On University of Rochester Week: Is democracy under threat in today’s political climate?
James Druckman, the Martin Brewer Anderson professor of political science, explores this.
James Druckman is a professor of political science at the University of Rochester and has published approximately 200 articles and book chapters in political science, communication, economics, science, and psychology journals. He has authored, co-authored, or co-edited seven books. His research focuses on political preference formation and communication, and his work examines how citizens make political, economic, and social decisions in various contexts. He also researches the relationship between citizens’ preferences and public policy and the polarization of American society.
Does American Political Hostility Threaten Democracy?
We live in an age of partisan hostility. How much does that matter to the future of American democracy?
Based on research that I and several colleagues from across the country have conducted, partisan hostility alone is unlikely to lead to the collapse of American democracy. But it does have a damaging effect on democracy and could erode democratic institutions and functioning over time.
A 2022 Pew Research Center study found that most enrolled Democrats and Republicans use words like “immoral,” “dishonest,” and “unintelligent” to describe their counterparts on the other side of the aisle. These negative attributions have grown over the last quarter century: in short most partisans hate the other side.
My colleagues and I collected panel survey data from 2019 through 2021—tumultuous years marked by various disruptive and volatile national events. We found that partisan hostility has degraded politics by politicizing previously non-political issues, such as the expertise of government agencies like the Food and Drug Administration. Compromise has been undermined, however, these factors are not necessarily enough to undermine democracy. We found that hostility does not directly relate to the most egregious actions, such as support for violence. It also barely relates to support for violating democratic norms such as checks and balances to benefit one’s party.
That said, political leaders can gradually get away with taking undemocratic actions as a response to the lack of compromise. Partisans holding high levels of animosity for their counterparts and blind loyalty to their party may not recognize steps that elites take as eroding democracy.
The future of American democracy depends on how politicians, more than ordinary voters, behave. In a stable democracy such as the United States, citizens can, in theory, act as a check. But if animosity undermines functioning, a few political elites could imperil democracy with a power grab.
Read More:
[The University of Chicago Press] – Partisan Hostility and American Democracy
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