The DOI matches its Crossref record; 94 of the 94 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Activists and Conflict Extension in American Party Politics
Abstract
Party activists have played a leading role in “conflict extension”—the polarization of the parties along multiple issue dimensions—in contemporary American politics. We argue that open nomination systems and the ambitious politicians competing within those systems encourage activists with extreme views on a variety of issue dimensions to become involved in party politics, thus motivating candidates to take noncentrist positions on a range of issues. Once that happens, continuing activists with strong partisan commitments bring their views into line with the new candidate agendas, thus extending the domain of interparty conflict. Using cross-sectional and panel surveys of national convention delegates, we find clear evidence for conflict extension among party activists, evidence tentatively suggesting a leading role for activists in partisan conflict extension more generally, and strong support for our argument about change among continuing activists. Issue conversion among activists has contributed substantially to conflict extension and party commitment has played a key role in motivating that conversion.
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“At the same time, the extent to which elite-level polarization has influenced the belief systems of ordinary citizens remains a matter of debate8,27,35–40.”
From Cognitive–motivational mechanisms of political polarization in social-communicative contexts (2022) · cites this paper as [37]
In the citing paper
“Furthermore, partisanship exacerbates issue-based conflict27, and party activists are capable of pushing candidates to take more extreme positions on issues over time37.”
From Cognitive–motivational mechanisms of political polarization in social-communicative contexts (2022) · cites this paper as [37]
In the citing paper
“Historically speaking, polarization in the USA reflects social patterns that began with Southern realignment following civil rights legislation, the rise of single-issue interest groups, changes in campaign finance law, and the withdrawal of moderates from party politics and primary races, especially on the political right10,27,31,34,37,72,342,343).”
From Cognitive–motivational mechanisms of political polarization in social-communicative contexts (2022) · cites this paper as [37]
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Metadata
- Authors
- LAYMAN, G. C., CARSEY, T. M., GREEN, J. C., HERRERA, R., & COOPERMAN, R.
- Affiliations
- University of Notre Dame (US)
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
- University of Akron (US)
- Arizona State University (US)
- University of Mary Washington (US)
- Corresponding author
- LAYMAN, GEOFFREY C.
- CARSEY, THOMAS M.
- GREEN, JOHN C.
- HERRERA, RICHARD
- COOPERMAN, ROSALYN
- Venue
- American Political Science Review
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2010-05
- Volume
- 104
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 324-346
- ISSN
- 0003-0554 (ISSN-L)
- 1537-5943
- OpenAlex
- W2107628037
- Cited by
- 348
- References
- 94
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 56 · 2022: 26 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 45 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 17 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 31 · 2014: 21 · 2013: 20 · 2012: 14
- FWCI
- 105.98
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Political Science Review (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Electoral Systems and Political Participation
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History › American Political and Social Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Political Theory and Democracy
- Keywords
- party activists, interparty conflict, candidate positions, party commitment, partisan polarization, American party politics
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