Trigger Points

Inequality and Political Polarization in Contemporary Society
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-5292-5403-7
Verlag: Bristol University Press

Buch, Englisch, 272 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm

Available open access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.

Today’s political debates are fiercely polarized. But looking beyond the headlines, this book shows that ordinary citizens hold much more nuanced, less divided views.

Drawing on rich survey data and group discussions, this work maps four major areas of conflict: migration, climate change, diversity and economic justice.

Across these conflicts, most citizens take positions that are middle-of-the-road, contradictory or undecided. It is only certain “trigger points” – like gendered pronouns or refugee admissions – that predictably ignite tensions and deep disagreement.

Political entrepreneurs know this and weaponize trigger points for their agenda. Yet the real key to contemporary conflicts, the book argues, lies in social inequality.

This is a vital work that maps today’s political landscape without sensationalism, offering a fresh lens on public debate.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Mau, Steffen

Lux, Thomas

Westheuser, Linus

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Gewalt und Diskriminierung: Soziale Aspekte
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziologie Allgemein
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Soziologie von Migranten und Minderheiten
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Ideologien

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Introduction

2. Arenas of inequality conflicts

3. Top-bottom inequalities

4. Inside-outside inequalities

5. Us-them inequalities

6. Today-tomorrow inequalities

7. Trigger points

8. The social space of inequality conflicts

9. Affect and structure

10. The political space of inequality conflicts

11. Politicization and conflict in contemporary society

Über Autor(innen)

Westheuser, Linus
Linus Westheuser is Postdoctoral Researcher at the Institute of Social Sciences, Humboldt-University of Berlin.

Lux, Thomas
Thomas Lux is Deputy Professor at the Institute of Social Sciences, Humboldt-University of Berlin.

Mau, Steffen
Steffen Mau is Professor of Macrosociology at the Institute of Social Sciences, Humboldt-University of Berlin.

Steffen Mau is Professor of Macrosociology at the Institute of Social Sciences, Humboldt-University of Berlin.

Thomas Lux is Deputy Professor at the Institute of Social Sciences, Humboldt-University of Berlin.

Linus Westheuser is Postdoctoral Researcher at the Institute of Social Sciences, Humboldt-University of Berlin.