Event

Numerous western countries experience rising opinion polarization. In particular in the US, it has been warned, growing opinion differences dominate public debate and put at risk democratic decision making. This seminar is concerned with the question why opinion distributions polarize and how too strong polarization can be overcome. To this end, central formal models of opinion dynamics are introduced and analyzed. Students are introduced to the method of agent-based modeling, using the software NetLogo. After the course, students will be able to implement, analyze, and understand these models. In an additional step, we will explore models´ predictions about possible intervention strategies targeted at decreasing polarization.