The Rise of Partisan Sectarianism and the Threat to Democracy
The year is , and let’s face it, things are getting kinda scary in the world of politics. It’s like everyone’s hopped on the crazy train, and it’s full steam ahead towards Crazy Town. Political science folks are starting to freak out about this thing called “partisan sectarianism,” and how it might be screwing up democratic elections. Basically, it’s like we’re all in a relationship that’s gone wayyy south, and we can’t even agree on what to watch on Netflix, let alone who should run the country.
This ain’t just some academic mumbo jumbo either. This article’s diving deep into the research of five seriously smart peeps who are trying to figure out what’s making us all act like a bunch of toddlers fighting over the last cookie.
Is It Time to Break Up With Democracy?
Here’s the million-dollar question: Are there people out there who are so over this whole democracy thing that they’d rather burn it all down than see the other side win? And like, are these people just your average keyboard warriors, or are we talking about our neighbors, our coworkers, maybe even… *gasp*… our families?
These questions are like, the political science version of “Are we alone in the universe?” Everyone’s talking about them because, honestly, democracies around the world are starting to look like a bad reality TV show, complete with drama, backstabbing, and enough shade thrown to block out the sun.
Feeling the Political Heat (Literally)
So, back in the day, when researchers wanted to know how much people disliked the other political party, they used these things called “feeling thermometers.” Imagine a scale from zero to a hundred—like, zero is you want to give those political yahoos a hug, and a hundred is you want to launch them into the sun.
Problem is, these thermometers were about as useful as a screen door on a submarine. Sure, they told you people had some strong feelings, but they didn’t really tell you if those feelings would actually make people do anything crazy, like, you know, storm the Capitol or something.
“Partisan Sectarianism”: The New Political Plague
Enter stage left: five scholars who are basically the Avengers of political science. We’ve got Eli Finkel, James Druckman, Alexander Landry, Jay Van Bavel, and Rick H. Hoyle (try saying that five times fast). These brainy folks are saying, “Hold up, people, there’s a new bad boy in town, and its name is ‘partisan sectarianism.'” They even wrote a whole paper about it, because that’s what academics do when they’re onto something juicy. They called it “Partisan Antipathy and the Erosion of Democratic Norms” (catchy, right?).
Their big idea? It’s not just about disliking the other party—it’s about seeing them as the actual spawn of Satan, like, they eat puppies for breakfast and want to destroy everything good in the world. And here’s the kicker—these sectarian folks are more likely to say, “Screw the rules, we’re doing things our way,” even if it means democracy goes bye-bye.
Anatomy of a Partisan Sectarian: They’re Not Just Your Average Jerk
So, how do you spot a partisan sectarian in the wild? Here are a few telltale signs:
- “Othering”: These folks basically see the world as “us” vs. “them,” and “them” is going down. They think the other party is full of terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad people who are out to destroy everything they hold dear.
- Extreme Aversion: We’re not talking about a mild dislike here, people. These folks experience a visceral disgust for their political opponents. It’s like finding a spider in your bathtub—except the spider is wearing the other party’s campaign button.
- “By Any Means Necessary” Mentality: These folks are so gung-ho about winning that they’re willing to bend, break, or straight-up ignore the rules. Think of them as the Machiavellians of modern politics – the ends justify the means, even if the means are shady AF.
Taking the Temperature of Sectarianism
To figure out who these sectarian folks are, the researchers cooked up a survey with nine spicy questions. Instead of that wishy-washy feeling thermometer, they asked people to rate their feelings on a scale of to (with being basically “I want to launch you into the sun”).
Here’s a taste of what they asked (in a nutshell):
- “Yo, how much rage are you feeling towards [opposing party] right now?” (Cue the angry emoji)
- “On a scale of ‘meh’ to ‘DEFCON ‘, how much of a threat do you think [opposing party] is to our country?”
- “Would you be secretly (or not-so-secretly) happy if [opposing party] candidates lost, even if it meant some seriously shady stuff went down?”
Yeah, they went there.
Democracy: Going, Going, Gone?
The scary part? The researchers found that people who scored high on this sectarian scale were more likely to support some seriously undemocratic moves, like:
- Gerrymandering: Imagine drawing the voting districts so they look like a Picasso painting, all to make sure your party wins.
- Voter Suppression: Think closing polling places in areas where the “wrong” people vote. Not cool, man.
- Ignoring the Courts: When judges appointed by the other party make a ruling, these folks are all like, “Nah, we’re good.” So much for checks and balances.
- Election Denial: Remember when some folks didn’t like the election results? Yeah, that. Except now it’s like a broken record on repeat.
- Violence and Intimidation: This is where things get really messed up. We’re talking threats, harassment, and even physical violence against people who dare to support the other side.
Yeah, it’s giving “The Purge” vibes, and not in a good way.