Abstract

This study aims to examine the association between affective polarization and representations of the military coup that occurred in Chile 50 years ago. Research has shown that affective polarization is related to higher hostility, and reduced trust, and that polarization can hinder intergroup relations; thus, negatively affecting social cohesion. Based on a representative study of urban cities in Chile, two measures of affective polarization were constructed. One measure was based on political identification, i.e., opinions about people identified with the left and right-wing. The other measure was based on attitudes towards the coup, i.e., opinion regarding people who were in favor or against the coup. Results show that in general affective polarization is related to perceptions of the past, sometimes above and beyond participants’ political identities and attitudes towards the coup. In addition, both polarization measures although positively related, they were not completely aligned. Hence, results show that the associations between both polarization measures and representations of the past differ. This study stresses the importance of not only considering political identification, but also affective polarization, as predictor of views regarding the military coup in Chile.