Class

The transformations of advanced capitalism have produced “demobilized class societies”: While inequalities are growing starkly, class conflict has become muted in the public sphere. How does this conjuncture reshape and limit how citizens critique inequality and what political futures they imagine? Which latent forms of class consciousness and classed politics arise?

Read e.g.: Moral Disapproval: The Political Consciousness of the Demobilized Working Class

Morality

Moral distinctions between worthy and unworthy, deserving and undeserving groups are a powerful force in citizens’ reasoning about politics and inequality. I am interested in the ways in which morality shapes worldviews and disagreements. How does everyday morality naturalize inequality, how does it motivate critique? And how do moral ideas of good and bad define “trigger points” fueling conflict and polarization?

Read e.g.: Trigger Points. Inequality and Political Polarization in Contemporary Society

Cleavage politics

Struggles over ecology, migration, recognition and insecurity are reshaping the landscape of political contestation in rich democracies. I am interested in the social alignments emerging in this process. In particular, I study how group identities anchor new political cleavages. How does people’s sense of who they are shape their sense of where they stand on contentious issues?

Read e.g.: Cleavage Theory Meets Bourdieu. Studying the Role of Group Identities in Cleavage Formation

Qualitative studies

Much of my research is based on mixed-methods approaches. I am convinced that survey-based studies of public opinion need to be complemented with ‘listening methods’ that help us understand politics from the point of view of ordinary citizens. How do people outside elite circles make up their minds about politics? What is politics about in their own words? And what makes some issues, policies, and appeals resonate more strongly than others?

Read e.g.: Cleavage Politics in Ordinary Reasoning. How Common Sense Divides