Join Zoom Meeting: zoom.us/j/95465830050?pwd=C9bVWTjW7y8dWqi4qED0MgCvVkCrZG.1 (Meeting ID: 954 6583 0050, Passcode: 867678)

(Joint work with Semih Cakir, Alexander Dalheimer, Elena Heinz, Isabella Rebasso)

In this talk, I will present evidence from two linked papers that tackle the notion that people feel that they are treated unfairly due to their political stances and partisan affiliation. It is by now well-established that people are very willing to treat others differently – and less well – if they are from opposing political camps. Yet, we know little about how common it is for people to see themselves as being treated unfairly, and how tolerant they when others engage in political “discrimination”. Yet, establishing these facts is important if we are to understand how citizens perceive unfair treatment based on political characteristics compared to established forms of discrimination. First, results from a 11-country survey conducted in 2024 show that it is common for people to report that they are treated unfairly due to their partisanship or political views. Moreover, such perceptions are higher in countries where affective polarization is deeper: Turkey, the US, Poland and Hungary. Those who support more extreme and less popular positions and parties are more likely to report such treatment. Importantly, such reports are also more common among otherwise discriminated groups, e.g. based on migrant background or sexual orientation. Second, results from 7-country pairwise comparison survey experiment show that people are comparatively tolerant of differential treatment based on political views, except when it is their own group that is treated differently. Moreover, people also see such treatment as relatively rare, even concerning their own party. I discuss implications of these findings for the role of politics in social interactions.