Does an increasingly partisan political environment have negative consequences for democracy?

October 28, 2024

Contact: Jon Meerdink ([email protected])

ANN ARBOR — Is a hostile political environment damaging America? 

Contentious debates between Democrats and Republicans have led many to say yes. Strong partisan views, including hostility toward the opposing party, has field concerns that divisions in American politics could be harmful to the country as a whole. But is that true? Two researchers from the Institute for Social Research (ISR) say it may not be quite so simple.

John Barry Ryan and Yanna Krupnikov, both faculty associates at ISR’s Center for Political Studies, presented their findings on the question on Thursday, October 24 in the latest edition of the Insights Speaker series. Drawing on data collected from 2019-21, Ryan and Krupnikov suggest that partisanship’s effects are conditional, not constant.

But what happens as a result of that partisanship spilling into American culture at large? What happens when there are more people who are extremely polarized? 

“We find that polarization is really, really heavily correlated with this idea of political involvement,” said Krupnikov. “People who are really, really polarized are much more involved in politics. They spend much more time talking about politics and expressing their political ideas, and they get really angry about people for not talking about their politics. And they are very ready to tell other people they are wrong politically” 

But somewhat surprisingly, this doesn’t end up having a major effect on politics as a whole. According to their research, negative feelings toward an opposing political party doesn’t lead to negative feelings about democracy in general.

Ryan and Krupnikov expand on their ideas in their Insights talk, titled “Partisan Hostility and American Democracy,” the full video of which is available here. For more in the Insights Speaker Series and to view upcoming talks, click here

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