Showing papers in "The Journal of Politics in 2008"
TL;DR: This article used data from the American National Election Studies and national exit polls to test Fiorina's assertion that ideological polarization in the American public is a myth and found that since the 1970s, ideological polarization has increased dramatically among the mass public in the United States as well as among political elites.
Abstract: This article uses data from the American National Election Studies and national exit polls to test Fiorina's assertion that ideological polarization in the American public is a myth. Fiorina argues that twenty-first-century Americans, like the midtwentieth-century Americans described by Converse, “are not very well-informed about politics, do not hold many of their views very strongly, and are not ideological” (2006, 19). However, our evidence indicates that since the 1970s, ideological polarization has increased dramatically among the mass public in the United States as well as among political elites. There are now large differences in outlook between Democrats and Republicans, between red state voters and blue state voters, and between religious voters and secular voters. These divisions are not confined to a small minority of activists—they involve a large segment of the public and the deepest divisions are found among the most interested, informed, and active citizens. Moreover, contrary to Fiorina's ...
1,007 citations
TL;DR: The authors examined organizational characteristics such as ideology, size, age, state sponsorship, alliance connections, and control of territory while controlling for factors that may also influence lethality, including the political system and relative wealth of the country in which the organization is based.
Abstract: Why are some terrorist organizations so much more deadly then others? This article examines organizational characteristics such as ideology, size, age, state sponsorship, alliance connections, and control of territory while controlling for factors that may also influence lethality, including the political system and relative wealth of the country in which the organization is based. Using data from the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism's Terrorism Knowledge Base (TKB), we use a negative binomial model of organizational lethality, finding that organizational size, ideology, territorial control, and connectedness are important predictors of lethality while state sponsorship, organizational age, and host country characteristics are not.
380 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors utilize price data from political risk insurance agencies to directly test how domestic political institutions affect the premiums multinationals pay for coverage against government expropriations and contract disputes.
Abstract: There is a renewed interest in how political risk affects multinational corporations operating in emerging markets. Much of this research has focused on the relationship between democratic institutions and flows of foreign direct investment (FDI). Yet the existing studies suffer from data problems that only allow for indirect evidence of the relationship between political institutions and political risk. In this paper I utilize price data from political risk insurance agencies to directly test how domestic political institutions affect the premiums multinationals pay for coverage against government expropriations and contract disputes. I find that democratic regimes reduce risks for multinational investors, specifically through increasing constraints on the executive. Utilizing qualitative evidence from investors, insurers, and location consultants, I explore the mechanisms linking democratic regimes with lower levels of political risk.
365 citations
TL;DR: This article designed a survey experiment in which respondents ranked seven public officials in order of how much they should be blamed for the property damage and loss of life in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and manipulated the information provided to respondents, with some receiving the officials' party affiliations, others receiving their job titles, and others receiving both cues.
Abstract: When government fails, whom do citizens blame? Do these assessments rely on biased or content-rich information? Despite the vast literatures on retrospective voting in political science and attribution in psychology, there exists little theory and evidence on how citizens apportion blame among public officials in the wake of government failure. We designed a survey experiment in which respondents ranked seven public officials in order of how much they should be blamed for the property damage and loss of life in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. We manipulated the information provided to respondents, with some receiving the officials’ party affiliations, others receiving their job titles, and others receiving both cues. We find that party cues cause individuals to blame officials of the opposite party, but citizens make more principled judgments when provided with information about officials’ responsibilities. These results have implications for our understanding of the impact of heuristics and informat...
337 citations
TL;DR: The authors used propensity-score matching to test the conventional claim that higher education causes political participation and found that after taking into account pre-adult experiences and influences in place during the senior year of high school, the effects of higher education per se on participation disappear.
Abstract: The consensus in the empirical literature on political participation is that education positively correlates with political participation. Theoretical explanations posit that education confers participation-enhancing benefits that in and of themselves cause political activity. As most of the variation in educational attainment arises between high school completion and decisions to enter postsecondary institutions, we focus our inquiry on estimating the effect of higher education on political participation. Our primary purpose is to test the conventional claim that higher education causes political participation. We utilize propensity-score matching to address the nonrandom assignment process that characterizes the acquisition of higher education. After the propensity-score matching process takes into account preadult experiences and influences in place during the senior year of high school, the effects of higher education per se on participation disappear. Our results thus call for a reconsideration of ho...
