Lilliana Mason, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins, delves into the emotional undercurrents of political polarization. She discusses how cultural and political identities have aligned, fueling divisive sentiments. The conversation highlights the media's role in spreading misinformation and shaping perceptions, as well as the historical transformation of political identities in America. Mason also explores the implications of technology on tribalism, potential solutions for voter representation, and the urgent need for emotional engagement in democracy.
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insights INSIGHT
Democracy's Fragility
Democracy is a delicate system requiring buy-in from everyone to function.
It's the only system where diverse societies trade power without fighting, making its success somewhat miraculous.
insights INSIGHT
Cross-Pressures and Alignment
Divides in society, when pushing in different directions, are less dangerous individually.
The current issue is the increasing alignment of these divides, like political affiliation with cultural identity.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Eisenhower Era Politics
In the 1950s, the American Political Science Association wanted parties to differentiate more.
Eisenhower's era exemplified the lack of clear distinction between parties, making voters feel their choice didn't matter.
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In *Uncivil Agreement*, Lilliana Mason examines the growing social gulf across racial, religious, and cultural lines that have come to divide neatly between the two major political parties. She argues that group identifications have altered the way people think and feel about themselves and their opponents. Even when Democrats and Republicans can agree on policy outcomes, they tend to view each other with distrust and prioritize party victory. Mason combines theory from political science and social psychology to describe this 'social' type of polarization in American politics, highlighting its impact on democracy and political engagement.
The Submerged State
Arnold
Radical American Partisanship: Mapping Violent Hostility, Its Causes, and the Consequences for Democracy
Nathan P. Kalmoe
Lilliana Mason
This book, written by Nathan P. Kalmoe and Lilliana Mason, explores the increasing radical partisanship in the United States. Through a series of surveys and experiments conducted over four years, the authors provide new evidence and insights from history, psychology, and political science to contextualize the current partisan divisions. The book examines the scope of the problem, identifies who radical partisans are, and analyzes trends over time. It also investigates the conditions that justify violence and how elections, political violence, and messages from leaders influence radical views. The authors find that ordinary partisanship is more dangerous than previously recognized but also see opportunities to address democratic threats and create a more inclusive politics.
Political outcomes would be relatively simple to predict and understand if only people were well-informed, entirely rational, and perfectly self-interested. Alas, real human beings are messy, emotional, imperfect creatures, so a successful theory of politics has to account for these features. One phenomenon that has grown in recent years is an alignment of cultural differences with political ones, so that polarization becomes more entrenched and even violent. I talk with political scientist Lilliana Mason about how this has come to pass, and how democracy can deal with it.
Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas 
