Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6421-5235

An excess of partisan enthusiasm is putting American democracy under strain. At least that has been the prevailing narratives around the rise of affective polarization in the last two decades. Behaviors that boil politics down to a game of winning and losing and downplay problem-solving are on the verge of capsizing democratic ships around the world. In the following work, I empirically test that narrative using a manual content analysis of partisan free expression and experimental designs operationalizing mindless partisan expressiveness. I find that automatic partisanship is not the flagship behavior adopted by the public both in terms of free expression and as a reaction to expressive partisans. Still, I unearth a few troubling tendencies throughout these studies. First, the general public is increasingly diametrical in its perceptions of what presidential candidates have to offer. More respondents behave like tried-and-true partisans by not finding any redeeming qualities in the other side’s representatives even if they may not identify as strong partisans. Second, Democratic respondents in one experiment identify uncivil or confrontational behavior as representative of Republican behavior and report lower willingness to interact. Finally, an experimental study of threat perceptions resulting from partisan extremism shows that partisan threats are divorced from threats to democracy and Americans. These findings are all indicative of how polarization and its consequences can spill over seamlessly into the rest of the American public who automatically adopts the framework of partisanship to make sense of its political reality.

Date of Award

8-8-2023

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Political Science

First Advisor

Dr. Judd Thornton

Second Advisor

Dr. Sarah Allen Gershon

Third Advisor

Dr. Toby Bolsen

Abstract

An excess of partisan enthusiasm is putting American democracy under strain. At least that has been the prevailing narratives around the rise of affective polarization in the last two decades. Behaviors that boil politics down to a game of winning and losing and downplay problem-solving are on the verge of capsizing democratic ships around the world. In the following work, I empirically test that narrative using a manual content analysis of partisan free expression and experimental designs operationalizing mindless partisan expressiveness. I find that automatic partisanship is not the clear flagship behavior adopted by the public both in terms of free expression and as a reaction to expressive partisans. Still, I unearth a few troubling tendencies throughout these studies. First, the general public is increasingly diametrical in its perceptions of what presidential candidates have to offer. More respondents behave like tried-and-true partisans by not finding any redeeming qualities in the other side’s representatives even if they may not identify as strong partisans. Second, Democratic respondents in one experiment identify uncivil or confrontational behavior as representative of Republican behavior and report lower willingness to interact. Finally, an experimental study of threat perceptions resulting from partisan extremism shows that partisan threats are divorced from threats to democracy and Americans. These findings are all indicative of how polarization and its consequences can spill over seamlessly into the rest of the American public who automatically adopts the framework of partisanship to make sense of its political reality.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.57709/35859856

File Upload Confirmation

1

Download

Share

COinS