294 citations
TL;DR: The authors explored two hypotheses about how voters encounter information during campaigns and found that people prefer to hear about candidates with whom they expect to agree according to the issue publics hypothesis and the anticipated agreement hypothesis.
Abstract: This article explores two hypotheses about how voters encounter information during campaigns. According to the anticipated agreement hypothesis, people prefer to hear about candidates with whom they expect to agree. The “issue publics” hypothesis posits that voters choose to encounter information on issues they consider most important personally. We tested both hypotheses by distributing a multimedia CD offering extensive information about George W. Bush and Al Gore to a representative sample of registered voters with personal computers and home Internet connections during the closing weeks of the 2000 campaign. Exposure to information was measured by tracking individuals' use of the CD. The evidence provided strong support for the issue public hypothesis and partial support for the anticipated agreement hypothesis. Republicans and conservatives preferred to access information about George Bush, but Democrats and liberals did not prefer information about Vice President Gore. No interactions appeared betwe...
284 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors derive a model from risk-sensitive optimal foraging theory to generate an explanation for the origin and function of context-dependent risk aversion and risk-seeking behavior.
Abstract: Prospect theory scholars have identified important human decision-making biases, but they have been conspicuously silent on the question of the origin of these biases. Here we create a model that shows preferences consistent with prospect theory may have an origin in evolutionary psychology. Specifically, we derive a model from risk-sensitive optimal foraging theory to generate an explanation for the origin and function of context-dependent risk aversion and risk-seeking behavior. Although this model suggests that human cognitive architecture evolved to solve particular adaptive problems related to finding sufficient food resources to survive, we argue that this same architecture persists and is utilized in other survival-related decisions that are critical to understanding political outcomes. In particular, we identify important departures from standard results when we incorporate prospect theory into theories of spatial voting and legislator behavior, international bargaining and conflict, and economic ...
265 citations
TL;DR: Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, it is shown that individuals with a polymorphism of the MAOA gene are significantly more likely to have voted in the 2004 presidential election and there is evidence that an association between a polymorphisms of the 5HTT gene and voter turnout is moderated by religious attendance.
Abstract: Fowler, Baker, and Dawes (2008) recently showed in two independent studies of twins that voter turnout has very high heritability. Here we investigate two specific genes that may contribute to variation in voting behavior. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we show that individuals with a polymorphism of the MAOA gene are significantly more likely to have voted in the 2004 presidential election. We also find evidence that an association between a polymorphism of the 5HTT gene and voter turnout is moderated by religious attendance. These are the first results ever to link specific genes to political behavior.
258 citations
TL;DR: Fiorina and Levendusky as discussed by the authors pointed out that even if the beliefs and positions of voters remain constant, their voting decisions and political evaluations will appear more polarized when the positions candidates adopt and the actions elected officials take become more extreme.
Abstract: A lthough we are surprised that Abramowitz and Saunders continue to advance arguments that we have rebutted in other publications, we are grateful to the Journal for providing another opportunity to address some misconceptions in the study of popular polarization. We will reply pointby-point to the Abramowitz and Saunders critique, but given that our responses have been elaborated at length elsewhere, we refer interested readers to these sources for more detailed discussions (Fiorina and Abrams 2008; Fiorina, Abrams, and Pope 2006; Fiorina and Levendusky 2006;). Before proceeding, we emphasize one observation that partially vitiates several of the Abramowitz and Saunders criticisms. Much of the data they view as contradicting our conclusions consists of vote reports, election returns, and approval ratings. These variables obviously are of paramount political concern, but they can not be used as evidence of polarization—for or against. As explained in Culture War? centrist voters can register polarized choices, and even if the beliefs and positions of voters remain constant, their voting decisions and political evaluations will appear more polarized when the positions candidates adopt and the actions elected officials take become more extreme. When statistical relationships change, students of voting behavior have a tendency to locate the source of the change in voter attitudes, but unchanging voters may simply be responding to changes in candidate strategy and behavior. Abramowitz and Saunders exemplify this tendency and much of their critique goes astray as a result.
233 citations
TL;DR: This paper examined the determinants of social expenditure in an unbalanced pooled time-series analysis for 18 Latin American countries for the period 1970 to 2000, with a full complement of regime, partisanship, state structure, economic and demographic variables, making their analysis comparable to analyses of welfare states in advanced industrial countries.
