Affective Polarization and Weak Partisan Institutions in Latin America

Affective polarization is a set of hostile attitudes towards opposing collective identities, which requires vibrant political parties. But what happens when partisan institutions are weak? In Latin America, for example, scholars have extensively documented that parties and party systems tend to have lower levels of institutionalization, brand dilution, and are often used by ambitious politicians as mere electoral vehicles. This research explores the role of personalism as a cause of affective polarization in Latin America, offering an account of such behavior in a context of electoral instability which is a key element of party competition in the region. The hypotheses that emerge from the theoretical argument are tested using data from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES) and electoral data in nine Latin American countries during the 2000- 2021 period. The theory and empirical findings have important implications that go beyond the Latin American case.