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(De)Polarizing Conversations
This project investigates if and how political divides can be overcome through conversations, focusing on climate politics. To achieve this, the research team partnered with Die Zeit/My Country Talks in Germany and the Daily Mirror in the UK (who reported on the project) to organize unmoderated conversations between pairs of participants with opposing views on climate politics. Recruitment was conducted through surveys measuring attitudes toward climate activism and ecological regulation. The study generated a rich dataset from 130 participants across 65 conversations, with 85 hours of audio recordings and nearly 2,000 pages of transcriptions. Post-conversation surveys captured participants’ reflections on their experiences and perceptions of their conversation partners.
The study investigates the communicative practices that drive conversational (de)polarization, examines how performances of truth and their reception impact conversational dynamics, and analyzes how discussion cultures in the UK and Germany influence patterns of conversational (de)polarization.
The project is led by Prof. Dr. Michael Brüggemann (University of Hamburg), Dr. Lone Sorensen (University of Leeds) and Dr. Matthias Revers (University of Leeds and University of Hamburg), and involves Jasmin Surm (University of Leeds).
