The new engine of voting: Out-party hostility outpaces in-party loyalty across established democracies

A new study led by Professor Diego Garzia of the University of Lausanne, published in Public Opinion Quarterly, reveals a major shift in electoral motivation. In many Western democracies, voters are now more driven by opposition to their political adversaries than by support for their own side. This phenomenon marks a move away from ideological disagreement toward an emotionally charged dynamic rooted in rejection and hostility, an evolution that may ultimately weaken the very foundations of democratic debate.