2021 Laureate Profile: Professor Axel Bruns

 

Professor Axel Bruns

Administering Organisation: Queensland University of Technology 

Fellowship project summary

FL210100051: Dynamics of Partisanship and Polarisation in Online Public Debate.

Rapidly increasing partisanship and polarisation, especially online, poses an urgent threat to societal cohesion in Australia and other established western democracies; polarisation is also a critical cybersecurity concern when actively promoted by bad-faith actors to undermine citizens’ trust in democratic institutions. By introducing an analytical framework that distinguishes four key dimensions of polarisation, the Fellowship aims to conduct the first-ever assessment of the extent and dynamics of polarisation in the contemporary online and social media environments of six nations, including Australia. The evidence is expected to enable an urgently needed, robust defence of our society and democracy against the challenges of polarisation.

Australian Research Council funding: $ 3,518,080

Find out more about Professor Bruns and their research areas of interest to date by visiting their profile page on Queensland University of Technology's website. 

For further information about this funding scheme, please visit the Australian Laureate Fellowships scheme page.

Image credit: Queensland University of Technology