Public views of political conflict generally align with expert ratings of polarization

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October 12, 2021

Diversity and Division in Advanced Economies

Public views of political conflict generally align with expert ratings of polarization

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Public views of political conflict generally align with expert ratings of polarization

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Diversity and Division in Advanced Economies
Increasing shares see diversity positively
Perceptions of conflict between groups much higher in South Korea and U.S., especially between those who support different political parties
Around half or more in several publics say people do not agree on basic facts
Views of COVID-19’s effect on unity factor into views of political conflict
Perceived strength of societal conflicts varies widely
Democrats more likely to see most societal conflicts, though both parties see partisan ones
Political divisions in France regarding strength of conflicts
Few in Singapore say there are conflicts, though perceptions differ by ethnic and religious identity
Younger people more likely to see benefits of diversity
Many believe their society to be better off with people of many backgrounds
Larger shares see benefits of diversity in 2021 than in 2017
Right-wing populist party supporters less likely to say a diverse society is a better place to live
Discrimination based on race and ethnicity considered to be a problem
Younger people more likely to think racial or ethnic discrimination is a very serious problem
Ideological left more concerned about racial and ethnic discrimination
Those in U.S., South Korea and France see more conflict in their societies
Americans and Koreans see strong tensions between political parties
Younger Europeans see more conflict between political party supporters
Sizable shares in U.S., France and Italy see very strong ethnic conflicts
Many do not see strong religious tensions in their society
Most do not see conflicts between those who live in urban vs. rural areas
Views vary internationally regarding whether people agree on basic facts
Population distribution by type of region
Political polarization index scores
Share of lower chamber seats by party
Estimated religious composition, 2020
Ethnic and racial composition of the 17 advanced economies surveyed
Appendix: Political categorization
European populist party classifications
American Trends Panel recruitment surveys
Invitation and reminder dates
Weighting dimensions
Unweighted sample sizes and error attributable to sampling
Final dispositions
Cumulative response rate

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ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts.

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