Our Common Bonds : Using What Americans Share to Help Bridge the Partisan Divide

Matthew Levendusky

ISBN 10: 0226824705 / ISBN 13: 9780226824703

Published by University Of Chicago Press Mär 2023, 2023

About this Item

Neuware - 'One of the defining features of twenty-first century American politics has been the rise of affective polarization: Americans increasingly report that they distrust and dislike those from the other party and want to avoid interacting with them in a wide range seemingly non-political contexts, from Thanksgiving dinners to dating. This has damaging downstream consequences: many studies and evidence from our everyday lives shows that affective polarization reduces electoral accountability, weakens support for the democratic norms, and makes it more difficult for Americans to responded to crises, such as COVID-19. What, if anything, can be done Our Common Bonds shows that-although affective polarization has multiple causes and there is no silver bullet that will eradicate it-there are concrete interventions that can reduce it. Matthew Levendusky argues that partisan animus stems in part from individuals misperceiving how much they have in common with those from the other party. Survey and experimental evidence show that priming shared identities and connections outside of politics can help people to reframe the lens through which they evaluate the out-party and, in so doing, turn down the partisan temperature'.

Seller Inventory # 9780226824703

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Our Common Bonds : Using What Americans Share to Help Bridge the Partisan Divide
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press Mär 2023
• Publication Date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0226824705
• ISBN 13: 9780226824703
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 226W x 148H x 13D millimeters 226 millimeters width by 148 millimeters height by 13 millimeters depth
• Weight: 348 grams

About this title

Synopsis

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.

About the Author

Matthew Levendusky is professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania, where he also holds the Stephen and Mary Baran Chair in the Institutions of Democracy at the Annenberg Public Policy Center. His books include The Partisan Sort and How Partisan Media Polarize America. He is also the coauthor of We Need to Talk (with Dominik Stecula) and Democracy Amid Crises (Annenberg IOD Collaborative).