Matthew Levendusky Books

"The Annenberg IOD Collaborative is composed of: Matthew Levendusky, Josh Pasek, R. Lance Holbert, Bruce Hardy, Kate Kenski, Yotam Ophir, Andrew Renninger, Dan Romer, Dror Walter, Ken Winneg, and Kathleen Hall Jamieson."

The book explores how exposure to partisan programming influences American viewers, leading to increased certainty in their beliefs. It highlights that such programming makes individuals less open to considering opposing viewpoints and less inclined to compromise, supported by experiments and survey data.

The book provides a nuanced evaluation of partisan animosity's impact on American democracy, particularly from 2019 to 2021. It argues that while strong partisanship shapes political behaviors, its effects are conditional, being most potent when politicians deliver clear messages and when issues lack personal stakes. The authors contend that although partisan hostility has harmed US politics by politicizing non-political matters and hindering compromise, it is not an existential threat. Ultimately, the future of democracy hinges more on political leaders' actions than on voter sentiments.

This popular brief text for the one-semester or one-quarter American Government course maintains the framework of the Wilson, DiIulio, Bose, and Levendusky comprehensive text, emphasizing the historical development of the American political system, who governs, and to what ends. The 13th edition of AMERICAN GOVERNMENT: INSTITUTIONS AND POLICIES, BRIEF VERSION, offers coverage of the 2014 and 2016 campaigns and elections; budget battles and the sequestration of funds; ongoing debates about immigration, gay marriage, and other key issues in American politics; and foreign-policy decisions on Afghanistan, the Middle East, and North Korea. We have also reworked each chapter to focus on a clear set of learning objectives to guide students through the material. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version.

Americans today are affectively polarized: they dislike and distrust those from the opposing political party more than they did in the past, with damaging consequences for their democracy. This Element examines this affective polarization present in American politics, arguing that intergroup discussions can mitigate partisan animosity.

"One of the defining features of twenty-first century American politics has been the rise of affective polarization: Americans increasingly report that they distrust and dislike those from the other party and want to avoid interacting with them in a wide range seemingly non-political contexts, from Thanksgiving dinners to dating. This has damaging downstream consequences: many studies and evidence from our everyday lives shows that affective polarization reduces electoral accountability, weakens support for the democratic norms, and makes it more difficult for Americans to responded to crises, such as COVID-19. What, if anything, can be done? Our Common Bonds shows that-although affective polarization has multiple causes and there is no silver bullet that will eradicate it-there are concrete interventions that can reduce it. Matthew Levendusky argues that partisan animus stems in part from individuals misperceiving how much they have in common with those from the other party. Survey and experimental evidence show that priming shared identities and connections outside of politics can help people to reframe the lens through which they evaluate the out-party and, in so doing, turn down the partisan temperature"--