Year of Award
2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
Master of Arts (MA)
Degree Name
Political Science
Department or School/College
Political Science
Committee Chair
Robert Saldin
Commitee Members
Abhishek Chatterjee, Kyle Volk
Keywords
Polarization, Meso-institutions, cross-cutting identities, markets, institutions, nationalization
Publisher
University of Montana
Subject Categories
American Politics | Applied Behavior Analysis | Behavioral Economics | Civic and Community Engagement | Community-Based Research | Labor Economics | Other Psychology | Political Economy | Political Theory | Politics and Social Change | Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies | Social Psychology and Interaction | Work, Economy and Organizations
Abstract
This paper bridges the gap in the literature between sociological accounts of market actors provided by Mark Granovetter and Douglas North, meso-institutional examinations of polarization provided by Paul Pierson and Eric Schickler, and the psychological exploration into cross-cutting identities provided by Liliana Mason. I argue that the nationalization and concentration of markets, identities, and politics have led to a transition within the meso-institution of the market from maintaining self-regulating punishment mechanisms to replacing them with self-reinforcing mechanisms, exacerbating affective polarization. Previous works explore the transition within the meso-institutions of the media, interest groups, and political parties. I include the market in the meso-institution analysis of polarization in two steps. The first identifies a degree of embeddedness between social considerations and market actions. The second step places the market into Pierson and Schickler’s meso-institutional analysis of polarization by identifying nationalization, segregation of information or identities, and a cyclical relationship between polarization and meso-institutional shifts. National data points measuring market concentration, marketing strategies, and affective polarization, supplemented by a convenience sample of locally oriented market actors, illustrate precisely how the market maintains the three identified inclusionary requirements to Pierson and Schickler’s analyses of polarization. This work aims to provide valuable insights into the embedded relationship between individual perceptions of politics, identities, ideologies, and market actions.
Recommended Citation
Marconi, Devin Thomas, "An Examination of Transitioning Meso-Institutions and Markets in the Landscape of American Politics" (2023). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 12230.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/12230
Included in
American Politics Commons, Applied Behavior Analysis Commons, Behavioral Economics Commons, Civic and Community Engagement Commons, Community-Based Research Commons, Labor Economics Commons, Other Psychology Commons, Political Economy Commons, Political Theory Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies Commons, Social Psychology and Interaction Commons, Work, Economy and Organizations Commons
© Copyright 2023 Devin Thomas Marconi