Der politische Diskurs in den USA ist weniger substanziell und weniger höflich geworden und führt häufig zu persönlichen Beleidigungen. Die Forscher stellten ein asymmetrisches Muster fest: Während persönliche Angriffe in beiden Parteien vorkommen, werden sie von Republikanern 2,7-mal häufiger geübt als von Demokraten.

https://keough.nd.edu/news-and-events/news/do-political-insults-pay-off-new-research-shows-what-politicians-actually-gain-from-divisive-political-rhetoric/

28 Kommentare

  1. Amid widespread concern that **American political discourse has become less substantive and less civil, often devolving into personal insults**, the question of why political elites engage in divisive rhetoric has continued to puzzle the public.

    A new study co-authored by University of Notre Dame political scientist Marc Jacob offers a provocative explanation: the answer, quite simply, is media attention.

    Its authors introduce the concept of the “conflict entrepreneur” — a legislator who disproportionately levels personal attacks on the integrity, morality or intellect of their peers.

    “Usually when we think about conflict in politics, it’s about political parties and candidates disagreeing on issues to discuss them and arrive at a compromise,” said Jacob, assistant professor of democracy and global affairs in the Keough School of Global Affairs. “But we are seeing an increasing trend that is not about policy anymore. Conflict takes the form of personal attacks, a new communication style that is shaping democratic politics.”

    **The researchers found an asymmetric pattern: while personal attacks occur in both parties, they are delivered 2.7 times more frequently by Republicans than by Democrats**. Personal attacks also occur 1.3 times more frequently in the House of Representatives than in the Senate.

    For those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:

    https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/5/3/pgag038/8524399

  2. el_kabong909 on

    This is a 100% purposeful and well executed long term strategy that began as a reaction to the rising power of labor and minorities in the late sixties.

  3. Well when President Doofus acts like a child who never learned to speak properly to people, that’s what you get. 

  4. Amish_Fighter_Pilot on

    People who believe in either party don’t want to accept that they actually have no say in our mafia state, and fighting each other is a lot easier than fighting the people in power. Its the same reason French Resistance groups in WW2 fought each other more than they fought the Nazis.

  5. daniellachev on

    The 2.7 times more frequently finding makes the incentive question more interesting than the civility question by itself. If media attention is the payoff then the next useful step is measuring which outlets or formats reward that behavior most consistently.

  6. I really urge people to read the article, as this was a minor point according to the article, unlike how well aggressive language turns into news coverage.

  7. Bebopdavidson on

    And the things considered “personal attacks” by democrats are just fact checking.

  8. Yes, political discourse has become more hostile, but that 2.7× figure depends heavily on how “personal attacks” are defined and measured. Without understanding the methodology, it’s hard to treat it as definitive.

    Also, focusing on which party does it more can miss the bigger issue: the current political environment tends to reward incivility across the board. The structural incentives matter just as much as the numbers

  9. Teaching my kids Ancient Greek and inculcating a love for western philosophy starting with Plato.

  10. No-Significance2070 on

    Having been on this website, I think that would be the other way around…

  11. Republicans go for ad hominem attacks because they their vapid and shallow minds can’t understand basic political policy and consequences. If they could, they wouldn’t be republicans.

  12. Clearly they left Reddit out of their study. Just look at the comments when someone passes away (Chuck Norris) and they find out he voted Republican.

  13. MAGASucksAss on

    Yes. Scummy assholes have a tendency to be louder than people who are not scummy assholes.

  14. If reddit is of any relevance, I disagree. Ad hominem attacks from democrats come vastly more frequently.
    No other party calls you a fascist simply for disagreeing with you.

  15. JeskaiJester on

    We need to dig deep and bridge the gap, lefties. We can fix those numbers 

  16. The 118th congress was from from January 3, 2023, to January 3, 2025.

    Seeing as the major political discourse at that time was the president’s capacity to serve, which lead to him dropping out at the end of a campaign, I can see how the totality of statements from the period could be seen as directed personally. 

  17. SsooooOriginal on

    Problem is, this is at least a decade old news and we are carbon powder cooked by now.

    The qonservatives have willfully put themselves in an indefensible corner and are willing to torch everything to keep from admitting to the absolute hypocrisy of their „party“.

    >!thefiles sure aren’t in the headlines!<

  18. Single-Refuse174 on

    Its so funny because if you asked them, its liberals who are very mean. “Look how they reacted to Charlie :(“

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