Abstract: We examine the determinants of social expenditure in an unbalanced pooled time-series analysis for 18 Latin American countries for the period 1970 to 2000. This is the first such analysis of spending in Latin American countries with a full complement of regime, partisanship, state structure, economic, and demographic variables, making our analysis comparable to analyses of welfare states in advanced industrial countries. Democracy matters in the long run both for social security and welfare and for health and education spending, and—in stark contrast to OECD countries—partisanship does not matter. Highly repressive authoritarian regimes retrench spending on health and education, but not on social security.
204 citations
TL;DR: This paper analyzed data from 1958 to 2004 to test hypotheses about women's victory rates and levels of primary competition and found that women generally do not win primaries at lower rates than their male counterparts, women in both parties face more primary competition than do men.
Abstract: When women run in general elections for the U.S. House of Representatives, they win at approximately the same rates as their male counterparts. With the exception of studies of selected congressional districts in particular years, however, scholars have virtually ignored the gender dynamics of the congressional primary process. In this paper, we fill this void, analyzing data from 1958 to 2004 to test hypotheses about women's victory rates and levels of primary competition. Our analysis results in an additional explanation for women's underrepresentation: the congressional primary process. Although women generally do not win primaries at lower rates than their male counterparts, women in both parties face more primary competition than do men. Gender neutral victory rates, then, are not the result of a gender neutral primary process. Women have to be “better” than their male counterparts in order to fare equally well.
TL;DR: In this article, two competing theories suggest different ways in which networks resolve collective action problems: small, dense networks enhance credible commitments supportive of cooperative solutions, while large boundary-spanning networks enhance search and information exchange supportive of coordinated solutions.
Abstract: Two competing theories suggest different ways in which networks resolve collective action problems: small, dense networks enhance credible commitments supportive of cooperative solutions, while large boundary-spanning networks enhance search and information exchange supportive of coordinated solutions. Our empirical study develops and tests the competing credibility and search hypotheses in 22 estuary policy arenas, where fragmentation of authority creates collective problems and opportunities for joint gains through collaboration. The results indicate that search rather than credibility appears to pose the greater obstacle to collaboration; well-connected centrally located organizations engage in more collaborative activities than those embedded in small, dense networks.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors distill an institutional logic that both supports the two-presidencies thesis and implies that Congress has incentives to delegate foreign policy powers to the president.
Abstract: An enduring and controversial debate centers on whether there exist “two presidencies,” that is, whether presidents exercise fundamentally greater influence over foreign than domestic affairs. This paper makes two contributions to understanding this issue and, by extension, presidential power more generally. First, we distill an institutional logic that both supports the two presidencies thesis and implies that Congress has incentives to delegate foreign policy powers to the president. Accordingly, the logic suggests that empirical analysis should incorporate these incentives. Our second contribution, then, is to test for the existence of two presidencies in a domain that Congress cannot delegate, budgetary appropriations, and a domain that explicitly incorporates delegation, agency creation. Consistent with expectations, we find presidents exercise considerably greater influence over foreign policy.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors modeled the internal risk of deposing a leader by mass political movements such as revolutions using selectorate politics and found that unearned resources, such as natural resource rents or aid, increase the likelihood of revolutionary onset and effect how leaders best respond to the threat.
Abstract: In addition to the internal risk of deposition, which is modeled using selectorate politics (Bueno de Mesquita et al. 2003), leaders risk being deposed by mass political movements such as revolutions. Leaders reward supporters with either public goods, which reward the whole of society, improve economic productivity, and increase the ability of revolutionaries to organize, or private goods. If confronted with a revolutionary threat then leaders respond by either suppressing public goods—which prevents revolutionaries organizing—or increasing public goods, so citizens have less incentive to rebel. Unearned resources, such as natural resource rents or aid, increase the likelihood of revolutionary onset and effect how leaders best respond to the threat. The results address the resource curse, the potentially pernicious effects of foreign aid and incentives to democratize.
TL;DR: This paper showed that about three-quarters of what polity, Freedom House, and other indicators of democracy have been measuring consists of variation on the two dimensions of democracy that Robert Dahl proposed in Polyarchy, i.e., contestation and inclusiveness.
