Our common bonds : using what Americans share to help bridge the partisan divide / Matthew Levendusky.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Levendusky, Matthew, author.

Series:

Chicago Studies in American Politics

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Party affiliation--Social aspects--United States.

Party affiliation.

United States--Politics and government--21st century.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (234 pages) : illustrations

Place of Publication:

Chicago, Illinois ; London, England : The University of Chicago Press, [2023]

Summary:

A compelling exploration of concrete strategies to reduce partisan animosity by building on what Democrats and Republicans have in common. One of the defining features of twenty-first-century American politics is the rise of affective polarization: Americans increasingly not only disagree with those from the other party but distrust and dislike them as well. This has toxic downstream consequences for both politics and social relationships. Is there any solution? Our Common Bonds shows that—although there is no silver bullet that will eradicate partisan animosity—there are concrete interventions that can reduce it. Matthew Levendusky argues that partisan animosity stems in part from partisans’ misperceptions of one another. Democrats and Republicans think they have nothing in common, but this is not true. Drawing on survey and experimental evidence, the book shows that it is possible to help partisans reframe the lens through which they evaluate the out-party by priming commonalities—specifically, shared identities outside of politics, cross-party friendships, and common issue positions and values identified through civil cross-party dialogue. Doing so lessons partisan animosity, and it can even reduce ideological polarization. The book discusses what these findings mean for real-world efforts to bridge the partisan divide.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

1 Is Overcoming Division a Fantasy?

2 How Can We Mitigate Partisan Animosity?

3 Can Our Shared Identities Bridge the Partisan Divide?

4 Why Can’t We Be Friends: Can Cross-Party Friendships Mitigate Affective Polarization?

5 Does Cross-Party Dialogue Reduce Partisan Animus?

6 Are There Downstream Consequences to Reducing Affective Polarization?

7 What Does This All Mean?

Acknowledgments

Appendix: Data Sources Used

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-226-82469-1

OCLC:

1374540643