
Neil Fasching

- Doctoral Student
Neil Fasching is interested in both the causes and the consequences of partisanship. He studies topics related to political psychology, with a specific focus on affective polarization, partisan identity, and partisan violence.
Fasching is a doctoral student at the Annenberg School for Communication, where he is a member of the Democracy and Information Group. His research interests focus on the causes and the consequences of partisanship. This includes researching where partisan identity falls in the hierarchy of social identities and how elite rhetoric can influence affective polarization and lead to greater support for partisan violence.
Prior to joining the Annenberg School for Communication, Fasching completed a Research Master’s degree in Political Communication at the University of Amsterdam. While there, he contributed to several peer-reviewed articles related to political psychology and open science research practices. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Education
- B.A., University of California, Santa Barbara, 2014
- M.S., University of Amsterdam, 2021
Selected Publications

What Do Our Ancestral Family Ties Say About Our Political Beliefs?
The first institution we experience in life is family. As long as humans have existed, they have gathered in groups in order to survive — to pass down knowledge, lend protection, and form bonds. Not...