Abstract: Because democracy is central to much comparative and international political research, it is crucial for political scientists to measure it validly. We challenge the common assumption that most existing indicators of democracy measure the same single dimension. We present 11 different streams of evidence to show that about three-quarters of what Polity, Freedom House, and other indicators of democracy have been measuring consists of variation on the two dimensions of democracy that Robert Dahl proposed in Polyarchy—contestation and inclusiveness. These two dimensions were consistently fundamental to the most commonly used indicators of democracy from 1950 to 2000. Our analysis produces new indicators of contestations and inclusiveness for most countries from 1950 to 2000.
TL;DR: This paper analyzed voter confidence in the American electoral process and found significant differences in the level of voter confidence along both racial and partisan lines, and found that voter familiarity with the electoral process, opinions about electoral process in other voting precincts, and both general opinions about voting technology and the specific technology the voter uses significantly affect voter confidence.
Abstract: Building on the literature that investigates citizen and voter trust in government, we analyze the topic of voter confidence in the American electoral process. Our data comes from two national telephone surveys where voters were asked the confidence they have that their vote for president in the 2004 election was recorded as intended. We present preliminary evidence that suggests confidence in the electoral process affects voter turnout. We then examine voter responses to determine the overall level of voter confidence and analyze the characteristics that influence the likelihood a voter is confident that their ballot was recorded accurately. Our analyses indicate significant differences in the level of voter confidence along both racial and partisan lines. Finally, we find voter familiarity with the electoral process, opinions about the electoral process in other voting precincts, and both general opinions about voting technology and the specific technology the voter uses significantly affect the level of voter confidence.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors study the comparative statics of the incumbency advantage in a model of electoral selection and strategic challenger entry and show that high-ability candidates are more likely to win election and high-quality incumbents deter challengers.
Abstract: We study the comparative statics of the incumbency advantage in a model of electoral selection and strategic challenger entry. The incumbency advantage arises in the model because, on average, incumbents have greater ability than challengers. This is true for two reasons: high-ability candidates are more likely to win election (electoral selection) and high-quality incumbents deter challengers (strategic challenger entry). We show that this quality-based incumbency advantage is expected to be greater for high visibility offices, in polities with relatively small partisan tides, in unpolarized electoral environments, and in electorates that are relatively balanced in their partisan preferences.
TL;DR: This paper showed that the effect of economic performance on political trust is asymmetric, since fewer people think the economy is important during good times than bad, even the often strong economies of the past 30 years increased trust less than the poor economies diminished it.
Abstract: Political trust has never returned to Great Society-era levels. Conventional wisdom suggests that chronically poor performance explains why. Over the last 25 years, however, performance has often been at least very good. We show that one key to understanding the persistence of lower levels of political trust is that Americans have become more apt to use less favorable criteria when asked to evaluate government. When more people identify international problems as most important, trust increases. Hence the steep decline in concern about international issues after the 1960s has set a lower baseline than before. In addition, we show that the effect of economic performance on political trust is asymmetric. Since fewer people think the economy is important during good times than bad, even the often strong economies of the past 30 years increased trust less than the poor economies diminished it. Taken together, our results imply that a return to 1960s-era trust levels is unlikely.
TL;DR: The authors found that women's political presence trumps the ideology of the party in power in the adoption and scope of maternity and childcare leave policies in 19 democracies from 1970 to 2000, and that the women's parliamentary presence significantly influenced the adoption of these policies.
Abstract: A critical justification for heightening the number of women in elective office is that women will promote policies that improve women's equality and autonomy. When and how does women's descriptive representation matter for policy outcomes? The focus on policy outcomes offers an essential test of whether having more women in office makes a difference for citizens’ daily lives. Systematic analyses of 19 democracies from 1970 to 2000 reveals that women's parliamentary presence significantly influences the adoption and scope of maternity and childcare leave policies. Women's political presence trumps the ideology of the party in power.
TL;DR: The authors argue that the persuasiveness of elite messages depends on their credibility, which, in turn, arises out of an interaction between the sender, receiver, and message, and that only by understanding the interactions between elites, the public, and the press can we account for variations in public responses to presidential foreign policy initiatives.
Abstract: The most widely accepted explanation for the rally-round-the-flag phenomenon is a relative absence of elite criticism during the initial stages of foreign crises. In this study we argue that the nature and extent of elite debate may matter less than media coverage of any such debate and that these often systematically diverge. We also argue that not all messages in this debate matter equally for public opinion. Rather, the persuasiveness of elite messages depends on their credibility, which, in turn, arises out of an interaction between the sender, receiver, and message. Hence, only by understanding the interactions between elites, the public, and the press can we account for variations in public responses to presidential foreign policy initiatives. We test our theory by examining public opinion data and a new dataset on network news coverage of all major U.S. uses of military force from 1979 to 2003. We content analyze all congressional evaluations of the president and the executive branch of government ...
