Multidimensional Party Competition and Out-Partisan Hostility

• In Event: Understanding the Drivers of Polarization

Abstract

Hostility towards supporters of opposing political parties has been a subject of considerable scholarly attention. Existing research has shown that ideological distance is a key determinant of out-partisan dislike. However, how ideological distance matters for hostility in a multidimensional political space remains inadequately understood. Previous studies suggest that party polarization on cultural and economic dimensions moderate each other in shaping feelings towards out-partisans. Yet, it remains unclear under which specific conditions one dimension exerts a more pronounced influence than the other, nor do we know when polarization on one dimension moderates the impact of another. We posit a theoretical framework that bridges both party- and citizen-level components to explain the influence of multidimensional party position extremity on hostility towards out-partisans. At the party level, the dimension's salience to the party and the level of party unity on that dimension influence which dimension drives hostility towards the supporters of opposing parties. At the citizen level, the salience of the dimension to the citizen, the ideological homogeneity of out-partisans, and the citizens' own spatial position relative to the party moderate the effect of party extremity on dimensions. We test our expectations both experimentally and through an analysis of novel data from 12 countries, combined with Chapel Hill Expert Survey data. Through an analysis of the interplay between party- and citizen-level factors, our findings aim to shed light onto the ideological drivers of out-partisan hostility in the context of multidimensional political landscape.

Authors

• Semih Cakir, University of Vienna

• Markus Wagner, University of Vienna