Blood Ties and Politics: The Influence of Political Polarization upon Family Life

Over recent years, the nature of politics in nations around the globe has become increasingly heated and polarized, with much of this change being attributed to a variety of sources, including news outlets, online websites, social media, and various forms of communication technology. While researchers have long recognized how political beliefs are often passed on from one generation to the next within families, little is known about how the more disruptive and turbulent nature of contemporary politics is affecting families and family relationships. Blood Ties and Politics addresses the relationship between politics and the family. Topics of discussion include political socialization within the family, the influence of extremist online websites, marital quality and political ideologies, political disagreement and family relationships, the impact of propaganda upon family relationships, intergenerational patterns of political beliefs, and other related issues. Encompassing the vast array of political beliefs, governmental forms, along with the multitude of family structures and relationships, the chapters come from a diversity of regions of the world, as well as of theoretical and methodological perspectives.