15.10.2024-21.01.2025: Exter­nal Spea­ker Series

05.11.2024, 18:30-20:00, HS 1 (SoWi)

World order(s) – which ones and how many?

Mathias Albert

Bielefeld University

Will we possibly wake up to a new world order in the morning of 06 November? Can the outcome of a presidential election, can a single politician ‘make’ or significantly influence world order? The answer is simply: “it depends”. And it particularly depends on what one understands under the term “world order”, and the understandings of history and relevant periodizations that come along with this. The presentation will argue that the complexity of contemporary ‘world order’ can only adequately be grasped if one accounts for a co-existing plurality of ordering principles and the different time horizons that come along with this plurality.

Please note: This lecture will take place in the HS 1 (SoWi) from 18:30 to 20.00!

This lecture is also part of our lecture series on US politics: US Poli­tics Unco­ve­red. Wohin steu­ern die USA?

10.12.2024

Does Apolitical Affect Affect Affective Polarization?

Luca Versteegen

University of Vienna

This paper examines whether apolitical affect explains affective polarization and its implications for democracy (e.g., trust, democratic norms, violence). The more positive (negative) people feel in their everyday life, we posit, the more (less) benevolently they feel about opponents and democracy. We test this argument in two representative studies. Study 1 exploits natural variation in affect in the Netherlands, Study 2 induces affect in a US-based online experiment. The evidence broadly supports our argument, such that positive affect brightens democratic views, whereas negative affect darkens it. However, the results indicate additional complexity for affective polarization, which we explore in further analyses and discuss for future research. This paper adds an apolitical explanation to affective polarization, contributing to the vast literature on the political causes of affective polarization. Moreover, the relevance of everyday affect alludes to the potential of a short-term and cost-efficient intervention to reducing political conflict: positive affect.

21.01.2025

Economic Inequality, Group Conflict, and Affective Polarization Between the Rich and the Poor

Denise Traber

University of Basel

Authors: Daniel Höhmann and Denise Traber

Does economic inequality lead to higher levels of group conflict and affective polarization between the rich and the poor? We present two contrasting theories: psychological theories suggest inequality heightens class identification and animosity between low- and high-income groups, increasing polarization. Conversely, political economists argue that inequality reduces class identity among the poor, potentially lowering conflict. To explore these hypotheses, we conduct a survey experiment in Germany, exposing participants to information on wealth distribution, and analyze data from the International Social Survey for 17 countries over 30 years. Preliminary findings show that inequality increases class identification among the lower class but has no effect on national identity and yields inconclusive results for perceived social class conflict.