TL;DR: This article found that the volume of advertising purchased by the presidential campaigns during the final weeks of the 2000 election had negligible effects on voter turnout and found no evidence to suggest that attack ads promote or diminish voter turnout.
Abstract: The geographic idiosyncrasies of states and media markets set the stage for a natural experiment in which residents of a given state may be exposed to widely varying quantities of presidential television advertising. We use this natural experiment to estimate the effects of TV ads on voter turnout. Analysis of voting rates in media markets reveals that the volume of advertising purchased by the presidential campaigns during the final weeks of the 2000 election had negligible effects on voter turnout. Classifying presidential advertisements according to whether their tone is positive or negative, we find no evidence to suggest that attack ads promote or diminish turnout. Our findings stand in sharp contrast with recent survey-based studies that report strong turnout effects.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors test the hypothesis that increasing stocks of foreign direct investment (FDI) can lead to de facto decentralization in the form of autonomous reform experiments by subnational leaders.
Abstract: This paper tests the hypothesis that increasing stocks of foreign direct investment (FDI) can lead to de facto decentralization in the form of autonomous reform experiments by subnational leaders. Because these reform experiments may attract FDI in subsequent years, there is a possibility of endogeneity. As a result, the methodology is a simultaneous equation model of 61 Vietnamese provinces between 1990 and 2000. Stocks of FDI as a percentage of GDP are regressed on a measure of autonomy derived from a content analysis of Vietnamese state-owned newspapers. Every time a province is cited in the papers for violating central laws on economic policy by engaging in reform experimentation, it is coded as a case of autonomy. The central question of the analysis is: how much FDI is needed for a province to believe it has the bargaining power to challenge central authority for the first time in a given year? Using this approach, I find strong evidence for the influence of FDI on local autonomous economic reform e...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the quality of political news coverage provided by multiple media outlets as a function of ownership structure and market context and found that corporate ownership and market contexts matter in determining the quality information offered in political news.
Abstract: The quality of political news coverage has implications for the information voters are left with to make political decisions. This article argues that the quality of the information found in political news is influenced by media ownership and market contexts. Using original data containing news coverage of competitive statewide races in 2004, coverage provided by multiple media outlets is examined as a function of ownership structure and market context. The results indicate that corporate ownership and market contexts matter in determining the quality of information offered in political news coverage.
TL;DR: This article developed models of electoral competition in which candidates select levels of effort to win, and provided insights about which causes of the incumbency advantage are consistent with the empirical record, including marginal asymmetries in costs or technology, and voter preferences.
Abstract: Most campaigns do not revolve around policy commitments; instead, we think of campaigns as contests in which candidates spend time, energy, and money to win. This paper develops models of electoral competition in which candidates select levels of effort. The analysis offers insights about which causes of the incumbency advantage are consistent with the empirical record. Marginal asymmetries in costs or technology can explain the advantage; asymmetries in voter preferences cannot. The analysis also speaks to the consequences of campaign finance reform. Reforms can be interpreted as shocks to the cost of influencing voters’ perceptions; limits generally increase the likelihood that advantaged incumbents win, and even limits that target incumbents do not improve the welfare of disadvantaged challengers. Alternatively, caps on the amount of effort can either increase or decrease the probability that the disadvantaged candidate wins. Ironically, with very tight caps, the advantaged candidate wins for sure.
TL;DR: The authors explored the two causal pathways suggested to link public opinion directly to the behavior of justices and the implications of the nature and strength of these linkages for current debates concerning Supreme Court tenure.
Abstract: There is wide scholarly agreement that the frequent replacement of justices has kept the Supreme Court generally attuned to public opinion. Recent research indicates that, in addition to this indirect effect, Supreme Court justices respond directly to changes in public opinion. We explore the two causal pathways suggested to link public opinion directly to the behavior of justices and the implications of the nature and strength of these linkages for current debates concerning Supreme Court tenure. The recent increase in the stability of Court membership has raised questions about the continued efficacy of the replacement mechanism and renewed debates over mechanisms to limit judicial tenure. Our analysis provides little evidence that justices respond strategically to public opinion but provides partial support for the idea that justices' preferences shift in response to the same social forces that shape the opinions of the general public. Our analysis offers preliminary evidence that—even in the absence o...
