American Political Polarization in the 2010s
Datum
2022
Autor:innen
Olds, Nathaniel
Zeitschriftentitel
ISSN der Zeitschrift
Bandtitel
Verlag
University of Oregon
Zusammenfassung
It is often claimed that political polarization is becoming more and more rampant in the United States, but researchers in the field of political science debate this. Some support this claim and some argue against it, but many accept that it is more complicated than it is made out to be. This thesis examines some of the competing investigations on the subject and expands on them, using data from the American National Election Studies (as many others have done in the past). Data is pulled from the 2012, 2016, and 2020 ANES Time Series, which poll thousands of people in conjunction with each of these years’ November elections. Although there is no one way to measure this somewhat subjective subject, this thesis focuses on cross-referencing the ANES Party Identification variable with the Feeling Thermometer variable (a measure used to determine respondents’ feelings towards a particular subject). Feeling Thermometers for both the Republican and Democratic Parties are analyzed to view how public opinion towards these parties has changed over the past ten years. In terms of these measures, this thesis finds indications that polarization is relatively high, but inconclusive support for the claim that polarization has consistently and dramatically increased over the past decade.
Beschreibung
Schlagwörter
Political Polarization, Politics, Political Parties, Public Opinion, Political Science