Overwhelmingly, political scientists agree that we are experiencing a period of global democratic erosion, or a third wave of autocratization, that is “unprecedented in length, scope, and magnitude”, as Staffan Lindberg has recently argued. Democratic erosion is a complex, multi-causal, process. One phenomenon that often accompanies and likely enables it is that of polarization, and, in particular, one kind of polarization that is not issue-based but rather affective, splitting the community into opposing and mutually distrustful political camps. In this seminar we aim to discuss the problem of polarization from several angles. First, we paint a picture of the breadth of polarization and democratic erosion in contemporary societies, drawing on the available data and the most influential theoretical frameworks in the academic literature. Second, we offer an account of how and why polarization emerges and solidifies in contemporary societies, focusing on institutional mechanisms that facilitate its success. Third, we articulate a range of potential scenarios for what the near future might hold in terms of a deepening of polarization, as well as outline the contours of some directions for institutional proposals that could help in mitigating these processes.

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This seminar is organized within Politics, Legitimacy and Representation in Strained Societies (POLARIS) research group at NEC, supported by UEFISCDI – The Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding of the Ministry of Research and Education of Romania (PN-IV-P8-8.1-PRE-HE-ORG-2023-0055).