Definitions of Polarization

Affective Polarization

Recently, an emerging literature, pioneered in the US context by Iyengar et al. (2012), has begun to distinguish affective from programmatic polarization. The phenomenon of affective polarization takes its roots in differing political positions of political actors. However, affective polarization goes beyond the programmatic side of politics and highlights that political identities go along with sympathies for members of one’s own political camp and antipathies toward the opposing side. Affective polarization is most commonly understood as the difference between ingroup like and outgroup dislike, although this is not the only possible way to define it (see Röllicke 2023).

Leininger, A., Grünewald, F. & Buntfuß, N. (2023, August 11).
Ideological and affective polarization in multiparty systems. doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/mz6rs

Measures

MeasurePolarization
APIaffective, mass, vertical
Distanceaffective, mass, vertical
Party Dyadsideological, affective, mass, vertical
Spreadaffective, mass, vertical
Social Distance Scaleaffective, mass, horizontal

Use cases

Publications that address affective polarization:

TitleAuthors
Can’t We All Just Get Along? How Women MPs Can Ameliorate Affective Polarization in Western PublicsAdams et al. (2023)
The Downsian roots of affective polarizationAlgara and Zur (2023)
Elite polarization, party extremity, and affective polarizationBanda and Cluverius (2018)
Camps, not just partiesBantel (2023)
Elite communication and affective polarization among votersBäck et al. (2023)
Institutional design and polarizationBernaerts et al. (2023)
Consequences of affective polarizationBerntzen et al. (2023)
A regional perspective to the study of affective polarisationBettarelli et al. (2023)
Cleavage politics, polarisation and participation in Western EuropeBorbáth et al. (2023)
Understanding PolarizationBramson et al. (2017)
The Politics of Interpersonal Trust and ReciprocityCarlin and Love (2013)
What can De-Polarize the Polarizers?Ciobanu and Sandu (2022)
Ideological identity, issue-based ideology and bipolar affective polarization in multiparty systemsComellas and Torcal (2023)
When polarised feelings towards parties spread to votersComellas Bonsfills (2022)
What Do We Measure When We Measure Affective Polarization?Druckman and Levendusky (2019)
Affective Polarisation in Comparative and Longitudinal PerspectiveGarzia et al. (2023)
American Affective Polarization in Comparative PerspectiveGidron et al. (2020)
Validating the feeling thermometer as a measure of partisan affect in multi-party systemsGidron et al. (2022)
Does affective polarisation increase turnout?Harteveld and Wagner (2023)
Fragmented foesHarteveld (2021)
Affective polarization and the salience of electionsHernández et al. (2021)
Divided by the VoteHobolt et al. (2020)
Affect, Not IdeologyIyengar et al. (2012)
Fear and Loathing across Party LinesIyengar and Westwood (2015)
Sweet victory, bitter defeatJanssen (2023)
Affective Polarization and Misinformation BeliefJenke (2023)
The relationship between affective polarisation and democratic backslidingOrhan (2022)
Election campaigns and the cyclical nature of emotions—How politicians engage in affective polarizationÖhberg and Cassel (2023)
Fear and loathing across party lines (also) in EuropeReiljan (2020)
Patterns of Affective Polarisation toward Parties and Leaders across the Democratic WorldReiljan et al. (2023)
Overlapping polarizationRiera and Madariaga (2023)
Polarisation, identity and affectRöllicke (2023)
Exploring differences in affective polarization between the Nordic countriesRyan (2023)
Intergroup contact reduces affective polarization but not among strong party identifiersThomsen and Thomsen (2023)
What Do We Measure When We Measure Affective Polarization across Countries?Tichelbaecker et al. (2023)
Social trust and affective polarization in Spain (2014–19)Torcal and Thomson (2023)
Conflict or choice? The differential effects of elite incivility and ideological polarization on political supportvan Elsas and Fiselier (2023)
Affective polarisation in multiparty systemsWagner (2021)
Affective polarization and coalition signalsWagner and Praprotnik (2023)
Affective polarization in EuropeWagner (2024)
Divided by the jabWagner and Eberl (2024)
The tie that dividesWestwood et al. (2018)