Rising polarisation and hostility between groups has become the subject of intense study, principally in the US. It would be comforting to write off this growing body of research as being overly alarmist and not so relevant in a European context. Of course, the US and UK do have profound differences, from the money in politics to the politically-appointed returning officers or the politicisation of the Supreme Court. The Economist’s Duncan Robinson recently made a plea for Brits to to look to Europe for examples to inform our discourse. But when it comes to polarisation the evidence is less cheering. Many European countries including Greece, Spain and Portugal have recently reached levels of polarisation that exceeded the US.
Ali, Alex and Laura shared an edited excerpt of Poles Apart with The New European. We've shared a taster below; you can read the whole article if you register at the link.
Leave or Remain. Nationalist or Unionist. Pro or anti pineapple on pizza. Human beings are naturally groupish creatures who tend to like those who agree with them and often dislike those who don’t.