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This book develops a general explanation for party polarization in America from both historical and contemporary perspectives. Prior polarization studies focused exclusively on the modern era, but this work traces party polarization from the constitutional convention of 1787 to the present. Using such a broad historical perspective shows that what was unusual in American history was the period of low polarization from the Great Depression through 1980, rather than the period of high polarization of the modern era. Polarization is the norm of the American system, not the exception, and is likely to persist in the future. More theoretically, party polarization in America has been due to class-based conflict and rent-seeking by the patrician and plebian classes in various historical eras, rather than conflict over cultural values. As in earlier historical eras, modern party polarization has largely been elite-driven, with party entrepreneurs cunningly and strategically using polarization to their advantage.

American political observers express increasing concern about affective polarization, i.e., partisans' resentment toward political opponents. We advance debates about America's partisan divisions by comparing affective polarization in the US over the past 25 years with affective polarization in 19 other western publics. We conclude that American affective polarization is not extreme in comparative perspective, although Americans' dislike of partisan opponents has increased more rapidly since the mid-1990s than in most other Western publics. We then show that affective polarization is more intense when unemployment and inequality are high; when political elites clash over cultural issues such as immigration and national identity; and in countries with majoritarian electoral institutions. Our findings situate American partisan resentment and hostility in comparative perspective, and illuminate correlates of affective polarization that are difficult to detect when examining the American case in isolation.

"The book brings together an international team of experts, enabling a broad, multidisciplinary approach that examines hate speech, dislike, polarization, and enclave deliberation as cross axes that influence offline and digital conversations. The diverse case studies herein offer insights into international news media, television drama and social media in a range of contexts, suggesting an academic frame of reference for examining this emerging phenomenon within the field of communication studies. Offering thoughtful and much-needed analysis, this collection will be of great interest to scholars and students working in communication studies, media studies, journalism, sociology, political science, political communication, and cultural industries"--

"This collection explores the discursive strategies and linguistic resources underpinning conflict and polarization, taking a multidisciplinary approach to examine the ways in which conflict is constructed across a diverse range of contexts. The volume is divided into two sections as a means of identifying two different dimensions to conflict construction and bridging the gap between different perspectives through a constructivist framework. The first part comprises chapters looking at socio-political conflicts across specific geographic contexts across the US, Europe, and Latin America. The second half of the book unpacks socio-cultural conflicts, those not defined by physical borders but shaped by ideological differences on core values, such as on religion, gender, and the environment. Drawing on frameworks across such fields as linguistics, critical discourse analysis, rhetoric studies, and cognitive studies, the book offers new insights into the discursive polarization that permeates contemporary communicative interactions and the ways in which a better understanding of conflict and its origins might serve as a mechanism for providing new ways forward. This book will be of particular interest to students and scholars in critical discourse analysis, linguistics, rhetoric studies, and peace and conflict studies"--

"The Psychology of Political Polarization was inspired by the notion that to understand the momentum of radical political movements, it is important to understand the attitudes of individual citizens who support such movements. Leading political psychologists have contributed to this important book, in which they share their latest ideas about political polarization; a complex phenomenon that cannot be traced back to a single cause, and that is associated with intolerance, overconfidence, and irrational beliefs. The book explores the basis of political polarization as being how citizens think and feel about people with a different worldview, how they perceive minority groups, and how much they trust leaders and experts on pressing societal issues such as climate change, health, international relations, and poverty. The chapters are organized into two sections that examine what psychological processes and what social factors contribute to polarization among regular citizens. The book also describes practical strategies and interventions to depolarize people. The book offers a state-of-the-art introduction to the psychology of political polarization which will appeal to academic market and political professionals"--

"The book brings together an international team of experts, enabling a broad, multidisciplinary approach that examines hate speech, dislike, polarization, and enclave deliberation as cross axes that influence offline and digital conversations. The diverse case studies herein offer insights into international news media, television drama and social media in a range of contexts, suggesting an academic frame of reference for examining this emerging phenomenon within the field of communication studies. Offering thoughtful and much-needed analysis, this collection will be of great interest to scholars and students working in communication studies, media studies, journalism, sociology, political science, political communication, and cultural industries"--

"In this book, Alan I. Abramowitz presents an argument that the most important divide in American politics is not between left and right but rather between citizens who are politically engaged and those who are not. It is the engaged members of the public, he argues, who most closely reflect the ideals of democratic citizenship - but this is also the group that is most polarized. Polarization at the highest levels of government, therefore, is not a sign of elites' disconnection from the public but rather of their responsiveness to the more politically engaged parts of it. Though polarization is often assumed to be detrimental to democracy, Abramowitz concludes that by presenting voters with clear choices, polarization can serve to increase the public's interest and participation in politics and strengthen electoral accountability."--Jacket

ch 1. Introduction / by Immanuel Wallerstein -- ch. 2. Ecology and the geography of capitalism / by Ana Esther Cecena -- ch. 3. Economic inequality, stratification, and mobility / by Roberto Patricio Korzeniewicz and Timothy Patrick Moran -- ch. 4. Cities / by Peter J. Taylor, Michael Hoyler, and Dennis Smith -- ch. 5. Peasantries / by Eric Vanhaute, Hanne Cottyn, and Yang Wang -- ch. 6. Large enterprises and corporate power / by Jorge Fonseca -- ch. 7. Intellectual property / by Ravi Sundaram -- ch. 8. The States / by Atilio A. Borom and Paloma Nottebohm -- ch. 9. Citizenship / by Oleksandr Fisun and Volodymyr Golovko -- ch. 10. Women's spaces and a patriarchal system / by Linda Christiansen-Ruffman -- ch. 11. Deviance / by Ari Sitas. [et al.] -- ch. 12. Conclusion / by Immanuel Wallerstein.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Chapter 1 Introduction -- Chapter 2 Ecology and the Geography of Capitalism -- Chapter 3 Economic Inequality, Stratification, and Mobility -- Chapter 4 Cities -- Chapter 5 Peasantries -- Chapter 6 Large Enterprises and Corporate Power -- Chapter 7 Intellectual Property -- Chapter 8 The States -- Chapter 9 Citizenship -- Chapter 10 Women's Spaces and a Patriarchal System -- Chapter 11 Deviance -- Chapter 12 Conclusion -- Bibliography -- About the Author.