Public Opinion Polarization across Europe

While public opinion polarization (POP) has been investigated extensively in the United States (e.g. Fiorina and Abrams 2008), research on European countries is much more limited. A few studies investigate both levels and trends of POP in single countries (e.g. Adams, Green, and Milazzo 2012; Adams, De Vries, and Leiter 2012; Munzert and Bauer 2013). However, few studies that provide a comparative perspective. At the same time we need such a perspective to be able to judge the substantive relevance of both absolute levels and trends of POP in single countries (Munzert and Bauer 2013). The present study represents the first descriptive comparative analysis of POP across European countries relying on a set of cross-national surveys. Initial findings reveal that POP varies strongly across countries and across issues but less so across time. We discuss the implications of this strong cross-country variance such as its potential relevance for explaining various political outcomes, e.g. the reform capability of political systems.