Barbara F. Walter, Erica Chenoweth, Christian Davenport, Jesse Driscoll, and Joe Young
Publication Date:
05-2020
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC)
Abstract:
Why are Americans at such odds about what should be done about the novel coronavirus? Why have Americans become so polarized, even on issues related to our health? What is the source of polarization regarding the pandemic and, if a pandemic doesn't bring the American public together, what will?
Topic:
Public Opinion, Domestic Policy, COVID-19, Polarization, and Health Crisis
Nottingham Interdisciplinary Centre for Economic and Political Research (NICEP)
Abstract:
Using panel data from the US states, we document a robust negative relationship between state-level government corruption and ideological polarization. This finding is sustained when state polarization is instrumented using
lagged state neighbor ideology. We argue that polarization enhances political
accountability. Consistent with this thesis federal prosecutorial effort falls and
case quality increases with polarization. The effect of polarization is dampened
when there are other means of monitoring governments in particular strong media coverage of state politics. Tangible anti-corruption measures including the
stringency of state ethics’ laws and independent commissions for redistricting
are also associated with increased state polarization.
GARY C. JACOBSON asserts the 2000 election and its bizarre aftermath in Florida accurately reflected the configuration of partisan politics that crystallized during the Clinton administration: close partisan balance in Congress and in the electorate; distinct regional, cultural, and ideological divisions between the parties' respective electoral coalitions; and a sharp partisan polarization among political elites, echoed, though more faintly, in the broader public. The trends that produced this political configuration predated the 1990s, but they accelerated during the Clinton years, and Clinton himself was a catalyst in their development.
Topic:
Elections, Domestic Politics, Political Parties, Polarization, and Bill Clinton