Affective and interactional polarization align across countries

TL;DR

This study examines how affective and interactional polarization are interconnected across nine countries, revealing consistent patterns of network polarization, toxicity, engagement disparities, and media referencing behaviors.

Contribution

It provides a cross-country analysis of polarization, linking affective and interactional aspects, and uncovers common patterns in social media interactions and media referencing.

Findings

Political interaction networks are polarized on Twitter.

Out-group interactions are more toxic than in-group interactions.

Out-group interactions receive lower engagement.

Abstract

Political polarization plays a pivotal and potentially harmful role in a democracy. However, existing studies are often limited to a single country and one form of polarization, hindering a comprehensive understanding of the phenomena. Here we investigate how affective and interactional polarization are related across nine countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Turkey, UK, USA). First, we show that political interaction networks are polarized on Twitter. Second, we reveal that out-group interactions, defined by the network, are more toxic than in-group interactions, meaning that affective and interactional polarization are aligned. Third, we show that out-group interactions receive lower engagement than in-group interactions. Finally, we show that the political right reference lower reliability media than the political left, and that interactions between politically engaged accounts are limited and rarely reciprocated. These results hold across countries and represent a first step towards a more unified understanding of polarization.