government. Data showing a decline in civil liberties, suppression of freedom of expression, and abuse of power by those in power that threaten democratic principles. Internal and external factors that contributed to the collapse of democracy in Indonesia. Among the internal factors are abuse of power, corruption, and the inability of institutions to provide adequate protection for citizens' rights. Meanwhile, external factors include geopolitical pressures and the influence of globalization on domestic politics. Such as political polarization that triggers conflict, lack of active participation from civil society, and lack of consolidation of democratic institutions.

Divisive Issues, Polarization, and Users’ Reactions on Facebook: Comparing Campaigning in Latin America

Economic, social, and health crises have shaken and polarized contemporary politics. An element fueling this polarization is the dissemination of divisive topics on social media platforms. While these polarizing social media tendencies are increasingly studied, research exploring digital political communication in South America remains scarce. This study aims to analyze the electoral campaigns in Brazil, Colombia, Chile, and Peru to define the features that trigger polarized emotional reactions on Facebook. The corpus comprises a sample of 2,930 posts published by candidates and political parties during the first round of the presidential elections held in these countries between 2021 and 2022. We hypothesize that users are more likely to react in a polarized way to content focused on divisive issues. In addition, we examine how these patterns differ across countries and the influence of the level of political polarization. Finally, the role played by party-level characteristics in the emotional reactions of users is also analyzed. By means of quantitative content analysis, these questions are addressed using multilevel negative binomial regressions to identify what predicts Love and Angry reactions. The bandwagon effect seems to work positively on users’ moods since the most popular political actors receive significantly more Love reactions, irrespective of the post’s subject. In more polarized countries, there is a tendency to react more negatively to certain divisive issues, generating greater visibility of these issues on social networks and thus promoting more polarization. These findings expand knowledge about the dynamics of digital political communication in the Global South.

The differential impact of climate interventions along the political divide in 60 countries

A major barrier to climate change mitigation is the political polarization of climate change beliefs. In a global experiment conducted in 60 countries (N = 51,224), we assess the differential impact of eleven climate interventions across the ideological divide. At baseline, we find political polarization of climate change beliefs and policy support globally, with people who reported being liberal believing and supporting climate policy more than those who reported being conservative (Cohen’s d = 0.35 and 0.27, respectively). However, we find no evidence for a statistically significant difference between these groups in their engagement in a behavioral tree planting task. This conceptual-behavioral polarization incongruence results from self-identified conservatives acting despite not believing, rather than self-identified liberals not acting on their beliefs. We also find three interventions (emphasizing effective collective actions, writing a letter to a future generation member, and writing a letter from the future self) boost climate beliefs and policy support across the ideological spectrum, and one intervention (emphasizing scientific consensus) stimulates the climate action of people identifying as liberal. None of the interventions tested show evidence for a statistically significant boost in climate action for self-identified conservatives. We discuss implications for practitioners deploying targeted climate interventions.

The polarizing content warning: how the media can reduce affective polarization

Abstract Past research suggests that journalists can (unintentionally) exacerbate affective polarization when reporting on growing levels of polarization in society. However, is there a way for journalists to report on the realities of growing political polarization without dividing people further? In our research with five pre-registered experimental studies (N = 3,414), we develop the polarizing content warning which, based on inoculation theory, warns readers that scientific research suggests reading news content about political polarization may drive further affective polarization. Results indicate that the polarizing content warning can be used both with online news articles and on social media sites, and is able to indirectly reduce affective polarization of readers. Additionally, the polarizing content warning is beneficial both when presented alongside news content and beforehand, and reduces readers’ perceptions of societal polarization, in turn reducing affective polarization. This warning allows journalists to report on societal polarization without further dividing people.

