Does affective polarization contribute to democratic backsliding in America?
Abstract
A notable development in 21st-century American politics is the rise of affective polarization: partisans increasingly dislike and distrust those affiliated with the other political party. We offer a wide-ranging review of the nature of party identification; the factors that contribute to affective polarization; and the consequences of this kind of polarization on electoral politics, democratic transgressions, and democratic functioning. We conclude that there is scant evidence of a direct link between affective polarization and democratic backsliding in the U.S., and we argue that understanding the erosion of democratic norms and institutions means that we should consider a wider range of potential causal factors among elites and the general citizenry. Affective polarization has likely made democratic functioning more difficult, though, so interventions to address it are worthwhile: these should focus on core causes rather than on behavioral symptoms.
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Work with existing measures has been inconclusive about the relationship between affective polarization and support for partisan-based anti-democratic attitudes.
“Yet, work with the existing measures has been inconclusive about the relationship between affective polarization and support for partisan-based anti-democratic attitudes (e.g., ignoring checks and balances if one's party is in power) (cf.Broockman et al., 2023;Druckman et al., 2023Druckman et al., , 2024;;Kingzette et al., 2021;Lelkes & Westwood, 2017;Tappin & McKay, 2019;Voelkel et al., 2023;West”
From Measuring affective polarization: Matching concepts to measures (2026) · cites this paper as Druckman et al., 2023
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Reranking partisan animosity in algorithmic social media feeds alters affective polarization
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“If social media algorithms are causing affective polarization, they might not only bear responsibility for rising political incivility online ( 24 ), they might also pose a risk to trust in democratic institutions ( 25 ).”
Measuring affective polarization: Matching concepts to measures
Druckman, J. N., Klar, S., Krupnikov, Y., Levendusky, M., & Ryan, J. B. (2026) · Political Psychology · doi:10.1111/pops.70152 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Self-citation
- Authors
- Druckman, J. N., Green, D. P., & Iyengar, S.
- Corresponding author
- Druckman, James N.
- Venue
- The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2023-07
- Volume
- 708
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 137-163
- ISSN
- 0002-7162 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-3349
- OpenAlex
- W4392999489
- Cited by
- 33
- References
- 29
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 4
- FWCI
- 32.44
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Electoral Systems and Political Participation
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Political Theory and Democracy
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Political Conflict and Governance
- Keywords
- affective polarization, democratic backsliding, party identification, partisanship, democratic norms, democratic institutions, electoral politics, democratic functioning, American politics
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