Studying Polarisation at the Micro-, Meso-, and Macro-Levels

The next speakers in this ECREA PolCom 2023 conference panel are Christiane Eilders and Henri Mütscheler, who note that positional polarisation (on distinct issues) also needs to be distinguished by level: micro-level polarisation between individuals; meso-level polarisation within groups or organisations; or macro-level polarisation between groups or organisations. Such polarisation is thus always relational (between two or more entities), as well as dynamic.

Most of the research to date has focussed on the micro- and macro-levels, especially focussing on political parties. There is also substantial focus on the affective dimension of polarisation, and on the movement of single entities towards the extremes (rather on the relational measurement). There’s also a need to further examine whether and when polarisation is in fact problematic.

Christiane outlines a number of polarisation dynamics now: centrifugal, where both sides move further to the extremes; and its opposite, centripetal; a shift, where both sides move sideways in the same direction; radicalisation, where one side moves further to the extremes; and moderation, where one side moves further to the centre. Centrifugal polarisation, in particular, produces an ‘empty middle’, and is a potential hazard for social and societal cohesion; it hinders compromise and coalition-building. A shift is problematic if one side moves more substantially than the other, as it increases distance between the two groups moving in parallel; and radicalisation increases the range of extreme voices that will appear in public discourse.

Centripetal movements, by contrast, enable more coalition- and consensus-building, but could also lead to a loss of diversity; a shift with a concurrent reduction in distance between the groups lessens political conflicts, and offers greater chances for compromise within groups; and moderation could mean that some extreme positions might be abandoned (which also means that some people no longer feel represented, however), and increases opportunities for compromise.

Empirically, this project looks to operationalise this model by examining parties and social movements, and especially groups within them, within the climate and migration discourses. The idea is to assess their self-positioning as well as media reporting about their positioning, and to distinguish both between left/right and GAL/TAN value scales.

Further, the dynamics of this positioning also need to be examined, and causal relations between meso-level position changes and the positioning of individuals should also be examined.