Opinion Polarization on Identity Politics and Denationalization Issues: A Longitudinal Comparative Perspective

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Céline Teney
• Subject Area: Empirical Social Research
• Term: from 2020 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 440923825

This project is composed of two research questions: (1) to which extent did opinion polarization on identity politics and denationalization issues in its multidimensionality increase from the 1980s to 2018? and (2) to which extent did the urbanization level of the place of residence gain in importance in explaining opinion polarization on these two issue domains over the last three decades? To this end, I plan to systematically analyze items on identity politics and denationalization issues from the beginning of the conduction (1) of the main international social surveys across a broad range of Western consolidated democracies and (2) of the main national social surveys in a selection of Western consolidated democracies with a similar level of globalization but with contrasting political systems (i.e., Germany, France, the Netherlands, the UK and the US). Identity politics and denationalization issues have become pivotal in shaping the success of right-wing populist parties and—at the opposing end—green parties and other parties with a cosmopolitan program. Furthermore, these issue domains have been increasingly politicized by political actors of Western democracies in the last decades. This, in turn, is likely to translate into increasingly polarized opinions and a resulting political mobilization among citizens along these issue domains. Moreover, a burgeoning strand of empirical studies has been pointing to the key role played by residential segregation in opinion polarization and in the current growing success of right-wing populist and cosmopolitan political actors. The project´s systematic analysis of social survey data covering more than three decades will provide essential insights into the origin, evolution and composition of one of the current most salient political divides in Western consolidated democracies. Moreover, with its focus on residential opinion polarization this project will provide a fine-grained understanding on the origin and development of one of the assumed key factors behind this political divide. The topic of this project has therefore not only a high scientific, but also a high societal and political relevance.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants