The Impact of Affective Polarization on Political Participation: A Systematic Review
2025-06-05
Affective polarization is widely considered detrimental to democratic processes, yet recent research suggests it may play an important role in political participation. This systematic review investigates the impact of affective polarization on political participation, synthesizing findings from 18 empirical studies. Through a comprehensive search across multiple databases, we address the fragmented understanding of the link between affective polarization and institutional (e.g. voter turnout) and non-institutional (e.g. protest) forms of participation. Our findings indicate that most studies show a positive association between affective polarization and political participation, with stronger evidence for its impact on institutional than on non-institutional participation. This pattern also holds for habitual versus non-habitual participation, albeit with variations across different cultural and political contexts. Finally, we highlight the need for further research, particularly through longitudinal and experimental designs and by examining the mechanisms through which affective polarization is linked to political participation.