Political polarisation: Are you part of the problem?
Sandra Obradovic & Anthony English
Have you ever had that awkward experience? That moment when someone says something about current affairs that you disagree with. The silence that emerges, the sense of discomfort and wondering how to respond. Do you tell them they’re wrong? Do you lecture them and hope they’ll see common sense? Or do you simply change the subject and mentally file away the topic as one to not broach with that person?
Type ‘how to talk about politics’ into Google and the first suggested search is ‘…without fighting’. These negative experiences with political talk seem counter to what an ideal democracy should be: a context where a diversity of political opinions, discourses and disagreements thrive and lead to productive solutions. So, what is it that makes talking about politics so difficult? Most people would probably answer this question by saying: ‘other people’. But have you ever considered that maybe, just maybe, you’re part of the problem?
We pose this as a question not only to every person who has ever had a political conversation but also political psychologists and those who research in this area. Turning the lens on ourselves, and our groups, we consider how political polarisation is not only perpetuated through those intense online interactions with keyboard warriors, but also through more subtle interactions with like-minded others, where you not only share and bond over similar opinions, but also end up perpetuating further distance, and difference, from other political opinions and the people who hold them.