Question
Reading: Chapters 6 – 8 of Lilliana Mason, Uncivil Agreement: How Politics Became Our Identity (University of Chicago Press, 2018).
From chapter 6
Why are we so emotional about politics today? Include an explanation of the “intergroup emotion theory.”
From Chapter 7
Why do partisan-ideological sorting and social sorting lead to more political activism?
From Chapter 8
Explain the three ways that the conflict generated by social/political sorting could be ameliorated
Solution
Intergroup Politics
Chapter 6: Intergroup Emotions Theory
Politics generate considerable emotions in the modern world where people have to deal with many social and political issues. Interestingly, people no longer consider the potential of the person in addressing the issues. Instead, they focus on the group, most political parties. Therefore, when the efforts to address the issues fail, they blame the other group instead of individuals. Partisan identity, based on the intergroup emotions theory (IET), which suggests that people interpret events, not based on an individual’s personality, but depending on their implications on the group when social identity is activated, explains political emotions. Therefore, the current emotions regarding politics emerge from the strong affiliations to political groups, such as political parties. More membership to social groups emanates from the activation of social identity, which informs the evaluation and appraisal of group-relevant events. The appraisal, which depends on the social identity generates emotions and action tendencies, such as the possibility to vote for a specific candidate because of affiliation to a particular political party. Social identity, such as partisanship is the primary element of the Intergroup emotions theory and informs the current view of issues affecting communities and the idea of who is best placed to address them.
Chapter 7: Partisan-Ideological Sorting and Social Sorting
Why do partisan-ideological sorting and social sorting lead to more political activism?
Partisan-ideological sorting and social sorting have led to more political activism in recent years. Sorting remains one of the essential factors in political engagement. Ideological and social sorting has accelerated voters’ social group membership because it informs the issues that voters feel are most important when making political decisions. Social identifies, such as religion, race, and socio-economic class, are increasingly informing the party identification at a personal level. Partisan-ideological sorting and social sorting inform the political issues that people consider the most important. As a result, they engage in activism in an attempt to get political actors to address those issues. For example, members of a racial group will come together to engage leaders in their political parties to solve their social issues, such as the high unemployment rate. The social sorting and ideological sorting inform the social group membership, which, in turn, create the agenda for the group to pursue. The process is also predictive of partisan choices and collaborative attempts to deal with social, political, and economic challenges through activism. Interest groups believe that they can come together and petition their political leaders to help them to overcome their social challenges.
Chapter 8: Addressing Conflicts Caused by Social/Political Sorting
Leaders can use various alternatives to address the conflict generated by social/political sorting. Since people come together in an attempt to petition their leaders to address their problems and can conflict with other groups, the most effective solution is to create equality. Addressing socio-economic challenges will eliminate the need for the pressure to join the groups that people feel will address their problems. Effective leadership is also essential to address the conflicts that emerge from social/political sorting. Political leaders should always try to bring together the dissenting group to agree on how to address socio-economic issues. Although it might be impossible to get dissenting groups to unite because of social identity and partisan interests, leaders can get them to agree by working together. Finally, improving the society’s economic situation, such alleviating poverty through employment, can help to address conflicts that arise from social/political sorting. Leaders should also address social, cultural, and religious issues that cause dissent.
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