Summary of 'How, When and Where Can Spatial Segregation Induce Opinion Polarization? Two Competing Models' Paper Under Review as JASSS Fast Track Submission

摘要

The ethnic diversity in western societies is increasing - at the same time, scholars observe a rise in anti-immigrant attitudes and in the support for radical right-wing parties. This fosters scholarly and societal interest in how the spatial segregation of groups affects opinion polarization in a society. Despite much empirical and theoretical research, there is little consensus in the literature on the causal link between the spatial segregation of two groups and the emergence of opinion polarization. We address the segregation-polarization relationship theoretically by framing the puzzle in a formal fashion and adopting a generative approach. We study how, when and where spatial segregation based on a static demographic characteristic leads to the emergence of opinion polarization. We test different causal pathways by explicating alternative micro-level mechanisms (i.e. how) under different initial segregation patterns (i.e. when) and by assessing the extent of opinion polarization between and within demographic groups both at the global and local level (i.e where). For this purpose, we focus on two types of models of opinion formation: models that combine positive with negative influence (hereafter: 'NT) and models of persuasive arguments exchange ('PA'), both of which root in classic sociological and psychological theories of polarization processes. We align and compare these two models in a model-to-model analysis, manipulating the degree of agents' spatial segregation by group membership by means of a Schelling-like model of residential segregation.