Uncivil Agreement

Uncivil Agreement PDF Author: Lilliana Mason
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022652468X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 193

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Book Description
The psychology behind political partisanship: “The kind of research that will change not just how you think about the world but how you think about yourself.” —Ezra Klein, Vox Political polarization in America has moved beyond disagreements about matters of policy. For the first time in decades, research has shown that members of both parties hold strongly unfavorable views of their opponents. This is polarization rooted in social identity, and it is growing. The campaign and election of Donald Trump laid bare this fact of the American electorate, its successful rhetoric of “us versus them” tapping into a powerful current of anger and resentment. With Uncivil Agreement, Lilliana Mason looks at the growing social gulf across racial, religious, and cultural lines, which have recently come to divide neatly between the two major political parties. She argues that group identifications have changed the way we think and feel about ourselves and our opponents. Even when Democrats and Republicans can agree on policy outcomes, they tend to view one other with distrust and to work for party victory over all else. Although the polarizing effects of social divisions have simplified our electoral choices and increased political engagement, they have not been a force that is, on balance, helpful for American democracy. Bringing together theory from political science and social psychology, Uncivil Agreement clearly describes this increasingly “social” type of polarization, and adds much to our understanding of contemporary politics.

Uncivil Agreement

Uncivil Agreement PDF Author: Lilliana Mason
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022652468X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 193

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Book Description
The psychology behind political partisanship: “The kind of research that will change not just how you think about the world but how you think about yourself.” —Ezra Klein, Vox Political polarization in America has moved beyond disagreements about matters of policy. For the first time in decades, research has shown that members of both parties hold strongly unfavorable views of their opponents. This is polarization rooted in social identity, and it is growing. The campaign and election of Donald Trump laid bare this fact of the American electorate, its successful rhetoric of “us versus them” tapping into a powerful current of anger and resentment. With Uncivil Agreement, Lilliana Mason looks at the growing social gulf across racial, religious, and cultural lines, which have recently come to divide neatly between the two major political parties. She argues that group identifications have changed the way we think and feel about ourselves and our opponents. Even when Democrats and Republicans can agree on policy outcomes, they tend to view one other with distrust and to work for party victory over all else. Although the polarizing effects of social divisions have simplified our electoral choices and increased political engagement, they have not been a force that is, on balance, helpful for American democracy. Bringing together theory from political science and social psychology, Uncivil Agreement clearly describes this increasingly “social” type of polarization, and adds much to our understanding of contemporary politics.

Unconventional, Partisan, and Polarizing Rhetoric

Unconventional, Partisan, and Polarizing Rhetoric PDF Author: Jeanine E. Kraybill
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 1498554148
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 239

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Book Description
The rhetoric and political communication of the 2016 Presidential Election was arguably unconventional, partisan, and polarizing—becoming a defining characteristic of the tone and feel of the campaign. In this volume we examine how rhetoric and various political communication strategies influenced and shaped the contours of the election and ultimately its outcome. Witnessing the most diverse electorate in U.S. political history, we look at how voters were primed for an anti-establishment/outsider candidate and how various rhetorical and communication appeals were used to strategically engage different groups of voters and at times, leave out or even scapegoat others. We also analyze how rhetoric and political communication shaped the debate on key issues such as climate change, immigration, national security, gender, and representation. In an age where having a social media presence is an essential campaign tool, we examine how Twitter was used by candidates and its impact on the electorate and news coverage. Overall, we demonstrate that political rhetoric and communication is impactful, bearing electoral consequences and the potential for policy outcomes, giving the reader much to consider as we approach the next midterm and general election.

Partisan Rhetoric and Polarization

Partisan Rhetoric and Polarization PDF Author: ROBERT X. BROWNING
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781612499857
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Partisan Rhetoric and Polarization: The Year in C-SPAN Archives Research, Volume 10 features chapters written from a variety of perspectives that address divisions in American politics. The topics range widely, including TikTok, abortion, the middle class, the January 6 riot, and partisan rhetoric in Congress. The unifying theme of the volume is that each author uses C-SPAN videos to examine how members of Congress and other elites speak and act on these issues. Two other thoughtful pieces examine Supreme Court justices speaking off the bench and emotional reactions in presidential debates. Partisan Rhetoric and Polarization provides context to understand how the partisan split in American politics is reflected and evidenced in even the highest political institutions: Congress, the presidency, and the Supreme Court.

Polarization

Polarization PDF Author: Alan Fortuna
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110664771
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 200

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Book Description
The concept of polarization has become an important topic of interest in politics, society, and discourse around the world today. In the European Union (EU), polarizing rhetoric has driven politics into divided camps on issues ranging from immigration to economic integration. In the United States, polarization has become a universal buzzword, and significant research has been done on it as a political and sociological phenomenon. But there has been little scholarly work on polarization as a communicative phenomenon since the late 1970s. At the same time, holes remain in contemporary rhetorical theory regarding the concept of the orator. In short, the discipline lacks a clearly defined category to deal with strategic communication by collective entities such as social and political movements. This work fills both gaps at once. It focuses on polarization as a rhetorical strategy that seeks to create division and solidarity in audiences. In doing so, it establishes and develops new theoretical categories for contemporary rhetoric, updates and refines existing work on polarization as a communicative phenomenon, and illustrates the utility of new concepts by providing a case study involving the tea party network in the United States.

