Seminar “How to Understand, Explain and Overcome Pernicious Polarization” with Professor Murat Somer

On April 21 (Tuesday) of this year, from 1:15 p.m. to 2:45 p.m., in Room 317 of the University of Warsaw Auditorium Building, a seminar in English will be held titled “How to Understand, Explain, and Overcome Pernicious Polarization.” It will be led by the distinguished Turkish political scientist Professor Murat Somer of Özyeğin University in Istanbul, who is a recognized scholar on the topics of democratization and de-democratization, political polarization, opposition behavior, the relationship between religion and politics, as well as ethnic issues and the Kurdish question; he is the author of numerous works published in renowned journals and publications, and co-editor (with Jennifer McCoy) of a special issue of the ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science—Polarizing Polities: A Global Threat to Democracy, No. 1/2019 (more about the guest speaker: https://www.ozyegin.edu.tr/en/faculty/muratsomer).
The seminar will focus on a process of great importance to political science and public administration that accompanies the erosion of democracy, namely political polarization—present in many countries, including Poland (alongside social polarization) and exploited in political struggles, primarily by ruling parties, to maintain and consolidate power. The event is organized by the Department of Political Systems and the Polish Political Science Association (Warsaw chapter).

The seminar will be held in hybrid mode and the link for online participation will be sent to all registered participants on the day preceding the seminar.