A_03 - Polarization and Political Legitimacy

06/2024 – 05/2029

By addressing the relationship between polarization and political legitimacy, this work package (WP) subjects the widespread thesis that tendencies toward polarization inevitably endanger the legitimacy of political institutions to critical scrutiny. Its aim is to specify more precisely…

A_10 - Social Cohesion in Times of War: The Effects of Military Conflicts on Politicization and Polarization

Research Area A analyzes the relationship between politics and social cohesion, with a particular emphasis on the conflictual dimension of political negotiations. Violent conflicts constitute a particularly relevant field in this regard, as they directly affect people’s sense of security…

B_01 - Milieu Conflicts and Social Cohesion

06/2024 – 05/2029

Within the context of the first research focus of Research Area B, this work package (WP) examines the effects of socioeconomic and cultural divisions on social cohesion using the concept of social milieus. It subjects the hypothesis of a “drifting apart of society” to a systematic…

B_09 - Intergroup Conflicts and Symbolic Boundary-Drawing Practices in Digital Social Networks

This work package (WP) builds on research on so-called “perceived polarization” and on the implicit assumption that diagnoses of societal division must always be understood as mediated by communication and perception. Unlike survey-based studies and group discussions on perceived…

D_06 - Transformation of the Societal Order of Deliberation

06/2024 – 05/2029

The aim of this work package (WP) is to contribute theoretical and conceptual groundwork that helps address the guiding questions of Research Area D concerning the foundations and conditions of societal debates over knowledge, values, and identities. Using the concept of a “deliberative…