Editing Political polarization (section)

{{short description|Divergence of political attitudes}}
{{For|the social psychology concept|Group polarization}}
{{use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
'''Political polarization''' (spelled ''polarisation'' in [[American and British English spelling differences|British English]], [[Australian English]], and [[New Zealand English]]) is the divergence of political attitudes away from the center, towards [[Ideology|ideological]] [[extremism|extremes]].<ref name="dimaggio-96">{{cite journal|last=DiMaggio|first=Paul|author2=Evans, John|author3=Bryson, Bethany|date=1 November 1996|title=Have American's Social Attitudes Become More Polarized?|url=http://educ.jmu.edu/~brysonbp/pubs/PBJ.pdf|journal=American Journal of Sociology|volume=102|issue=3|pages=690–755|doi=10.1086/230995|s2cid=144020785|access-date=22 April 2013|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304022840/http://educ.jmu.edu/~brysonbp/pubs/PBJ.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="baldassarri-08" /><ref name="fiorina-08" /> Scholars distinguish between '''ideological polarization''' (differences between the policy positions) and '''affective polarization''' (an emotional dislike and distrust of political out-groups).<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Iyengar|first1=Shanto|last2=Lelkes|first2=Yphtach|last3=Levendusky|first3=Matthew|last4=Malhotra|first4=Neil|last5=Westwood|first5=Sean J.|date=2019|title=The Origins and Consequences of Affective Polarization in the United States|journal=Annual Review of Political Science|volume=22|issue=1|pages=129–146|doi=10.1146/annurev-polisci-051117-073034|s2cid=102523958|issn=1094-2939|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Most discussions of polarization in [[political science]] consider polarization in the context of [[political parties]] and democratic systems of government. In [[two-party system]]s, political polarization usually embodies the tension of its binary political ideologies and partisan identities.<ref name="dimaggio-96" /><ref name="baldassarri-08">{{cite journal|last=Baldassarri|first=Delia|author2=Gelman, Andrew|date=1 September 2008|title=Partisans without Constraint: Political Polarization and Trends in American Public Opinion|journal=American Journal of Sociology|volume=114|issue=2|pages=408–446|citeseerx=10.1.1.69.255|doi=10.1086/590649|s2cid=222436264}}</ref><ref name="fiorina-08">{{cite journal|last=Fiorina|first=Morris P.|author2=Abrams, Samuel J.|date=1 June 2008|title=Political Polarization in the American Public|journal=Annual Review of Political Science|volume=11|issue=1|pages=563–588|doi=10.1146/annurev.polisci.11.053106.153836|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="abramowitz-08">{{cite journal|last=Abramowitz|first=Alan I.|author2=Saunders, Kyle L.|date=27 March 2008|title=Is Polarization a Myth?|journal=The Journal of Politics|volume=70|issue=2|page=542|doi=10.1017/S0022381608080493|s2cid=44020272}}</ref><ref name="bafumi-09">{{cite journal|last=Bafumi|first=Joseph|author2=Shapiro, Robert Y.|date=27 January 2009|title=A New Partisan Voter|url=http://ftp.columbia.edu/cu/alliance/documents/EDF/Monday/Shapiro_Bafumi_reading.pdf|journal=The Journal of Politics|volume=71|issue=1|page=1|doi=10.1017/S0022381608090014|s2cid=154400302}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Segovia-Martin |first1=Jose |last2=Rivero |first2=Oscar |title=Cross-border political competition |journal=PLOS ONE |date=May 29, 2024 |volume=19 |issue=5 |pages=e0297731 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0297731 |doi-access=free |pmid=38809861 |pmc=11135741 |bibcode=2024PLoSO..1997731S }}</ref> However, some political scientists assert that contemporary polarization depends less on policy differences on a left and right scale but increasingly on other divisions such as religious against secular, nationalist against globalist, traditional against modern, or rural against urban.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last1=McCoy|first1=Jennifer|last2=Rahman|first2=Tahmina|last3=Somer|first3=Murat|date=January 2018|title=Polarization and the Global Crisis of Democracy: Common Patterns, Dynamics, and Pernicious Consequences for Democratic Polities|journal=[[American Behavioral Scientist]]|volume=62|issue=1|pages=16–42|doi=10.1177/0002764218759576|issn=0002-7642|doi-access=free}}</ref> Polarization is associated with the process of [[politicization]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chinn |first1=Sedona |last2=Hart |first2=P. Sol |last3=Soroka |first3=Stuart |title=Politicization and Polarization in Climate Change News Content, 1985-2017 |journal=Science Communication |date=February 2020 |volume=42 |issue=1 |pages=119–125 |doi=10.1177/1075547019900290|s2cid=212781410 }}</ref>