Who Attacks Whom? How Policy Disputes and Coalitions Drive Party Elite Conflict

• In Event: Foundations of Affective Polarization

Abstract

We extend the literature on affective polarization in mass publics to analyze cross-party conflict and cooperation between European party elites. Analyzing the codings of tens of thousands of media reports of elite-level, interparty cooperation and conflict in Europe between 2001 and 2019, we will assess the extent to which elites’ conflictual interactions are linked to policy disagreements on economic and cultural issues, to governing coalition arrangements, and to rival parties’ differing degrees of populism. Our findings will illuminate sources of elite-level conflict and cooperation, which have been shown to influence rank-and-file citizens’ affect towards opponents, i.e., affective polarization.

Authors

• James Adams, University of California, Davis

• Josephine T. Andrews, University of California, Davis

• Braeden Davis

• Alexa Federice, University of California, Davis