Markus Wagner

In the PARTISAN project, Markus Wagner and his team carry out comparative surveys in 12 countries as well as survey and field experiments to better understand how people assess and evaluate each other politically and how to keep social polarisation in check. A person's party preferences can change the impression we have of them. This constitutes the background of this research. There are strong stereotypes and prejudices about supporters of political parties. These stereotypes and prejudices can result in persons being treated differently due to their political sympathies. This can, in turn, spur social and political polarisation. In the coming five years, Markus Wagner will investigate these stereotypes and prejudices as part of his ERC Consolidator Grant project: How strong are they, where do they come from and how can we reduce them?