POLT 206 - Intergroup Political Conflict and Polarization

FC SSCI

4 credits
The escalation of group-based conflict has shaped modern politics in the United States and elsewhere. A core function of politics in a democracy is to balance different group interests, but partisan and other divisions increasingly make such compromises seem impossible. What drives these intensifying conflicts, and can they be resolved? This course examines the micro-foundations of intergroup conflict: the attitudes and behaviors of individual people who identify with social and political groups. Topics will include the psychology of group identity, how such identities become politicized, partisanship and polarization, the role of prejudice in politics, and public attitudes toward democracy itself.