Description
Book SynopsisTrade Review"This book will stimulate great classroom discussions. Highly recommended." * Choice *
"Matthew Levendusky’s book,
Our Common Bonds, focuses on partisan divisions, but his methods and data are different from those of [other] authors. Rather than focusing on ideology or issue attitudes, his concern is affective polarization, or the growing hostility and mistrust Americans feel for the other party and its supporters—a trend that he, like many observers, sees as corrosive of democratic norms. . . He contends that these attitudes are based in part on misinformation about the other side and can be mitigated by reminders of shared identities: not only 'Americanness' but also more mundane connections like shared allegiance to sports teams, friendships, or family ties cutting across party lines." * Perspectives on Politics *
“Twenty-first-century American politics has been defined by polarization. In two prior seminal books, Levendusky offered crucial insights into how ideological sorting and partisan media have shaped the ways in which citizens have polarized. This book is yet another foundational contribution, revealing what strategies can counteract dangerously high levels of affective polarization. The book greatly advances what we know about citizen reasoning, partisanship, and identity more generally. It is required reading for all who want to understand and improve American democracy. In short, Levendusky has yet again provided an agenda-setting book.” -- James N. Druckman, Northwestern University
