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How Bad Can It Get? Polarization and the Public Interest When It Matters

Mark Andreas Lindst Auml Dt Kayser & KASIA NALEWAJKO

British Journal of Political Science2026https://doi.org/10.1017/s0007123425101257article
ABDC A*
Weight
0.50

Abstract

Scholars and political observers, alike, have associated political polarization with the weakening of democratic norms and the undermining of accountability, as partisans trade off the public interest against in-group loyalty. We probe how in-group bias shapes support for collective goods in actual high-stakes settings in an especially polarized democracy. Conducting survey experiments in Poland, we examine two scenarios: electoral integrity during the 2023 parliamentary election that could have entrenched authoritarian rule and national security after Russia’s 2022 invasion of neighboring Ukraine. Our findings show pronounced partisan bias undermining support for electoral integrity – approximately 40 per cent of party supporters with an average level of partisanship supported rerunning an election when their party unexpectedly lost – but less bias in judgments about national security, raising the possibility that individuals may view democracy as more of an instrumental than an intrinsic good.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1017/s0007123425101257

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@article{mark2026,
  title        = {{How Bad Can It Get? Polarization and the Public Interest When It Matters}},
  author       = {Mark Andreas Lindst Auml Dt Kayser & KASIA NALEWAJKO},
  journal      = {British Journal of Political Science},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1017/s0007123425101257},
}

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How Bad Can It Get? Polarization and the Public Interest When It Matters

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.