born in 1985, currently a professor at the University of Bamberg, studied sociology and economics at the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen and UC Los Angeles. In 2016, he completed his doctorate at the University of Leipzig with a thesis on crisis protests in the USA and Germany during the global financial crisis. His research focuses on sociological theory and qualitative methods with a focus on questions of the sociology of knowledge and communication and in particular protest, criticism and experienced social inequality.

Contents

Chapter:

Summary

This episode of the podcast is part of the small series "Contributions from Conflict Dynamics". In this episode, Sascha Weigel and Sonja Fücker, the co-editors of Konfliktdynamik, the specialist journal for mediation, negotiation and decision-making, talk to the well-known sociologist Nils Kumkar.

Nils Kumkar is currently Professor of Sociology at the University of Bamberg and author of the highly acclaimed books "Polarisation. On the order of politics" (2025) and "Alternative facts. On the practice of communicative denial of knowledge" (2022) and currently .

They talk about the much-discussed phenomenon of Polarisation in society. They shed light on how polarisation is perceived in political communication, what role social media plays in this and how these dynamics influence mediation and conflict resolution. The interviewees will analyse the different perspectives on polarisation and its impact on society and the political landscape. This discussion will explore the complexity of mediation and the challenges associated with polarisation and conflict. Participants will reflect on the role of mediators, the need for reflection and responsibility in mediation, and the issues of demarcation and isolation. It is emphasised that there are no simple solutions and that mediators often have to operate in a field of tension between neutrality and the need to represent certain attitudes.

Takeaways

• Polarisation is an increasingly relevant topic in society.
• The perception of polarisation is often complex and multi-layered.
• Polarisation is often interpreted as social introspection.
• Communication about polarisation is crucial for understanding.
• Social media reinforces the perception of polarisation.
• Conflict competence is necessary to deal with polarisation.
• Polarisation has both negative and functional aspects.
• The political landscape is strongly influenced by ideas of polarisation.
• The complexity of opinions among the population is often overlooked.
• Mediation must deal with the challenges of polarisation. 
• Mediation can manage complexity, but it cannot communicate it to bystanders.
• Polarisation can be seen as a fruitful intermediate phase in conflicts
• There are no simple solutions when dealing with conflicts.
• Reflecting on your own assumptions is crucial for the success of mediation
• Mediation should not only be seen as an educational tool.
• Social polarisation has a real impact on mediation.
• The responsibility of mediators is to understand the dynamics of conflicts.