A four-level model of political polarization over science: Evidence from 10 European countries.

ABSTRACT: Citizens' trust in science increasingly depends on their political leaning. Structural equation models on survey data from 10 European countries (N = 5306) demonstrate that this science polarization can be captured by a model with four levels of generalization. Voters of populist parties distrust the system and elite in general, which indirectly fuels a broad science skepticism. At another level, right-wingers have less trust in science as a whole than left-wingers. After accounting for this general skepticism, left-wingers and right-wingers are, however, similarly prone to contest ideology-incongruent research fields and specific claims. These findings have three implications. First, research on science skepticism should carefully consider all fou

SUBMITTER: Rekker R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12038069 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature