Replication Data for: \"How Does Affective Polarization Feel? A Comparative Description\", European Journal of Political Research

Affective polarization has become a central concept to explain how citizens think and behave in Western democracies. However, while research made great progress studying the causes, consequences, and remedies of this concept, we know surprisingly little about how affective polarization actually feels. This research note contributes to recent efforts to characterize affective polarization with specific emotions. Drawing on cross-sectional data from five European countries (Denmark, Germany, Italy, Poland, and the UK; total N = 4,794), we analyze which emotions respondents report to experience toward in-party and out-party voters, and which of these emotions correlate with affective polarization scores. While we find that only few respondents report negative emotions toward in-party voters, they feel moderate amounts of hope, enthusiasm, and pride without being exuberant. Fear-related emotions toward out-party voters are rare, and while one in five respondents experiences extreme anger, disappointment, or disgust toward opponents, up to 50% experience these emotions just slightly or not at all. The emotions most consistently related to affective polarization are positive emotions toward in-party voters and—to a lesser extent—aversion, hate, and disgust toward opponents. We describe patterns across countries and demographic backgrounds and highlight a practical implication: affective polarization feels more positive than what prevailing notions of “fear and loathing” let believe.