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Does Ideological Polarization Lead to Policy Polarization?

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  • Philipp Denter

Abstract

I analyze an election involving two parties who are both office- and policy-motivated and who are ideologically polarized. One party may possess a valence advantage. The parties compete by proposing policies on a second policy issue. The analysis reveals a subtle relationship between ideological polarization and policy polarization. If ideologies are highly dispersed, there is a U-shaped relationship between ideological polarization and platform polarization. In contrast, if ideological dispersion is limited, increasing ideological polarization generally results in policy moderation. In both cases, valence plays no role in policy polarization. Finally, as in Buisseret and van Weelden (2022), adding ideological polarization adds nuance on the effects of increasing valence: both high- and low-valence candidates may adopt more extreme positions, depending on the electorate's degree of ideological polarization.

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  • Philipp Denter, 2025. "Does Ideological Polarization Lead to Policy Polarization?," Papers 2502.14712, arXiv.org.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2502.14712
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    1. Levy, Gilat & Razin, Ronny, 2015. "Does Polarisation of Opinions Lead to Polarisation of Platforms? The Case of Correlation Neglect," Quarterly Journal of Political Science, now publishers, vol. 10(3), pages 321-355, September.
    2. Konstantinos Matakos & Orestis Troumpounis & Dimitrios Xefteris, 2015. "Turnout and Polarization Under Alternative Electoral Systems," Studies in Political Economy, in: Norman Schofield & Gonzalo Caballero (ed.), The Political Economy of Governance, edition 127, pages 335-362, Springer.
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