Definitions of Polarization

Mass Polarization

A large number of measures can be classified as measures of mass polarization, i.e., polarization that is measured between members of the broader public. This is to a great degree due to the fact that the most commonly available datasets are general population surveys. However, one should still distinct whether the measures are directed at other members of the public (horizontal polarization) or at political elites (vertical polarization). One could, for example, ask for opinions of the voters of a certain party, or of the party and its officials itself.

Leininger, A., GrĂĽnewald, F. & BuntfuĂź, 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
Polarization Indexideological, elite, mass
SDideological, elite, mass
Spreadaffective, mass, vertical
Social Distance Scaleaffective, mass, horizontal

Use cases

TitleAuthors
Is Polarization a Myth?Abramowitz and Saunders (2008)
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)
Has Trust in the European Parliament Polarized?Bauer and Morisi (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)
Do Voters Polarize When Radical Parties Enter Parliament?Bischof and Wagner (2019)
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 Bipolar VoterMoral (2017)
On the relationship between party polarisation and citizen polarisationMoral and Best (2023)
The relationship between affective polarisation and democratic backslidingOrhan (2022)
Measuring partisan polarization with partisan differences in satisfaction with the governmentPatkĂłs (2023)
Polarization and correct voting in U.S. presidential electionsPierce and Lau (2019)
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)
Group-based public opinion polarisation in multi-party systemsTraber et al. (2023)
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)