Polarisation Analysis
Democratic societies are increasingly immersed in processes of political polarisation. Political mobilisation around highly divisive issues has led to growing challenges to the fundamental pillars of our political systems and to the polarisation of the societies in which we live.
Antagonistic ideological projects are fuelling increasing confrontation in societies where new divides are emerging around identity, socioeconomic inequalities, migration, distrust of traditional political institutions, and territorial arrangements.
Polarisation, understood as the existence of opposing positions on issues of public debate, is not inherently negative for society. However, beyond the clash of ideas that is intrinsic to democratic systems, a phenomenon is growing in many established democracies that is harmful in numerous ways. This is what we call toxic polarisation: a dynamic in which viewpoints different from one’s own are dismissed and delegitimised. “Others” are seen as “enemies”, leaving little room for dialogue, debate, and the constructive exchange of ideas.
Addressing toxic polarisation is a challenge that concerns us both individually and collectively, as it affects social coexistence, cohesion, and democratic culture. Toxic polarisation undermines political and social debate, fuels political disengagement, and can lead to political violence, a phenomenon that is becoming increasingly present in our societies.
PolsXtrems: Your Gym for Training Critical Thinking
From 20 February to 17 May 2026, the exhibition “PolsXtrems: Your Gym for Training Critical Thinking”, produced by the ICIP, was on display in Room 2 of Palau Robert in Barcelona
In an increasingly polarised society, where disinformation and hate speech spread with ease, the exhibition invites visitors to immerse themselves in a high-intensity circuit designed to train critical thinking, dialogue and respect for those who hold different views.
“PolsXtrems” presents a new kind of gym aimed at combating mental laziness, increasing flexibility in listening to different perspectives, acting against disinformation, strengthening empathy, and building greater resilience to toxic polarisation.
Addressing the Risks of Toxic Polarisation
Often, we are not fully aware of the extent to which, as individuals, our everyday actions contribute to fostering toxic polarisation. Surveys on coexistence and polarisation conducted by the ICIP show that, within Catalan society, there is a widespread perception that “others are the ones who polarise”, particularly the media and social networks.
In order to raise awareness of our own responsibility in fuelling toxic polarisation, and of ways to mitigate its effects, the ICIP has produced the animated audiovisual piece “The Risks of Toxic Polarisation: How to Address Them”.
The video, created in collaboration with Intuitivo Films, warns about this harmful dynamic and presents some of the tools we have at our disposal to help prevent it.
Publications
“Polaritzamaton” Project
“Polaritzamaton” is a pilot project developed by the ICIP in collaboration with the Provençana Vocational Training Institute, aimed at raising awareness of the degree of toxic polarisation in each of us. It does so by confronting participants with a series of questions that first place them within the main debates currently dividing our society (left/right politics, climate change, immigration, feminism, and others).
In a second stage, the project presents participants with a series of statements and/or experiments that allow them to assess the extent to which they are immersed in dynamics of toxic polarisation. Based on their responses, each person receives a result that helps them become aware of their own level of toxic polarisation.
This project received the first prize for teaching excellence in the third edition of the Impuls FP Awards for the Barcelona Metropolitan Region.
Analysis and Reflection Sessions
In 2020, the ICIP, in collaboration with CIDOB, the Club of Rome and the Fundación Cultura de Paz, organised the lecture series “Polarisation and Dialogue in Democratic Societies”. The series addressed divisions surrounding Brexit, Trump and Salvini, as well as the situation in Catalonia, marked by growing political and social polarisation in the context of the independence process.