The virus of polarization: online debates about Covid-19 in Germany
ABSTRACTTo what extent do online debates display features of political polarization and in how far does polarization pose a problem for democracy? We zoom in on affective polarization: the formation of societal groups with hostile feelings towards each other, arguing that affective polarization is p...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Political Research Exchange |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/2474736X.2022.2150087 |
| _version_ | 1797303281499766784 |
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| author | Fabiana Schmid Oliver Treib Franziska Eckardt |
| author_facet | Fabiana Schmid Oliver Treib Franziska Eckardt |
| author_sort | Fabiana Schmid |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACTTo what extent do online debates display features of political polarization and in how far does polarization pose a problem for democracy? We zoom in on affective polarization: the formation of societal groups with hostile feelings towards each other, arguing that affective polarization is particularly problematic for democracy if it features elements of political intolerance, which undermines key tenets of even the most conflict-prone theories of democracy. While affective polarization has been on the rise in several countries, Germany has been considered to be a country with low, and even declining levels of affective polarization. But does this still hold true during the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw a rapid rise in conspiracy theories? Based on a qualitative discourse analysis of online debates about Covid-19 on the Facebook platforms of a mainstream and a non-mainstream German media outlet, we find strong traces of affective polarization on both platforms, involving clear indications of political intolerance. Our findings suggest that the democratic discourse is threatened by the nature of online debates about Covid-19, and it is threatened not only by anti-rationalist conspiracists at the ideological extremes but also by the intolerance of more moderate rationalists at the centre of the political spectrum. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T23:50:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f58772f6ccb14e56b25288d78de56718 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2474-736X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T23:50:37Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Political Research Exchange |
| spelling | doaj.art-f58772f6ccb14e56b25288d78de567182024-02-19T07:29:04ZengTaylor & Francis GroupPolitical Research Exchange2474-736X2023-12-015110.1080/2474736X.2022.2150087The virus of polarization: online debates about Covid-19 in GermanyFabiana Schmid0Oliver Treib1Franziska Eckardt2Department of Public Policy, Central European University, Vienna, AustriaInstitute of Political Science, University of Münster, Münster, GermanyDepartment of Public Administration, University of Twente, Twente, The NetherlandsABSTRACTTo what extent do online debates display features of political polarization and in how far does polarization pose a problem for democracy? We zoom in on affective polarization: the formation of societal groups with hostile feelings towards each other, arguing that affective polarization is particularly problematic for democracy if it features elements of political intolerance, which undermines key tenets of even the most conflict-prone theories of democracy. While affective polarization has been on the rise in several countries, Germany has been considered to be a country with low, and even declining levels of affective polarization. But does this still hold true during the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw a rapid rise in conspiracy theories? Based on a qualitative discourse analysis of online debates about Covid-19 on the Facebook platforms of a mainstream and a non-mainstream German media outlet, we find strong traces of affective polarization on both platforms, involving clear indications of political intolerance. Our findings suggest that the democratic discourse is threatened by the nature of online debates about Covid-19, and it is threatened not only by anti-rationalist conspiracists at the ideological extremes but also by the intolerance of more moderate rationalists at the centre of the political spectrum.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/2474736X.2022.2150087Polarizationconspiracy theoriesdemocracysocial mediapublic debates |
| spellingShingle | Fabiana Schmid Oliver Treib Franziska Eckardt The virus of polarization: online debates about Covid-19 in Germany Political Research Exchange Polarization conspiracy theories democracy social media public debates |
| title | The virus of polarization: online debates about Covid-19 in Germany |
| title_full | The virus of polarization: online debates about Covid-19 in Germany |
| title_fullStr | The virus of polarization: online debates about Covid-19 in Germany |
| title_full_unstemmed | The virus of polarization: online debates about Covid-19 in Germany |
| title_short | The virus of polarization: online debates about Covid-19 in Germany |
| title_sort | virus of polarization online debates about covid 19 in germany |
| topic | Polarization conspiracy theories democracy social media public debates |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/2474736X.2022.2150087 |
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