TL;DR: The authors developed a measurement model for estimating partisanship in the absence of election-specific, short-term factors, such as national-level swings specific to particular elections, incumbency advantage, and home-state effects in presidential elections.
Abstract: Studies of American politics, particularly legislative politics, rely heavily on measures of the partisanship of a district. We develop a measurement model for this concept, estimating partisanship in the absence of election-specific, short-term factors, such as national-level swings specific to particular elections, incumbency advantage, and home-state effects in presidential elections. We estimate the measurement model using electoral returns and district-level demographic characteristics spanning five decades (1952–2000), letting us assess how the distribution of district partisanship has changed over time, in response to population movements and redistricting, particularly via the creation of majority-minority districts. We validate the partisanship measure with an analysis of congressional roll-call data. The model is easily extended to incorporate other indicators of district partisanship, such as survey data.
TL;DR: The authors argue that voters evaluate parties differently when elected representatives are perceived to be constrained by exogenous conditions, and voters respond to globalization by reducing the weight assigned to economic performance evaluations and to party positions on economic issues to compensate, they increase the salience of noneconomic issues.
Abstract: Despite much attention to global markets and domestic politics, political scientists know very little about how globalization influences the most fundamental aspect of representative democracy, the vote. This article presents a model of party choice when the capacity of elites to deliver policy is limited by the global economy. I argue that voters evaluate parties differently when elected representatives are perceived to be constrained by exogenous conditions. Voters respond to globalization by reducing the weight assigned to economic performance evaluations and to party positions on economic issues. To compensate, they increase the salience of noneconomic issues. Analyses of French and British survey data support theoretical claims. Results show that market integration carries greater consequences for domestic politics than implied by recent work on the political economy of industrial democracies.
TL;DR: This article showed that suicide terrorism is a product of political and organizational features of the terrorists themselves, and that suicide attacks are a strategic response by terrorist groups confronting foreign occupation by democratic states.
Abstract: The recent literature on the root causes of suicide terrorism yields several testable hypotheses, most notably that suicide attacks are a strategic response by terrorist groups confronting foreign occupation by democratic states. This study does not find empirical support for this and other common hypotheses and instead demonstrates that suicide terrorism is a product of political and organizational features of the terrorists themselves. While foreign occupation, religious diversity, and group typology do predict suicide attacks, democracies are not more likely to be targets of suicide terrorism. Terrorists, however, who are nationals of nondemocracies are significantly more likely to launch suicide attacks.
TL;DR: Election Day Vote Centers as mentioned in this paper are non-precinct-based locations for voting on Election Day, where voters in the voting jurisdiction (usually a county) are provided ballots appropriate to their voter registration address.
Abstract: Previous election reforms designed to increase turnout have often made voting more convenient for frequent voters without significantly increasing turnout among infrequent voters. A recent innovation—Election Day vote centers—provides an alternative means of motivating electoral participation among infrequent voters. Election Day vote centers are nonprecinct-based locations for voting on Election Day. The sites are fewer in number than precinct-voting stations, centrally located to major population centers (rather than distributed among many residential locations), and rely on county-wide voter registration databases accessed by electronic voting machines. Voters in the voting jurisdiction (usually a county) are provided ballots appropriate to their voter registration address. It is thought that the use of voting centers on Election Day will increase voter turnout by reducing the cost and/or inconvenience associated with voting at traditional precinct locations. Since 2003 voters in Larimer County, CO hav...
TL;DR: The authors argue that political discussion stimulates argumentation, while argumentation impedes discussion, and the combined dynamic helps to explain patterns of persistent disagreement in democratic politics, even when political disagreement is the result.
Abstract: Some people are located, either by intent or by accident, within closed social cells of politically like-minded associates. Others find themselves in politically diverse settings where participants deftly avoid political discussion in an effort at keeping the peace. Still others, in similarly diverse settings, resemble the moth and the flame—incapable of resisting the temptation to address politics, even when political disagreement is the result. We address the factors giving rise to these circumstances based on the 1996 Indianapolis-St. Louis Study. Our central argument is that political discussion stimulates argumentation, while argumentation impedes discussion, and the combined dynamic helps to explain patterns of persistent disagreement in democratic politics.