美国“Z世代”大学生政治认同两极化及其原因

美国“Z世代”大学生的政治认同呈现明显两极化、主体向左的趋势。一方面,这种两极化与两党意识形态、政策立场保持高度一致;另一方面,两极化也显示出新的代际特征,即鲜明的道德色彩与强烈的对抗性。从社会心理学角度看,政治认同两极化的原因包括信念激情期的周期性再现、美国大学校园成为政治认同极化的孵化器、安全空间建构与微侵犯观念隔断大学不同政见者的沟通与交流、社交媒体强化“Z世代”同一阵营内部的政治认同等。“Z世代”大学生以“对抗共同敌人”的方式参与2020年美国总统选举并使投票率创下新高,这成为其政治认同极化公开表达的明证。这一态势引起了专家、学者等的警惕,重建大学校园政治生态成为美国社会的共识。大学生政治认同两极化也给未来的中美关系增添了不确定因素,社交媒体的运用将使“Z世代”大学生对华民意更具敌意,受害者心理将使美国舆论在人权等相关问题上对中国持更负面的评价,安全空间防线将使中国对外文化传播受到进一步干扰。“Z世代”大学生政治认同两极化趋势及大学校园政治生态将是评估美国政治未来走向的重要参考因素。

The Political Identity of American Generation Z College Students:Polarization and Its Causes

The political identity of Generation Z college students in the United States has shown a clear trend of polarization,with an overwhelming proportion of the youth population further tilting to the left.On the one hand,this trend is in line with the broader political polarization in recent years.But on the other hand,it also reflects a unique,generational shift.From the perspective of social psychology,this trend is due to several underlying causes,including a cyclical pattern of political passion,the college campus’s growing role as incubator of polarization,the amplifying effects of“safe space construction”and“micro-agression,”and social media’s echo chamber effect.Generation Z college students participated in the 2020 presidential election with an“against the common enemy”mentality and set a record high voter turnout.This trend has added a new layer of uncertainty to Sino-U.S.relations.The use of social media may further amplify“Gen Z”college students’hostility to China.A growing“victim psychology”may result in a more negative evaluation of Beijing’s human rights record.Their receding line of defense in terms of safe space construction may arouse greater resistance to China’s overseas cultural exchange programs.The polarization of political identity of“Generation Z”college students and the political ecology on college campuses will be an important reference to evaluate the future direction of American politics.