Affective Polarisation in Citizens’ Own Words

Understanding Group Construction Beyond Party Lines

Abstract

Research on affective polarisation is increasingly focused on conflict between broader political groups beyond party electorates. We add to this literature by exploring how affective polarisation is shaped by citizens’ construction of political group boundaries. Employing a qualitative approach, the study reanalyses focus group data collected between 2019 and 2021 in Belgium. The results reveal that citizens affirm the distinction between vertical and horizontal dimensions of polarisation, but also that political elites are considered without distinguishing along party lines. Second, horizontally, participants rarely mention party electorates, challenging the partisan focus of affective polarisation research. To better understand how affective polarisation takes shape, we zoom in on several socio-political groups that were salient throughout all focus groups. We examine the intersubjective negotiation of group boundaries and how they shape affective polarisation. In turn, we question the seemingly mechanistic nature of intergroup relations and highlight the affective weight group boundaries hold.