Ideological polarization in Spain

Debate: The Political Polarization. A Multidimensional Approach

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54790/rccs.117

Keywords:

polarization, ideology, public policy

Abstract

Ideological polarization measures the distances between the political identifications and opinions of different groups of citizens. Spain today shows patterns of ideological polarization similar to other European countries. This type of polarization has increased steadily since the beginning of the century and two clear ideological blocs have been configured that differ in the positioning of their potential voters on most of the issues that make up the political debate. From a longitudinal perspective, polarization on economic issues seems to have increased much more than polarization on moral issues. The latter may even have decreased in the last two decades. We could conclude that, if the main differences are established on the economic axis, the possibility of reaching agreements should be closer than if differences on moral issues are exacerbated. 

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

Author Biography

Luis Miguel Miller Moya, Institute of Public Goods and Policies

PhD in Sociology and scientific researcher at the Institute of Public Policies and Public Goods of the Spanish National Research Council. He has been Associate Professor of Economics at the University of the Basque Country, researcher at the Max Planck Society and assistant director of the Centre for Experimental Social Sciences at the University of Oxford. He is the author of the books Polarizados. La política que nos divide (Ediciones Deusto) and Experimental Sociology. Outline of a Scientific Field (Cambridge University Press). He regularly publishes on political polarisation and experimental methods in disciplines such as economics, political science, sociology, psychology and philosophy.

References

Abramowitz, A. I. (2022). The Polarized American Electorate: The Rise of Partisan-Ideological Consistency and Its Consequences. Political Science Quarterly, 137, 645-674.

Abramowitz, A. I. y Saunders, K. L. (2008). Is Polarization a Myth? The Journal of Politics, 70/2, 542-555.

Baldassarri, D. y Goldberg, A. (2014). Neither Ideologues nor Agnostics: Alternative Voters’ Belief System in an Age of Partisan Politics. American Journal of Sociology, 120/1, 45-95.

Bartels, L. (2023). Democracy Erodes from the Top. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Bishop, B. y Cushing, R. G. (2008). The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America Is Tearing Us Apart. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Coller, X. (2024). La teatralización de la política. Madrid: Catarata.

Dalton, R. J. (2008). The quantity and the quality of party systems: party system polarization, its measurement, and its consequences. Comparative Political Studies, 47/7, 899-920.

Demel, S., Barr, A., Miller, L. M. y Úbeda, P. (2019). Commitment to Political Ideology is a Luxury Only Students Can Afford: A Distributive Justice Experiment. Journal of Experimental Political Science, 6/1, 33-42.

Harteveld, E. (2021). Ticking all the boxes? A comparative study of social sorting and affective polarization. Electoral Studies, 72.

Lorente, J. y Sánchez-Vitores, I. (2022). ¿Giran a la derecha? La ideología de los jóvenes españoles desde la consolidación de la democracia hasta hoy. Revista Internacional de Pensamiento Político, 17, 117-134.

Miller, L. M. (2020). Polarización en España: más divididos por ideología e identidad que por políticas públicas. EsadeEcPol Insight, 18.

Miller, L. M. (2023). Polarizados. La Política que nos divide. Barcelona: Deusto.

Miller, L. M. (2024). La polarización cotidiana en España. Revista de Occidente, 521.

Rodríguez-Teruel, J. (2021). Polarization and Electoral Realignment: The Case of the Right-Wing Parties in Spain. South European Society and Politics, 25(3-4), 381-410.

Rodríguez-Virgili, J., Portilla-Manjón, I. y Sierra-Iso, A. (2022). Cuarenta años de polarización ideológica en España. Revista Empresa y Humanismo, 25/2, 75-103.

Sánchez-Ferrer, L. y Torcal, M. (2024). Affective Polarization and Consensus Building Among Parliamentary Elites. American Behavioral Scientist.

Sartori, G. (2003). Partidos y sistemas de partidos: Marco para un análisis. Madrid: Alianza.

Simón, P. (2020). The Multiple Spanish Elections of April and May 2019: The Impact of Territorial and Left-right Polarisation. South European Society and Politics, 25, 441-474.

Torcal, M. (2023). De votantes a hooligans. Madrid: Catarata.

Weber, W. (2011). Testing for Measurement Equivalence of Individuals’ Left-Right Orientation. Survey Research Methods, 5/1, 1-10.

Published

2025-01-30

How to Cite

Miller-Moya, L. M. (2025). Ideological polarization in Spain: Debate: The Political Polarization. A Multidimensional Approach. CENTRA Journal of Social Sciences, 4(1), 155–172. https://doi.org/10.54790/rccs.117