Affective polarisation in times of political instability and conflict: Spain from a comparative perspective

Abstract

This is an introductory article for a special issue on affective polarisation in Spain. After discussing the concept and its operationalisation in multi-party settings, we offer data on affective polarisation in Spain and Southern Europe from a comparative perspective using the Comparative National Election Project (CNEP) and Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES). In the second part, we pay special attention to the Spanish case, analysing different dimensions of affective polarisation and its evolution overtime, by taking advantage of an extensive number of indicators from the E-DEM panel survey. Finally, we describe its relationship with ideological polarisation and analyse its possible multidimensional nature. We conclude by introducing the rest of contributions of this special issue.