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Articles on Political polarization

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Thinking about issues’ impact on their own lives can help people envision more common ground. wildpixel/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Making it personal: Considering an issue’s relevance to your own life could help reduce political polarization

Changing the ‘psychological distance’ someone feels toward an issue can shift their attitudes in ways that might help people on opposite sides of an issue see more eye to eye.
“Woke” is today’s “political correctness.” But even though the terminology has changed, the misconceptions remain. (Clay Banks/Unsplash)

Here’s what ‘woke’ means and how to respond to it

We need to contemplate wokeness so as to avoid polarizing polemics and to increase mutual understanding.
Aristotle is considered the founder of political science. He probably wouldn’t be surprised at the state of political discourse in modern times. (Shutterstock)

What would Aristotle think about the current state of politics?

Aristotle believed that the biggest and most widespread source of political tension is the struggle between the haves and the have-nots. More than 2,000 years later, he’s got a point.
Protesters, supporters of Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro, storm the National Congress building in Brasilia on Jan. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)

Why populism has an enduring and ominous appeal

Populism has been unleashed. We’re beyond the stop-gap measures of small-step reform or pragmatic centrist liberalism. What’s next? We’re about to find out.
The Foreign Ministers Josep Borrell of the EU, James Cleverly of Great Britain, Yoshimasa Hayashi of Japan, Antony Blinken of the U.S., Annalena Baerbock of Germany, Melanie Joly of Canada, Catherine Colonna of France, and Antonio Tajani of Italy, at the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Münster, Germany, on Oct. 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Canada should focus on building ties with countries that share its values — but tread carefully

Deliberately crafting economic relationships with countries that share similar political and social values with Canada has emerged as a tool to address current geopolitical issues.
Twitter users who are fleeing to the social media platform Mastodon are finding it to be a different animal. Davide Bonaldo/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

What is Mastodon? A computational social scientist explains how the ‘federated’ network works and why it won’t be a new Twitter

The turmoil at Twitter has many people turning to an alternative, Mastodon. The social media platform does a lot of what Twitter and Facebook do, but there are key differences.
Over three-quarters of U.S. adults say they think scientists act in the public interest. Thomas Barwick/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Most Americans do trust scientists and science-based policy-making – freaking out about the minority who don’t isn’t helpful

It’s tempting to focus on the minority of Americans who hold negative views about scientists. But blaming others for their lack of trust won’t build the relationships that can boost trust.
School trustees play an important role in shaping education, yet during election time voters often have little awareness of trustee candidates. (Shutterstock)

Even school boards are now experiencing severe political polarization

According to the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, far-right groups have been trying to stack school boards with candidates harbouring anti-equity ideologies.
A voter and her child cast a ballot during the midterm primary elections in Virginia in June 2022. Alex Wong/Getty Images

Name-calling in politics grabs headlines, but voters don’t like it – and it could backfire in the 2022 midterm elections

A record amount is being spent on political advertising in the midterm elections. But evidence shows that negative ads might work counteractively, discouraging voters from casting ballots altogether.
Saying you feel a strong national allegiance doesn’t mean you will act accordingly. mikiell/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Conservatives and liberals are equally likely to fund local causes, but liberals are more apt to also donate to national and global groups – new research

An experiment conducted online with residents of Italy and the US detected similar patterns based on ideological identity.
Joe Biden and Donald Trump supporters, like these two, are more likely to be polarized by TV news than online echo chambers. AP Photo/Allen G. Breed

Don’t be too quick to blame social media for America’s polarization – cable news has a bigger effect, study finds

Studies of online echo chambers don’t paint the full picture of Americans’ political segregation. New research shows that the problem is more Fox News Channel and MSNBC than Facebook and Twitter.

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