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Value Cleavages and Partisan Conflict: The 2004 American Presidential Election in Comparative Perspective
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the analysis of these data items were re-scored in such a manner as to have "1" on this continuum always reflect a "leftist" stance, "10" represent the most conservative orientation, and values ranging between those two extremes representing intermediate positions.
In Table 1, we present the mean scores resulting from responses to these questionnaire items in
each of the seven countries included in this part of the study. With regard to ReligLib, respondents in Hungary, Hong Kong and Spain have adopted the most secular stance, while Chile appears to be by far the most conservative on traditional religious matters. Moreover, responses to this questionnaire item are skewed to one side or the other in these countries: 40 percent of Hungarians and 33 percent of Spaniards placed themselves at position 1 on this scale, while 37 percent of Chileans opted for position 10. Greeks, in contrast, were very closely balanced between the two extremes: the percentages of respondents placing themselves at positions 1 and 10 in Greece were 26 and 27 percent. The mean score for the American item cannot be directly compared with that of the other countries since its wording had been changed in preparation for the expansion of this cross-national research project into Muslim countries that were considering the adoption of sharia law. Nonetheless, despite the fact that the wording of this item had been substantially "toughened," it is noteworthy that 13 percent of respondents placed themselves in category 10, in full agreement that "Our religious beliefs should provide the basis for the laws of our country" (with a total of 28 percent located within categories 7 through 10), while 37 percent were at the extreme opposite end of this scale (category 1), believing that "No single set of religious beliefs should be imposed on our country." In comparative perspective, however, the relatively low standard deviation for the distribution of responses to this item in the U.S. does not suggest that Americans are abnormally polarized over this value.
[Table 1]
The OrderLib item, in contrast, does not differentiate countries from one another very
substantially, with the one notable exception being Hong Kong. Most respondents in the other countries appear to prefer the more conservative option, highly valuing the maintenance of law and order over protection of individual liberties. Hong Kong, however, is clearly different. Given the "special status" of Hong Kong within the People's Republic of China, and the widespread fear that civil and political liberties might one day be replaced by coerced subservience to an authoritarian regime, it appears that the great majority of respondents in Hong Kong are strongly committed to the defense of civil liberties.
A similar pattern emerges from our examination of responses to the Abortion item. Again,
most Chileans have adopted a conservative stance on this issue, with 50 percent of respondents placing themselves in position 10 on this scale. At the other end of this distribution we find Greeks and Hungarians, 46 percent of whom place themselves in position 1 on this scale. And at the middle of this continuum, we find Spaniards, Uruguayans, and Americans: the mean of their responses are very close to the middle of the 10-point scale, and their distributions into the two extreme positions, 1 and 10, are most closely balanced--23 vs. 17 percent in Spain, 31 vs. 29 percent in Uruguay, and 29 vs. 19 percent in the US. These findings raise an important question: if Americans are no more polarized in their stands on abortion than are citizens of other democratic systems, why has political conflict over this issue been so sharply divisive in the U.S. while it has not been politically salient elsewhere? As we shall argue below, the answer to this question is closely related to information "intermediation" and electoral mobilization by partisan elites and their allied secondary associations.
A totally different pattern emerges from our examination of attitudes toward public sector
enterprises vs. privatization (PrivPub). Here, Greeks and Americans are more conservative than other respondents (although their mean scores of 5.7 and 5.4 are not far from the exact center of the continuum), while Uruguayans and Hungarians most strongly prefer to maintain public sector
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| | Authors: Gunther, Richard., Beck, Paul., Kuan, H.C.. and Smidt, Corwin. |
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the analysis of these data items were re-scored in such a manner as to have "1" on this continuum
always reflect a "leftist" stance, "10" represent the most conservative orientation, and values ranging
between those two extremes representing intermediate positions.
In Table 1, we present the mean scores resulting from responses to these questionnaire items in
each of the seven countries included in this part of the study. With regard to ReligLib, respondents in
Hungary, Hong Kong and Spain have adopted the most secular stance, while Chile appears to be by far
the most conservative on traditional religious matters. Moreover, responses to this questionnaire item
are skewed to one side or the other in these countries: 40 percent of Hungarians and 33 percent of
Spaniards placed themselves at position 1 on this scale, while 37 percent of Chileans opted for position
10. Greeks, in contrast, were very closely balanced between the two extremes: the percentages of
respondents placing themselves at positions 1 and 10 in Greece were 26 and 27 percent. The mean
score for the American item cannot be directly compared with that of the other countries since its
wording had been changed in preparation for the expansion of this cross-national research project into
Muslim countries that were considering the adoption of sharia law. Nonetheless, despite the fact that
the wording of this item had been substantially "toughened," it is noteworthy that 13 percent of
respondents placed themselves in category 10, in full agreement that "Our religious beliefs should
provide the basis for the laws of our country" (with a total of 28 percent located within categories 7
through 10), while 37 percent were at the extreme opposite end of this scale (category 1), believing that
"No single set of religious beliefs should be imposed on our country." In comparative perspective,
however, the relatively low standard deviation for the distribution of responses to this item in the U.S.
does not suggest that Americans are abnormally polarized over this value.
[Table 1]
The OrderLib item, in contrast, does not differentiate countries from one another very
substantially, with the one notable exception being Hong Kong. Most respondents in the other
countries appear to prefer the more conservative option, highly valuing the maintenance of law and
order over protection of individual liberties. Hong Kong, however, is clearly different. Given the
"special status" of Hong Kong within the People's Republic of China, and the widespread fear that civil
and political liberties might one day be replaced by coerced subservience to an authoritarian regime, it
appears that the great majority of respondents in Hong Kong are strongly committed to the defense of
civil liberties.
A similar pattern emerges from our examination of responses to the Abortion item. Again,
most Chileans have adopted a conservative stance on this issue, with 50 percent of respondents placing
themselves in position 10 on this scale. At the other end of this distribution we find Greeks and
Hungarians, 46 percent of whom place themselves in position 1 on this scale. And at the middle of this
continuum, we find Spaniards, Uruguayans, and Americans: the mean of their responses are very close
to the middle of the 10-point scale, and their distributions into the two extreme positions, 1 and 10, are
most closely balanced--23 vs. 17 percent in Spain, 31 vs. 29 percent in Uruguay, and 29 vs. 19 percent
in the US. These findings raise an important question: if Americans are no more polarized in their
stands on abortion than are citizens of other democratic systems, why has political conflict over this
issue been so sharply divisive in the U.S. while it has not been politically salient elsewhere? As we
shall argue below, the answer to this question is closely related to information "intermediation" and
electoral mobilization by partisan elites and their allied secondary associations.
A totally different pattern emerges from our examination of attitudes toward public sector
enterprises vs. privatization (PrivPub). Here, Greeks and Americans are more conservative than other
respondents (although their mean scores of 5.7 and 5.4 are not far from the exact center of the
continuum), while Uruguayans and Hungarians most strongly prefer to maintain public sector
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