Hate, not dislike? Understanding anti-democratic attitudes through a multi-dimensional understanding of affective polarization
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Rising affective polarization (AP) in Western democracies raises concerns about anti-democratic attitudes like political intolerance and support for violence. As prior findings in the field have yielded contrasting results, this paper argues that a more nuanced understanding of AP is needed to better understand this relationship. It does so by examining horizontal AP—polarization toward ordinary citizens rather than toward political parties—anchored in pro- and anti-woke positions, using original survey data from Belgium and the UK ( N = 2,000). Within this horizontal form of AP, three distinct measures are then compared: dislike, social distance, and negative emotions (hate, anger and frustration). First, it examines the association between dislike and social distance and anti-democratic attitudes. Second, it includes negative emotions as a potential mediator. Key findings reveal that political intolerance is mostly driven by social distance (and less so by dislike), while its relation with support for violence runs almost entirely through negative emotions. These results suggest anti-democratic attitudes stem more from avoiding and hating opponents rather than simply disliking them, indicating that emotional intensity matters more than basic negative sentiment.
Source: Frontiers in Political Science
Author: Kamil Bernaerts
Institutions: Vrije Universiteit Brussel, University of Warwick
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,418
OpenAlex ID: W7203723448