Talk: Solidarity and Compromise

Many democracies today are under pressure, both in countries with long established democracies, like the United States, as well as in new democracies, like Hungary and Poland. A very apparent symptom of these pressures is reflected in the way political debates are fought today. They become more and more heated and unforgiving, denying the other side to be a legitimate opponent in the debate. Discussions are being fueled by depicting the different sides as representing the right or the wrong answer, instead of presenting different but legitimate views to the issue at stake. What can keep societies together in these times and strengthen social cohesion? Solidarity can be one answer to this question. Showing solidarity with another one’s cause can build ties between different groups in society. But solidarity is also very demanding, it requires not only to view the cause as legitimate but also as worthy. A less demanding solution is provided through political compromise. Compromise also requires to regard the other side as a legitimate representative, but one does not need to make a common cause out of it. The different sides can still disagree about the best solution to the given issue, but they respect each other views and act in the strong believe that striking a compromise between the different views, even though this means loss on both sides, is better than no compromise. But how can societies in such heated environments as we find them today create an atmosphere of mutual respect and legitimacy of the other side’s cause?

Pola Lehmann is a senior researcher at the WZB Berlin Social Science Center and co-director of the Manifesto Project. She studied administrative sciences at the Universities of Potsdam and Copenhagen. She studies democracy and democratic processes with a special focus on political parties, elections and political representation. In her dissertation, which won the Leibniz Dissertation Award in 2021, she investigated political representation and compromise in the German Bundestag.

Johannes Gerschewski is a research fellow at the WZB Berlin Social Science Center and coordinates the work of the Theory Network at the Cluster of Excellence “Contestations of the Liberal Script (SCRIPTS).” He has published in academic journals including American Political Science Review, Perspectives on Politics, and Comparative Political Studies. His book on The Two Logics of Autocratic Rule was published in April 2023 by Cambridge University Press.

During their fellowship at the Thomas Mann House, Pola Lehmann and Johannes Gerschewski will explore the value of compromise in democratic societies. Is there empirical evidence that political debates are becoming increasingly heated and polarized? What can we do to counteract this, and what are the limits of compromise?

Free and open to the public, please register in advance and bring photo ID for check-in.

Double Exposure is a project organized by the Goethe-Instituts North America in collaboration with the American Council on Germany and funded by the Executive Board of the Goethe-Institut.

Host or Publisher Goethe-Institut Chicago