The Oxford Handbook of Social and Political Trust

The Oxford Handbook of Social and Political Trust PDF Author: Eric M. Uslaner
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190274816
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 753

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Book Description
This volume explores the foundations of trust, and whether social and political trust have common roots. Contributions by noted scholars examine how we measure trust, the cultural and social psychological roots of trust, the foundations of political trust, and how trust concerns the law, the economy, elections, international relations, corruption, and cooperation, among myriad societal factors. The rich assortment of essays on these themes addresses questions such as: How does national identity shape trust, and how does trust form in developing countries and in new democracies? Are minority groups less trusting than the dominant group in a society? Do immigrants adapt to the trust levels of their host countries? Does group interaction build trust? Does the welfare state promote trust and, in turn, does trust lead to greater well-being and to better health outcomes? The Oxford Handbook of Social and Political Trust considers these and other questions of critical importance for current scholarly investigations of trust.

The Transformation of Partisan Rhetoric in Presidential Campaigns, 1952-2012

The Transformation of Partisan Rhetoric in Presidential Campaigns, 1952-2012 PDF Author: Jesse H. Rhodes
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
What are the dynamics of partisan rhetoric in presidential campaigns? (How) has presidential candidate partisanship changed over time? Analyzing a comprehensive dataset of party-related statements in presidential campaign speeches over the 1952-2012 period, we show that Democratic and Republican candidates have taken distinctive approaches to partisanship. Overall, Democratic candidates have been partisans, while Republicans have largely refrained from partisan rhetoric on the campaign trail. However, this difference has narrowed substantially over time, due to a dramatic decline in the partisanship of Democratic presidential candidates. We argue that Democratic and Republican candidates have adopted different campaign strategies that reflect both enduring party differences and changing political contexts. Though naturally inclined to partisanship, Democratic candidates have adopted more conciliatory strategies primarily in response to growing public antipathy toward partisan rancor. In contrast, Republicans' tendency toward more conciliatory rhetoric has been reinforced by political developments discouraging partisan campaigning.

Solutions to Political Polarization in America

Solutions to Political Polarization in America PDF Author: Nathaniel Persily
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107087112
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 317

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Book Description
This volume assembles several top analysts of American politics to focus on solutions to polarization.

We Need to Talk

We Need to Talk PDF Author: Matthew S. Levendusky
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 100905063X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 130

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Book Description
Americans today are affectively polarized: they dislike and distrust those from the opposing political party more than they did in the past, with damaging consequences for their democracy. This Element tests one strategy for ameliorating such animus: having ordinary Democrats and Republicans come together for cross-party political discussions. Building on intergroup contact theory, the authors argue that such discussions will mitigate partisan animosity. Using an original experiment, they find strong support for this hypothesis – affective polarization falls substantially among subjects who participate in heterogeneous discussion (relative to those who participate in either homogeneous political discussion or an apolitical control). This Element also provides evidence for several of the mechanisms underlying these effects, and shows that they persist for at least one week after the initial experiment. These findings have considerable importance for efforts to ameliorate animus in the mass public, and for understanding American politics more broadly.

Why Washington Won't Work

Why Washington Won't Work PDF Author: Marc J. Hetherington
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022629935X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 278

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Book Description
Polarization is at an all-time high in the United States. But contrary to popular belief, Americans are polarized not so much in their policy preferences as in their feelings toward their political opponents: To an unprecedented degree, Republicans and Democrats simply do not like one another. No surprise that these deeply held negative feelings are central to the recent (also unprecedented) plunge in congressional productivity. The past three Congresses have gotten less done than any since scholars began measuring congressional productivity. In Why Washington Won’t Work, Marc J. Hetherington and Thomas J. Rudolph argue that a contemporary crisis of trust—people whose party is out of power have almost no trust in a government run by the other side—has deadlocked Congress. On most issues, party leaders can convince their own party to support their positions. In order to pass legislation, however, they must also create consensus by persuading some portion of the opposing party to trust in their vision for the future. Without trust, consensus fails to develop and compromise does not occur. Up until recently, such trust could still usually be found among the opposition, but not anymore. Political trust, the authors show, is far from a stable characteristic. It’s actually highly variable and contingent on a variety of factors, including whether one’s party is in control, which part of the government one is dealing with, and which policies or events are most salient at the moment. Political trust increases, for example, when the public is concerned with foreign policy—as in times of war—and it decreases in periods of weak economic performance. Hetherington and Rudolph do offer some suggestions about steps politicians and the public might take to increase political trust. Ultimately, however, they conclude that it is unlikely levels of political trust will significantly increase unless foreign concerns come to dominate and the economy is consistently strong.

Democracies Divided

Democracies Divided PDF Author: Thomas Carothers
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
ISBN: 081573722X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
“A must-read for anyone concerned about the fate of contemporary democracies.”—Steven Levitsky, co-author of How Democracies Die 2020 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Why divisions have deepened and what can be done to heal them As one part of the global democratic recession, severe political polarization is increasingly afflicting old and new democracies alike, producing the erosion of democratic norms and rising societal anger. This volume is the first book-length comparative analysis of this troubling global phenomenon, offering in-depth case studies of countries as wide-ranging and important as Brazil, India, Kenya, Poland, Turkey, and the United States. The case study authors are a diverse group of country and regional experts, each with deep local knowledge and experience. Democracies Divided identifies and examines the fissures that are dividing societies and the factors bringing polarization to a boil. In nearly every case under study, political entrepreneurs have exploited and exacerbated long-simmering divisions for their own purposes—in the process undermining the prospects for democratic consensus and productive governance. But this book is not simply a diagnosis of what has gone wrong. Each case study discusses actions that concerned citizens and organizations are taking to counter polarizing forces, whether through reforms to political parties, institutions, or the media. The book’s editors distill from the case studies a range of possible ways for restoring consensus and defeating polarization in the world’s democracies. Timely, rigorous, and accessible, this book is of compelling interest to civic activists, political actors, scholars, and ordinary citizens in societies beset by increasingly rancorous partisanship.