Political Polarization and the Binational Agenda in Mexico and the United States

Abstract

We argue that affective polarization and foreign policy preferences are deeply connected in Mexico and the United States. Based on data from an online survey conducted by the authors involving graduate students preparing to influence public policymaking, this article reveals that polarized partisans in the two nations have contrasting viewpoints about the problems of the neighboring country and about the role that their own country should play in the binational relationship. In the United States, extreme Democrats and moderates are more prone to binational collaboration and more critical of the role that the United States has played regarding Mexico's policy problems. Extreme Republicans are more critical of the binational relationship and have a more negative view of Mexico and its problems than other partisan groups. In Mexico, polarized supporters of the Morena party have the most nationalist foreign policy preferences, while their political rivals are more prone to the United States. Our findings emphasize that the binational relationship is twice as divisive for Americans than for Mexicans and that there are a few policy issues where rival political groups converge. Our study uniquely examines the relationship between affective polarization and foreign policy preferences in the context of the Mexico–United States relationship.