Affective blocs: Understanding affective polarization in multiparty systems

Abstract

Research has suggested that affective polarization (AP)—the extent to which partisans view each other as a disliked out-group—has increased, especially in two-party political systems such as in the US. The understanding of AP in multiparty systems remains limited. We study AP in Finland, characterized by a strong multiparty system and a low level of ideological polarization, between 2007 and 2019. We find that AP has increased, driven mainly by voters evaluating their least favorite party more negatively. We also propose an approach that goes beyond earlier literature, which has mostly used a single aggregate metric to measure AP. Using latent profile analysis, we find that voters are grouped into blocs that view some parties positively and others negatively. This suggests that the complex dynamics of AP in multiparty democracies involve relationships between not just individual parties but between what we call affective blocs that span across party lines.

End of consensus? Ideology, partisan identity, and affective polarization in Finland 2003–2019

“…Strandberg and Borg (2020) find that the importance of the internet and social media strongly increased compared to previous elections, and Borg et al (2020) further talk about a “political climate change” associated with growing discontent and distrust of both politics and the political system. At the onset of the 2020 s, the Finnish electorate appears fragmented into multiple loosely delimited blocs with similar and partly overlapping partisan attitudes (Im et al, 2019; Kekkonen & Ylä‐Anttila, 2021; Westinen & Kestilä‐Kekkonen, 2015).…”

“…This suggests that the concerns could be a reflection of increasing affective polarization (henceforth referred to as AP), rather than increasing ideological divides. A recent study by Kekkonen and Ylä‐Anttila (2021) provides initial evidence that AP is indeed increasing between Finnish parties. Even so, little is known about this phenomenon in Finland, especially its foundations.…”

Delving into the divide: how ideological differences fuel out-party hostility in a multi-party context

“…However, many of these studies focus solely on the affect towards the own party and the most disliked party, essentially reducing the complexity of a multiparty system back to only two parties or blocks (Huddy et al, 2018;Westwood et al, 2018;Viciana et al, 2019). Moreover, most focus on the negative affect and dislike towards political elites and/or parties rather than the affect towards fellow citizens (Huddy et al, 2018;exceptions include Viciana et al, 2019, Kekkonen andYlä-Anttila, 2021;Reiljan and Ryan, 2021;and Harteveld, 2021a). Yet, it is especially the reported and hypothesized negative effects of affective polarization on the level of citizens that drive most concerns.…”

“…We focus on the Belgian political context and use the analytical leverage this case provides to better understand to what extent affective polarization is ideologically rooted. Here, we focus specifically on the partisan hostility element of affective polarization, which, over time, increased more strongly than the positive feelings towards the in-group, and is more strongly driving the affective polarization trend (Iyengar et al, 2012;Kekkonen and Ylä-Anttila, 2021). Belgium is a particularly well-suited case to answer this question as, due to its highly fragmented multi-party system, citizens have multiple political out-party electorates.…”

“…Nevertheless, given that most of these studies have been conducted in the USA and/or have focused on two competing groups, it remains difficult to disentangle party effects and ideological distance from one another, as there is only one out-group. Scholars have set out more recently to conduct research in the context of the European multi-party systems, but these studies often still focus only on the most disliked party supporters (Westwood et al, 2018;Viciana et al, 2019), or, much like their American predecessors, focus on affection towards political parties or candidates (Kekkonen and Ylä-Anttila, 2021;Reiljan and Ryan, 2021, but for an exception see e.g., Harteveld, 2021a). However, affection towards political candidates or parties is not necessarily the same, neither conceptually nor empirically, as affection towards supporters (Druckman and Levendusky, 2019) and there is only a moderate correlation between the two.…”