Social polarization and conflict: a network approach

Abstract

Theoretically, polarization is associated with a higher probability of social conflict. This paper, in a microeconomic model based on the theory of social networks, analyses how changes in the network’s structure affect the level of some basic parameters associated with the concept of polarization. This study shows that under upward monotonic preferences, longer sets of affiliations for each individual reduce polarization, whereas under downward monotonic preferences, longer sets of the so-called bad affiliations increase polarization. Finally, in the case of a non-monotonic system of preferences, an expansion of the affiliations set will alter the resulting polarization order in different ways depending on the preferences themselves.