Events

The structural underpinnings of affective polarization in Western democracies

  • 1 Mar 2022

    12:30-14:00, Online and Clay Room, Nuffield College

  • Political Science Seminars   Add to Calendar
Speaker: Noam Gidron

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Please note: This is a hybrid event. You can join online (please contact politics.secretary@nuffield.ox.ac.uk) or you can attend in-person (Clay Room, Nuffield College, L staircase). However, if you attend in-person, please note that a maximum room capacity of 30 will be in operation and masks must be worn at all times. Please arrive in good time to avoid any disappointment. A sandwich lunch will be provided in the Clay Room from 12.00pm to 12.30 (adjacent to the Large Lecture Theatre). If the in-person audience of the LLR exceeds 30 you will be able to join the seminar online in the Conference Room (upstairs). NB: Please note no food and drink can be consumed in the LLR

Abstract: While dislike of opposing parties, i.e., affective polarization, is a defining feature of contemporary politics, research on this topic largely centers on the United States. We introduce an approach that analyzes affective polarization between pairs of parties, bridging the US two-party system and multiparty systems in other democracies. Our analyses of survey data from 20 Western democracies demonstrate that affective polarization is closely linked with patterns of electoral representation: that is, who serves in office and electoral system proportionality. This comparative perspective highlights the structural underpinnings of affective polarization.

The Political Science Seminar Series is convened by Pepper Culpepper, Ezequiel Gonzalez Ocantos and Jane Green. For more information on this or any of the seminars in the series, please contact politics.secretary@nuffield.ox.ac.uk. 

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