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Wedge issue
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2020) |
A wedge issue in politics is any issue used to create a division within a political party. These issues are usually employed as a tactic by a minority party against a governing majority party, with the aim of splitting the majority's electorate into two or more camps.[1][2] Although any issue could potentially be used as a wedge, some of the most common examples are often concerned with social justice , i.e., abortion or civil rights.[3][4][5] Due to the prevalence of social justice issues as a wedge, the tactic is often most effectively employed by Conservative parties against Liberal parties. American political strategist Lee Atwater has been noted as an early champion of wedge issue politics during the Reagan era.[6]
- ^ Seo, Jungkun. (2010). “Wedge-issue dynamics and party position shifts: Chinese exclusion debates in the post-Reconstruction US Congress, 1879-1882”. Party Politics. 17(6) 823-847
- ^ Wilson, S. and Turnbull, N. (2001) "Wedge Politics and Welfare Reform in Australia" Australian Journal of Politics & History, 47: 384-404. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8497.00235
- ^ van de Wardt, M., De Vries, C. E., & Hobolt, S. B. (2014). "Exploiting the Cracks: Wedge Issues in Multiparty Competition". The Journal of Politics, 76(4), 986–999. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022381614000565
- ^ Peterson, Matt; Fayyad, Abdallah (2017-12-08). "The Irresistible Effectiveness of Wedge Politics". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2024-11-12
- ^ Martínez, Carmen Ramos (2023) "Examining the Role of Wedge Issues in Shaping Voter Behavior: Insights from the 2020 US Presidential Election" Comillas Journal of International Relations. 27(6) 101-121.
- ^ Wilson, S. and Turnbull, N. (2001) "Wedge Politics and Welfare Reform in Australia" Australian Journal of Politics & History, 47: 384-404. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8497.00235
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