Ideologues Clash, Animosity Triples

A new survey experiment by political scientist Tadeas Cely finds that when two ideologues disagree, they express about three times more animosity than when one disputant holds strong but 'messy' beliefs, and roughly four times more than mild centrists. The result quantifies how polarization is most combustible at the ideological poles, not merely wherever opinions differ. — It pinpoints where dialog breaks down most severely, guiding debate formats, platform design, and coalition tactics toward de‑escalating ideologue‑on‑ideologue conflicts.