Welcome
I am a sociologist researching contemporary political conflicts and their roots in social inequality. I work as a Postdoctoral Researcher at Humboldt University Berlin.
On this website you can find information about my research and publications, teaching, media appearances, and my CV.
Research
I am interested in the way ordinary people relate to politics, and how divided political worldviews emerge from unequal lives.
The following are central themes of my research. Publications and projects are listed here.
Class and inequality conflicts
While inequalities keep growing across advanced capitalist countries, class conflict has become demobilized. How does this change the way citizens, and particularly workers, critique and challenge inequalities? In which ways do working and middle class citizens relate to politics differently and what consequences does this have for political conflict?
Moral roots of political divides
Moral distinctions between good and bad, worthy and unworthy, deserving and undeserving groups are a powerful force in citizens’ political reasoning. How does morality shape political worldviews, conflicts, and divides? How does morality reinforce inequalities, and how does it form a resource for critique?
Cleavage politics and social identity
New issues like migration, climate change, and sexual diversity are reordering political cleavages. How do group boundaries between ‘us’ and ‘them’ shape alignments in this new political landscape? Is people’s sense of where they stand on contentious issues linked to their sense of who they are?
Qualitative studies of public opinion
I believe political sociology needs to complement survey-based research with ‘listening methods’ that help us understand politics from the point of view of ordinary citizens. How do people make up their minds about politics? What is politics about in their words? What makes specific issues, policies, and styles resonate?
In the media
-
Interview: To counter far right strategies, climate policies must center on social justice
Clean Energy Wire. Democratic parties across Europe should treat climate policies as a matter of social justice to combat the increasing threat of far-right populist politicians who oppose strong climate action, says Linus Westheuser, sociologist at the Humboldt University in Berlin. This approach – rather than trying to change people’s daily routines – is the
-
Interview: Die „Fleißigen“ und die „Faulen“
Robert Misik, Arbeit & Wirtschaft „Rechtsradikale Parteien schaffen keine realen Verbesserungen für Arbeitnehmer:innen, bieten ihnen aber die symbolische Aufwertung des Nach-Unten-Tretens“: Der Soziologe Linus Westheuser über gefährliche Schlagseiten des Arbeitsbegriffs und Sozialstaatsdebatten. Ohne Fleiß, kein Preis? Ein Mantra, das tief in unserer Leistungsgesellschaft verankert ist. Doch genau das kritisiert der Soziologe Linus Westheuser. Im Interview
-
Preis “Das Politische Buch” der Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
Der Preis „Das politische Buch“ der Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung geht in diesem Jahr an Steffen Mau, Thomas Lux und Linus Westheuser für ihr Buch „Triggerpunkte. Konsens und Konflikt in der Gegenwartsgesellschaft“. Der Preis „Das politische Buch“ zählt zu den wichtigsten Sachbuchpreisen im deutschen Sprachraum und ist mit 10.000 Euro dotiert. Er wird von der Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung jährlich für