22/07/2026
📍 Why do we keep talking about facts in polarisation, when the real block might be shame?
👉 In dialogue processes in polarised contexts, I keep on seeing the same patterns: diverse social groups with strong polarised opinions won't go further - not because the facts are unclear. They wont move because acknowledging harm and trauma feels like it would erase their identity and entire sense of self – often that it is a form of shame.
Unprocessed shame doesn't vanish. It gets externalized — onto scapegoats, onto "the other side," onto whoever names the uncomfortable truth. That's why the messenger so often gets attacked instead of the message being debated.
Public shaming performs righteousness for our own side — it rarely persuades the other one.
Groups experiencing a loss of status or relevance often displace that discomfort onto an out-group, because that's easier to bear than sitting with the loss itself.
📍 So what are the implications for peacebuilding in highly polarised contexts?
This is the question Carrie Graham and I continue asking in our next international peacebuilders' exchange group on polarisation:
👉 Today, 22 July 2026 at 5 -6 p.m. CET on Zoom.
📍 If you are interested in joning the session or the group, just drop Carrie at [email protected] or me at [email protected] an email.
All are welcome. 🌈
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