The Impact of Cultural Conflicts on Affective Polarisation

The concept of affective polarisation has a central role in American Politics but there is evidence suggesting that affective polarisation is prominent in EU countries as well. This paper argues that affective polarisation expressed as a group identity beyond partisanship can enforce inter-group conflicts on the basis of cultural issues. In this study, I employ comparative data representing different EU regions. Our analysis suggests that cultural issues reinforced affective polarisation, which successively can affect party choice. Our findings have implications for understanding how affective polarisation can be conditional on views towards cultural issues.