Affective polarization in low-partisanship societies. The case of Chile 1990–2021

Abstract

Does the decline in party identification lead to a decrease or an increase in affective polarization? In recent years, research about affective polarization has increased, asking whether contemporary publics polarize in terms of their affective evaluations of the opposite party. Evidence shows that, at least in some cases, there are signs of increased polarization. At the same time, however, there is evidence of a decline in party identification, suggesting that the parties no longer attract people's hearts and minds. These two results might conflict. However, whether and how affective polarization and declining partisanship are related has received little attention. To address this issue, in this article, we investigate how much affective polarization there is in Chile, how it has changed over time. We use survey data from Chile between 1990 and 2021, a country that has shown a profound and constant loss in partisanship. First, we show that affective polarization varies over time and that, at the aggregate level, the decline in partisanship does not impact affective polarization. Second, the groups that show higher polarization also change: if by 1990 the more polarized were people identifying with left-wing parties, by 2021, affective polarization is similar across groups, including those who do not identify with political parties.

Putting the affect into affective polarisation

“…While the affective polarisation literature has primarily focused on American politics, there is a robust literature that also considers the presence, causes and consequences of (rising) affective polarisation outside the United States (e.g. Bassan-Nygate & Weiss, 2022 ; Bäck et al, 2023 ; Boxell et al, 2024 ; Garrett & Bankert, 2020 ; Garzia et al, 2023 ; Gidron et al, 2020 ; Harteveld, 2021 ; Hobolt et al, 2021 ; Hobolt et al, 2023 ; Janssen, 2024 ; Kekkonen & Ylä-Anttila, 2021 ; Orhan, 2022 ; Renström et al, 2021 ; Segovia, 2022 ; Turner-Zwinkels et al, 2023 ; Wagner, 2021 ). The concept of partisanship is far more complicated outside of the two-party U.S., and, in a multiparty system, requires unique assumptions about which parties a person identifies with and which parties a person does not (Reiljan, 2020 ; Wagner, 2021 ).…”

Threats, Emotions, and Affective Polarization

“…Recently, researchers have also begun to explore affective polarization in other contexts. For instance, Torcal and Comellas (2022) and Segovia (2022) found that affective polarization is present in Latin American countries, such as Uruguay and Chile.…”

Affective polarization, support for democracy, and the mediating role of the winner-loser status. A comparative study

“…Affective polarization is not only about political identification and partisanship, as sometimes is considered, but the difference and distance between affects toward ingroups and outgroups. Furthermore, research has shown that affective polarization has been growing in different countries for the last ten or twenty years, raising questions about the sources and potential consequences of those trends (Gidron et al, 2020;Segovia, 2022;Garzia et al, 2023).…”

“…This case and others lead to questions about the potential impact of affective polarization on democratic politics. One of those signs is the increased levels of affective polarization documented in several countries (Gidron et al, 2020;Segovia, 2022;Garzia et al, 2023). Does affective polarization undermine support for and satisfaction with democracy?…”