Fear and Loathing in american politics: A review essay
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3989/ris.2024.82.4.1303Keywords:
affective polarization, depolarization, emotions, partisan identity, discriminationAbstract
President Donald Trump’s standing in the polls actually improved in the immediate aftermath of multiple criminal indictments. This development illustrates the phenomenon of affective polarization: intense conflict and ill will across the party divide, and intransigent political preferences that are entirely unresponsive to strong evidence. In this paper, I will provide a brief review of the evidence documenting the intensified state of affective polarization in America, identify possible underlying causes of this phenomenon, and offer some critical commentary on efforts to develop “treatments” that can ameliorate out-party animus.
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