Our Common Bonds: Using What Americans Share to Help Bridge the Partisan Divide

by Matthew Levendusky

A compelling exploration of concrete strategies to reduce partisan animosity by building on what Democrats and Republicans have in common.

One of the defining features of twenty-first-century American politics is the rise of affective Americans increasingly not only disagree with those from the other party but distrust and dislike them as well. This has toxic downstream consequences for both politics and social relationships. Is there any solution?

Our Common Bonds shows that—although there is no silver bullet that will eradicate partisan animosity—there are concrete interventions that can reduce it. Matthew Levendusky argues that partisan animosity stems in part from partisans’ misperceptions of one another. Democrats and Republicans think they have nothing in common, but this is not true. Drawing on survey and experimental evidence, the book shows that it is possible to help partisans reframe the lens through which they evaluate the out-party by priming commonalities—specifically, shared identities outside of politics, cross-party friendships, and common issue positions and values identified through civil cross-party dialogue. Doing so lessons partisan animosity, and it can even reduce ideological polarization. The book discusses what these findings mean for real-world efforts to bridge the partisan divide.

233 pages, Paperback

Published March 14, 2023

Reviews

[Grace Tirabassi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very repetitive from chapter to chapter

[Benjamin Lindeen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An academic read. Information dense and often dry. However its novelty and self awareness save what could have been a snooze fest. Recent discourse around political polarization has focused too much on diagnosis and not enough on treatment. "Some men see things as they are and say why; I dream things that never were and say why not?" applies here. Importantly it’s honest enough to say we see hope but acknowledge its unlikely hood.