Affective Polarization and Electoral Behavior in Comparative Perspective

Over the last decade, research has focused extensively on the broad societal implications of affective polarization. Less attention has been devoted so far to its political, and especially electoral consequences. Most notably, we know still little about the effect of affective polarization on voting in multi-party elections. This work addresses this gap through an encompassing assessment of the electoral consequences of affective polarization from a comparative and longitudinal perspective. It offers answers to the following broad research questions: (1) What is the effect of affective polarization on individual-level patterns of electoral participation and party choice?; (2) What component of affective polarization matters more for voting behavior? In-party affection or out-party disdain? (3) Does the effect of affective polarization on voting differ across time, institutional arrangements, and electoral arenas? To answer these questions, we rely on blend of currently available (e.g., West European Voter dataset) and original comparative data sources.