Cited by 919Electoral Systems and Political ParticipationSocial and Intergroup PsychologyPopulism, Right-Wing Movements

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Authoritarianism and Polarization in American Politics

Hetherington, Marc J., Weiler, Jonathan D.·2009·Cambridge University Press eBooks

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Abstract

Although politics at the elite level has been polarized for some time, a scholarly controversy has raged over whether ordinary Americans are polarized. This book argues that they are and that the reason is growing polarization of worldviews - what guides people's view of right and wrong and good and evil. These differences in worldview are rooted in what Marc J. Hetherington and Jonathan D. Weiler describe as authoritarianism. They show that differences of opinion concerning the most provocative issues on the contemporary issue agenda - about race, gay marriage, illegal immigration, and the use of force to resolve security problems - reflect differences in individuals' levels of authoritarianism. Events and strategic political decisions have conspired to make all these considerations more salient. The authors demonstrate that the left and the right have coalesced around these opposing worldviews, which has provided politics with more incandescent hues than before.

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Authors: Hetherington, M. J., & Weiler, J. D.
Affiliations: Vanderbilt University (US)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
ORCID: Hetherington, Marc J.
Venue: Cambridge University Press eBooks
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2009-08-24
DOI: 10.1017/cbo9780511802331
OpenAlex: W980306965
Cited by: 910
References: 0
Citations by year: 2026: 31 · 2025: 43 · 2024: 39 · 2023: 29 · 2022: 99 · 2021: 105 · 2020: 90 · 2019: 152 · 2018: 71 · 2017: 39 · 2016: 35 · 2015: 26 · 2014: 39 · 2013: 32 · 2012: 42
FWCI: 47.41
Type: book
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified, 1016 d)
Locations: Cambridge University Press eBooks (publishedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Electoral Systems and Political Participation
Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Populism, Right-Wing Movements
Keywords: authoritarianism, political polarization, public opinion, worldview, issue salience, race, same-sex marriage, illegal immigration, use of force, left-right divide, American politics

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Authoritarianism and Polarization in American Politics

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