Unpacking Polarization: Antagonism and Alignment in Signed Networks of Online Interaction is the invited talk by Emma Fraxanet at the Signed Relations and Structural Balance in Complex Systems: From Data to Models Workshop, to take place between May 15-17 2024 at ETH Zurich.
Publication: Unpacking polarization: Antagonism and Alignment in Signed Networks of Online Interaction
Abstract
Political conflict is an essential element of democratic systems, but can also threaten their existence if it becomes too intense. This happens particularly when most polit- ical issues become aligned along the same major fault line, splitting society into two antagonistic camps. In the 20th century, major fault lines were formed by structural conflicts, like owners vs workers, center vs periphery, etc. But these classical cleavages have since lost their explanatory power. Instead of theorizing new cleavages, we present the FAULTANA (FAULT-line Alignment Network Analysis) pipeline, a computational method to uncover major fault lines in data of signed online interactions.
Our method makes it possible to quantify the degree of antagonism prevalent in different online debates, as well as how aligned each debate is to the major fault line. This makes it possible to identify the wedge issues driving polarization, characterized by both intense antagonism and alignment. We apply our approach to large-scale data sets of Birdwatch, a US-based Twitter fact-checking community and the discussion forums of Der Standard, an Austrian online newspaper. We find that both online communities are divided into two large groups and that their separation follows political identities and topics. In addition, for Der Standard, we pinpoint issues that reinforce societal fault lines and thus drive polarization.
We also identify issues that trigger online conflict without strictly aligning with those dividing lines (e.g. COVID-19). Our methods allow us to construct a time-resolved picture of affective polarization that shows the separate contributions of cohesive- ness and divisiveness to the dynamics of alignment during contentious elections and events.
About the workshop Structural Balance 2024
According to the theory of structural balance, interacting systems balance the (positive or negative) relations between different system elements such that local conflicts are minimized. Hence, structural imbalances induce a dynamics to resolve such conflicts. This dynamics plays a vital role in evolutionary processes because a multitude of possible solutions exists. At the same time, if these solutions cannot be reached, this can hamper the functionality of systems.
This general problem also occurs in social systems, where instead of a more balanced state, for instance, the polarization of opinions emerges. Are we able to address this problem from a formal perspective? Do we have data available to study it in real systems? Can we develop models that help us to understand when structural balance fails, and how it can be mitigated?
Our workshop shall provide a platform to discuss these questions from a multi-disciplinary perspective, involving researchers from the complexity and the social sciences. Contributions revolve around three interlinked topics:
