Culture Wars, GAL/TAN Positioning and Affective Polarization in Spain
Debate: The Political Polarization. A Multidimensional Approach
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54790/rccs.119Keywords:
affective polarization, GAL/TAN, ideology, post-materialism, culture wars, issue polarizationAbstract
This article examines the GAL/TAN dimension (Green-Alternative-Libertarian vs. Traditional-Authoritarian-Nationalist) and its implications for sociocultural polarization and emerging political agendas. Using a strictly quantitative approach, based on survey data from Spanish voters, it analyzes positions on issues such as feminism, environmentalism, immigration, and gender-based violence. The objective is to identify the variables influencing these positions and their impact on levels of affective polarization. The findings suggest that topics associated with the GAL/TAN axis exacerbate sociocultural divisions and contribute to heightened hostility between partisan groups. Furthermore, the role of age and gender in shaping GAL/TAN positions shows how cultural conflicts are essentially configured along generational and gender lines. This study contributes to the broader debate on the GAL/TAN dimension by offering empirical evidence from the Spanish case, underscoring how these issues, as they gain prominence, intensify political and social divides.
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