Imagined otherness fuels blatant dehumanization of outgroups

Dehumanization of others has been attributed to institutional processes that spread dehumanizing norms and narratives, as well as to individuals’ denial of mind to others. We propose that blatant dehumanization also arises when people actively contemplate others’ minds. We introduce the construct of imagined otherness—perceiving that a prototypical member of a social group construes an important facet of the social world in ways that diverge from the way most humans understand it—and argue that such attributions catalyze blatant dehumanization beyond the effects of general perceived difference and group identification. Measuring perceived schematic difference relative to the concept of America, we examine how this measure relates to the tendency of U.S. Republicans and Democrats to blatantly dehumanize members of the other political party. We report the results of two pre-registered studies—one correlational (N = 771) and one experimental (N = 398)—that together lend support for our theory. We discuss implications of these findings for research on social boundaries, political polarization, and the measurement of meaning.

Frozen discourse: how screenshots hinder depolarization on social media

ABSTRACT Social media is thought to play a pivotal role in increasing animosity between opposing partisans, i.e., affective polarization. This study focuses on one context that is assumed to reduce polarization – an acute external threat – and demonstrates that even under such conditions, social media platforms perpetuate affective polarization. Furthermore, the research findings suggest a digital feature that might contribute to this process: screenshots. By conducting a case study and thematically analyzing 1,670 tweets discussing ‘inner unity’ posted in Israel during an escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the study shows that screen-captured images can be a barrier to the dynamic process required for depolarization, as they ‘freeze’ online discussions. Additionally, it reveals two content-related discoursal mechanisms involved in preserving polarization between rightist and leftist Jewish Israelis: recalling the ‘unified’ past and distorting the meaning of unity. I discuss the theoretical implications of the findings for the study of the relationship between online political discourse and (de)polarization.

Political turmoil and parliamentary response – the constitutional crisis in Bolivia 2019

ABSTRACT In recent times, many political theorists have warned on the many signs around the world of democratic backsliding, experienced not only in emerging democracies but also in established ones. One of the areas of concern is the aggrandisement of the executive at the expense of parliaments, which erodes not only checks and balances but also the credibility and legitimacy of state institutions. Analysts are also concerned with damaging effects of political polarisation on democracy. Despite these challenges, parliaments are still seen as safeguard mechanisms during times of crises and have the potential to serve as another democratic line of defence. The severe political crisis in Bolivia in 2019 provides an example to study this role of parliament. Protests and intense social unrest erupted in response to a questionable electoral process in which President Evo Morales attempted to run for office disregarding constitutional term limits. This crisis, however, was also the result of a longstanding process of institutional capture were parliament played a key role supporting the efforts of the executive to extend its control to the rest of the state, aggravated by high levels of polarisation. Following the resignation of higher authorities including the President, the Bolivian state was practically paralysed and parliament became the centre of political negotiations, aimed at restoring constitutional order. After the initial shock, Bolivia’s Plurinational Assembly was eventually able to fulfil its constitutional role with the appointment of an interim president. This article describes salient elements of the role of parliament prior and during the crisis, highlighting some of the personalistic elements of politics in this country. It focuses on the parliamentary response to the crisis and the lessons learned, underlining that despite adversity parliaments can help restore order and provide much needed democratic continuity in times of uncertainty.

Ideological polarization in roll call votes in constitutional conventions: The case of Chile in 2021–2

Abstract What factors account for polarization in constitutional conventions comprised of party members and many independents without prior legislative experience? Using the 4,669 roll call votes in the 155-member constitutional convention in Chile (2021–2), comprised of more independents than party members, we explore the determinants of ideological polarization. Relying on absolute values for the WNominate scores, we find that party members are less polarized than independents and that prior legislative experience does not impact polarization. In institutionalized party systems that allow independents to compete with party members on a level playing field, a larger presence of independents in legislatures might help increase ideological polarization while a larger number of party members helps reduce ideological polarization in roll call votes.

