A conference organised by Liesbet Hooghe and Gary Marks
How do influential approaches in political science shed light on the contemporary political divide in Western societies? This conference asks prominent researchers to probe the power and limitations of a key theory/approach for explaining political polarization in Western societies.
The conference will take place over three afternoons, with five plenary sessions each devoted to a particular theoretical perspective.
Day 1: Cleavage Theory (Liesbet Hooghe and Gary Marks); Political Economy (Torben Iversen and David Soskice).
Day 2: The Politics of Space (Catherine De Vries); Social Identity Theory (Leonie Huddy).
Day 3: Worldview Politics (Marc Hetherington and Caroline Lancaster).
Each session is introduced by the author(s) followed by two commentaries. We then open to discussion from the floor.