Societal affective polarization and political distrust
There are increasing concerns about high affective polarization and low political trust in many democracies. While most work connecting the two focuses on elite behaviour, or the individual level relationship between polarization and distrust, the relationship between (perceived) societal polarization and political distrust is less clear. I argue that the perceived affective polarization of society contributes to the widespread political distrust that we see in many democracies. In this talk, I’ll briefly discuss a motivating observational analysis which suggests that societal affective polarization contributes to distrust, especially among the less polarized. I’ll then propose a survey experiment to test whether this relationship may be causal in origin.
Date:
4 December 2024, 12:00 (Wednesday, 8th week, Michaelmas 2024)
Venue:
Centre for Experimental Social Sciences, George Street OX1 2AA
Venue Details:
This is an in-person event that is open to the public. Interested individuals will need to come to the Centre for Experimental Social Sciences located in George Street Mews and a member of the staff will grant you access to the building.
Speaker:
Edmund Kelly (University of Oxford)
Organising department:
Nuffield College
Organiser:
Noah Bacine (University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address:
Noah.Bacine@nuffield.ox.ac.uk
Host:
Noah Bacine (University of Oxford)
Part of:
CESS Colloquium Series
Booking required?:
Not required
Booking email:
Noah.Bacine@nuffield.ox.ac.uk
Cost:
N/A
Audience:
Public
Editor:
Noah Bacine