Recent Trends in Mass-Level Ideological Polarization in Latin America

AbstractThis article offers an analysis of the changes in mass-level ideological polarization in Latin America. It provides a cross-national, region-wide assessment of polarization dynamics using survey data on left-right ideological identities. A novel indicator for measuring ideological polarization at the individual level is proposed, which is more compatible with theoretical conceptualizations of ideological polarization than other existing indicators. The indicator is applied to data from the AmericasBarometer surveys to measure degrees and changes in mass-level ideological polarization in 19 Latin American countries between 2006 and 2019. The study reveals a substantial process of mass-level ideological restructuring, accompanied by a region-wide increase in ideological polarization in Latin America taking place during the second decade of the twenty-first century. We also find that ideological polarization, albeit varying in intensity from country to country, is clearly present at the mass level in the majority of countries in the region.

Can solar energy become polarized? Understanding the role of expressive and negative partisanship in support for solar tax credits

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 is perhaps the most ambitious federal legislation aimed at decarbonizing the energy system. The IRA expanded investment tax credits (ITCs) for households that install rooftop solar, providing an important catalyst to encourage households to adopt this innovation. Although the IRA is promising, the transition to renewables has been slow and marred by partisan polarization and legislative gridlock. We suggest that renewable energy policies, such as ITCs, could become polarized. Our results imply that partisan polarization around solar ITCs is currently modest, but such policies could become polarized in the future. Expressive partisans—those for whom partisanship is a salient social identity—and negative partisans differ from other partisans. Opponents of renewable energy could potentially leverage negative and expressive partisanship to create opposition. However, this outcome is not inevitable. We suggest that policymakers and renewable energy advocates should develop strategies to avoid partisan polarization.

Social Media and Surveillance Capitalism: Facebook, Political Polarization, Orwellian Dystopia, and American Democracy

Social Media and Surveillance Capitalism: Facebook, Political Polarization, Orwellian Dystopia, and American Democracy

The Crossover between Climate Politics and Central Banking: How Green Central Banking Emerged in the US, the EU, and the UK

Climate change has emerged on the agenda of central bankers. We argue that the rise of green central banking resulted from a crossover between climate politics after the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and central banking after the 2008 financial crisis. Actors in these unconnected fields constructed and exploited this new linkage to their advantage. In the wake of the Paris Agreement, climate advocates promoted green central banking as part of a broader push for climate action beyond typical climate policy. Central bankers, in turn, endorsed green central banking to shore up political support. After their post-2008 unconventional monetary policies had alienated many right-wing backers, central bankers needed to make their policies more broadly appealing. This logic prevailed to varying degrees in the European Union and the United Kingdom, thanks to a new openness to climate action. In the United States, however, political polarization around the climate issue set clear limits to the crossover.

Self-Defense and Political Rage

This Article considers how American political polarization and the substantive issues driving it raise unique challenges for adjudicating self-defense claims in contexts of political protest. We live in an age where roughly a quarter of the population believes it is at least sometimes justifiable to use violence in defense of political positions, making political partisans somewhat more likely to pose a genuine threat of bodily harm to opponents. Furthermore, the psychological literature shows that people are more likely to perceive threats from people with whom they politically disagree and that juries tend to evaluate reasonableness claims according to their own political positions. All three of these phenomena create challenges for the rule of law due to the increased risk that factually similar cases will turn out differently and that the justice system will merely recreate the monomaniacal, us-versus-them polarization of society at large. This Article surveys the relevant political science and psychological literature on partisanship and reasoning and proposes two interrelated solutions: one pragmatic, at the level of individual trials, and the other cultural, at the level of social discourse. It suggests that judges import what we know about the distortive effects of partisanship into the courtroom through the use of court-appointed psychological experts and jury instructions. Both have shown some success—if tailored precisely to the facts of a specific case—in correcting some forms of juror bias and reasoning errors. This Article further argues that incorporating these processes into the adjudication of politicized self-defense claims will have a broader, expressive value for society as a whole. Trials provide a model for truth-finding, which, for better or for worse, impacts how private citizens evaluate culpability in their day-to-day lives. If trials draw even some people’s attention to the ways in which partisan thinking can generate or justify acts of violence, they may be a force for moderation in how people deal with their political disagreements, which will have benefits far beyond the courtroom.