Wikipedia

Wedge issue

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 strategistLee Atwaterhas been noted as an early champion of wedge issue politics during theReaganera.[6]

Examples

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Australia

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See also:Tampa affair

During the 2001 federal election campaign inAustralia,there was a controversy regarding Afghan asylum seekers arriving on unauthorized vessels, there having been several widely publicized landings of hundreds of people. On August 24, 2001, a ship bearing 460 such people became distressed, and its passengers were picked up by theNorwegiancargo vesselMV Tampa.

The governingLiberal Party of Australiatook the opportunity to appear tough on asylum seekers. TheoppositionAustralian Labor Party(ALP) had a slight majority of people strongly favoring more sympathetic treatment and was perceived as internally split. This provoked a debate within the ALP on the merits of siding with national opinion (in favor of the Government's actions) or opposing. With over 90% of some television polls supporting the government's stance, the leader of the ALPKim Beazleychose to go against the majority and agree to the former policy—though it ended up opposing certain elements of proposed legislation, which the Liberal Party framed as weak on border security.

The Liberal Party campaigned largely on a platform of border security and increased its support at thefederal electionthat November despite being theincumbent.Some who would typically vote Labor voted instead for theGreensand theDemocratsin protest against what they saw as the ALP's complicity.

It was later claimed that the controversial campaign strategistsLynton CrosbyandMark Textorhad an active role in making the Tampa incident a wedge issue for Howard to exploit.[7]

United States

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During the Civil Rights era, Republicans attempted to drive a wedge between Democrats on the issue of race. In the1968 US Presidential election,northern Democratic support of the Civil Rights Act caused a cleavage with southern Democrats which led to Democratic Alabama Governor George Wallace mounting a third party campaign.[8][9]

President Biden, who previously voted in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act onSeptember 10, 1996,signing the Respect for Marriage Act into law onDecember 13, 2022.

Gay marriagewas considered a wedge issue in 1990s Democratic politics, with PresidentBill Clintonsigning into law theDefense of Marriage Act(DOMA) in 1996 amidst pressure from Centrist Democrats, but its efficacy was lost in later years as support for gay marriage in the electorate grew.[10]PresidentJoe Bidenis another example of a democrat who voted in favor of DOMA,[11]but signed the bill's antithesis, theRespect for Marriage Act,into law over 20 years later.[12]

Reform of the laws regardingillegal immigration to the United Statesoperated as a wedge issue in 2007. Some Republican legislators, with the backing of PresidentGeorge W. Bush,sought to address the dual issues of ongoing illegal immigration to the United States and the illegal status of an estimated 12 million people currently living in America. Other Republicans opposed amnesty for illegal immigrants, out of fear that their constituents were unsupportive of immigration reform. Some Democrats pitched in to keep the issue alive as they recognized the issue was dividing the Republican party between advocates of reform and advocates of the status quo. The result was a division in Republican ranks and a stalled bill in Congress. After the election ofDonald Trumpin 2016, the views of American voters shifted to align more closely with their parties along partisan lines, reducing immigration policy's status as a wedge issue.[13]

Covid-19served as wedge issue for both political parties in the2020 US Presidential election,with both the Democratic and Republican electorate divided over whether candidates Joe Biden or Donald Trump could effectively handle the pandemic. Biden sought to divide the Republican base by claiming Trump had mismanaged the response to the Covid-19 crisis, while Trump contended that Biden, if elected, would shut down the economy.[5]

During the 2024 election cycle, Republicans sought to drive a wedge between Democratic voters by portraying Democrats as taking a radical stance by aligning themselves with thetransgender rights movement.[14]

