Polarization, Eh?

The Causes and Consequences of Affective Polarization in Canada

Eric Merkley (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

384 Seiten

2026
University of Toronto Press (Verlag)
9781487559038 (ISBN)

Noch nicht erschienen (ca. März 2026)
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Political divisions are growing around the world, while at same time democracy is in retreat. Polarization, Eh? explores the causes, and troubling consequences, of the increasing affective polarization and partisan hostility visible in Canada.

Polarization, Eh? explores the causes and consequences of the growing affective polarization and inter-partisan hostility in Canada. The cracks within Canadian society are now alarmingly clear, with Conservative party supporters becoming antagonistic towards Liberal and NDP voters and vice versa. This book explores the roots of these divisions while bringing us face-to-face with the consequences of our fragmenting political culture.

An expert on public opinion and party politics, Eric Merkley argues that growing partisan hostility has emerged from a widening ideological divide between Conservatives on the right, and Liberal and NDP supporters on the left, which is a product of the polarization of Canada’s political parties over time. He provides evidence of this multi-step theory using cross-sectional and longitudinal survey data and multilevel modelling, while also ruling out several alternative explanations like online echo chambers and growing social group divides. The book employs survey data and embedded experiments to show how rising partisan hostility has heightened partisan-based motivations when Canadians navigate the social and political world, leading to biased reasoning, partisan discrimination, COVID-19 polarization, and support for anti-democratic behaviour by politicians.

Polarization, Eh? highlights the dire need for institutional and societal reform to turn down the temperature in Canadian politics.

Eric Merkley is an assistant professor of political science at the University of Toronto and is director of the Policy, Elections, and Representation Lab (PEARL).

Tables and Figures
Acknowledgments

Part I: The State of Canadian Polarization
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: The Many Faces of Mass Polarization

Part II: Causes
Chapter 3: Sorting Out the Foundations of Affective Polarization
Chapter 4: Follow the Leader
Chapter 5: The Polarization in Our Heads
Chapter 6: Don’t Blame the Media (Probably)

Part III: Consequences
Chapter 7: The Canadian Perceptual Screen
Chapter 8: Can’t We All Just Get Along?
Chapter 9: A Pandemic of Polarization?
Chapter 10: Democracy under Threat?
Chapter 11: Conclusion

Appendix A. Data Sources and Study Details
Canadian Election Study, 1993–2019 (Chapters 1–5)
Digital Democracy Project, Wave 9 (Chapters 3, 5, 6, 7, 8)
Digital Democracy Project, Media Tracking Study (Chapter 6)
Media Ecosystem Observatory (Chapters 6 and 9)
Perceptual Polarization Survey (Chapter 5)
C-Dem Democracy Checkup Module (Chapter 8)
SPV and Norms Survey (Chapters 8, 10)
Appendix B. Additional Analyses

References

Index

Erscheint lt. Verlag	24.3.2026
Verlagsort	Toronto
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 229 mm
Gewicht	1 g
Themenwelt	Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung ► Politische Theorie
Themenwelt	Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung ► Staat / Verwaltung
ISBN-13	9781487559038 / 9781487559038
Zustand	Neuware