Authoritarianism and polarization in American politics
By: Marc J. Hetherington, Jonathan D. Weiler
Contributors: Weiler, Jonathan Daniel, 1965-
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2009
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 234
ISBN-13: 9780521884334; 9780521711241
Subjects: Politics and government; Authoritarianism; Case studies; Polarisierung; Autoritärer Staat; Right and left (Political science); Polarization (Social sciences)
Other titles: Authoritarianism & polarization in American politics
Description: "Although politics at the elite level has been polarized for some time, a scholarly controversy has raged over whether ordinary Americans are polarized. This book argues that they are and that the reason is growing polarization of worldviews - what guides people's view of right and wrong and good and evil. These differences in worldview are rooted in what Marc J. Hetherington and Jonathan D. Weiler describe as authoritarianism. They show that differences of opinion concerning the most provocative issues on the contemporary issue agenda - about race, gay marriage, illegal immigration, and the use of force to resolve security problems - reflect differences in individuals' levels of authoritarianism. This makes authoritarianism an especially compelling explanation of contemporary American politics. Events and strategic political decisions have conspired to make all these considerations more salient. The authors demonstrate that the left and the right have coalesced around these opposing worldviews, which has provided politics with more incandescent hues than before."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Spanking or time out : a clash of worldviews?; title: Putting polarization in perspective; title: Authoritarianism and non-authoritarianism : concepts and measures; title: A historical account of the roots of worldview evolution; title: Authoritarianism's structuring of contemporary issues; title: Threat and authoritarianism : polarization or convergence; title: Evidence of worldview evolution; title: Immigration : a reinforcing cleavage that now constrains the Republican Party (GOP); title: What the 2008 democratic nomination struggle reveals about party polarization; title: A new view of polarization.