TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2007//
TI  - Political polarization
JO  - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
A1  - Dixit, Avinash K.
A1  - Weibull, Jörgen W.
SP  - 7351
EP  - 7356
VL  - 104
IS  - 18
N2  - Failures of government policies often provoke opposite reactions from citizens; some call for a reversal of the policy, whereas others favor its continuation in stronger form. We offer an explanation of such polarization, based on a natural bimodality of preferences in political and economic contexts and consistent with Bayesian rationality. Political polarization entails quite serious risks; political debates get bitter, and the very existence of a civil society may be threatened. Current examples are policies concerning discrimination, immigration, gender, religion, welfare state, human rights, terrorism, civil wars, national sovereignty, and nuclear armament.<p /> <p>Language: en</p> 
LA  - en
SN  - 0027-8424
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0702071104
ID  - ref1
ER  -