Does affective polarization undermine satisfaction with democracy? The evidence from the survey data

What is the effect of affective polarization on vote satisfaction? Previous studies investigate various consequences of affective polarization such as support of democratic norms, democratic backsliding, voting turnout, or ideological radicalization. However, to better understand the impact of affective polarization on attitudes toward democracy and political participation, it is important to look into how firm voters are about their votes in elections. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the relationship between affective polarization and vote satisfaction. I propose that voters who have polarized preferences identify the most with a party they vote for and thus are most likely to be satisfied with their voting decisions. On the other hand, these voters who do not emote strong emotions toward a particular party are less satisfied with their vote. However, I expect that this relationship is contingent on such factors as whether the partisans’ party is the winning one or political sophistication. To test this, this paper relies on cross-national CSES survey data both on the individual and the aggregate level. This study contributes to a better understanding of the effect of affective polarization on democratic attitudes.