United Kingdom

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Both Labour (PLP) and Conservative (PCP) Members of Parliament struggled to handle internal divisions within their party in the beginning stages ofBrexitpolicy decisions. The split caused the emergence of two different sub-groups: pro-Remain (or pro-EU) and pro-Leave (Eurosceptics).[15]The divide was heightened in the face of leadership changes. While 90% of Labour members were pro-remain, the Leader of the PLP, Jeremy Corbyn, attempted to sideline the issue in several interviews, which provoked a vote of no confidence.[15]A similar situation occurred within the PCP, when Theresa May, a historic pro-Remain candidate, was elected as Prime Minister despite her party's majority leaning towards pro-Leave. In an attempt to unify the party, May led with a "Brexit means Brexit" mantra, switching positions and attempting to appease both divisions by finding compromise in her proposed legislation. However, her policies only further polarized the two factions and weakened the party, which resulted in her resignation after a devastating loss of seats.[15]

New Zealand

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In the 2005 New Zealand general election, the National Party sought to capitalize on theforeshore and seabed issueby employing wedge tactics to drive racial divisions between Mäori and Non-Mäori.[16]The strategy was prominently highlighted by in a speech by party leader Don Brash at the Orewa Rotary Club, where he called for "One Law for All" and the removal of Mäori parliamentary seats, and resulted in a rise of 17-points for the National Party. In an attempt to compete with the party's growing popularity, the Labour Party proposed the Foreshore and Seabed Legislation, which declared the properties to be in the legal possession of the Crown, but offered an avenue for the Mäori to apply for customary reservation.[17]Infighting ensued between the Mäori members of the Labour Party when three of them refused to vote in support of the bill. One MP in particular, Tariana Turia, resigned from her position to form the Mäori party, eventually winning back her seat in Parliament- and four more for the new party in the general election, won from Labour.[16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^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
  2. ^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
  3. ^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
  4. ^Peterson, Matt; Fayyad, Abdallah (2017-12-08). "The Irresistible Effectiveness of Wedge Politics".The Atlantic.Retrieved 2024-11-12
  5. ^abMartínez, 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.
  6. ^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
  7. ^"National silent on strategists, claims Clark".The New Zealand Herald.NZPA.July 1, 2008.RetrievedDecember 2,2011.
  8. ^Peterson, Matt; Fayyad, Abdallah (2017-12-08)."The Irresistible Effectiveness of Wedge Politics".The Atlantic.Retrieved2024-11-12.
  9. ^van de Wardt, Marc; De Vries, Catherine E.; Hobolt, Sara B. (October 2014)."Exploiting the Cracks: Wedge Issues in Multiparty Competition".The Journal of Politics.76(4): 987.doi:10.1017/S0022381614000565.ISSN0022-3816.
  10. ^Kowal, John F (2015, September 29) “The Improbable Victory of Marriage Equality”Brennan Center for Justice.https:// brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/improbable-victory-marriage-equality
  11. ^"U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 104th Congress - 1st Session".senate.gov.Retrieved2024-12-02.
  12. ^Rep. Nadler, Jerrold [D-NY-10 (2022-12-13)."Actions - H.R.8404 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Respect for Marriage Act".congress.gov.Retrieved2024-12-02.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ^Gimpel, James G. (October 1, 2019)."From Wedge Issue to Partisan Divide: The Development of Immigration Policy Opinion after 2016".The Forum.17(3): 467–486.doi:10.1515/for-2019-0024.ISSN1540-8884.
  14. ^Harmon, Amy (November 7, 2024)."Transgender Americans Voice New Anxiety About Trump Agenda".The New York Times.
  15. ^abcHayton, Richard (2021)."Brexit and party change: The Conservatives and Labour at Westminster".International Political Science Review.43(3): 346–358.doi:10.1177/01925121211003787.ISSN0192-5121.
  16. ^abMaddison, Sarah (2006)."Ideas from 'across the ditch'? Wedge politics in the 2005 New Zealand election".Australian Journal of Political Science.41(3): 427–435.doi:10.1080/10361140600849018.ISSN1036-1146.
  17. ^Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu."Challenge and controversy".teara.govt.nz.Retrieved2024-12-03.
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