A Dynamic Model of Affective Polarization

• In Event: Behavioral Models of Politics

Abstract

It is well-established that the American political elite have become more partisan over the years. Recent studies also find a rise in affective polarization at the mass level. Motivated by these observations, we study the interaction between partisan affect and elite behavior in a dynamic behavioral voting model. Under certain conditions, office-motivated parties diverge in ideology in response to partisan affect among voters, and moreover, policy divergence sustains partisan affect. As a consequence, a transitory shock to the aggregate level of partisan affect can have long term consequences on mass and elite polarization.

Authors

• Daniel Diermeier, University of Chicago

• Christopher Miao Li, Yale University