Acceso usuarios
, Luis Miguel Miller Moya, Oliver Strijbis
Using evidence from Great Britain, the United States, Belgium and Spain, it is demonstrated inthis article that in integrated and divided nations alike, citizens are more strongly attached to political partiesthan to the social groups that the parties represent. In all four nations, partisans discriminate against theiropponents to a degree that exceeds discrimination against m embers of religious, linguistic, ethnic or regionalout-groups. This pattern holds even when social cleavages are intense and the basis for prolonged politicalconict. Partisan animus is conditioned by ideological proximity; partisans are more distrusting of partiesfurthest from them in the ideological space. The effects of partisanship on trust are eroded when partisanand social ties collide. In closing, the article considers the reasons that give rise to the strength of ‘partyism’in modern democracies
