Polarization doesn’t arise because people disagree, but because they feel unsafe.
On an individual level, it’s an instinctive survival response:
when the world feels complex, uncertain, or threatening,
the brain activates a primitive mechanism
aimed at control, safety, and clarity.
This happens largely unconsciously.
Instead of facing the unknown or the complex,
the mind seeks simplicity: good versus bad, us versus them.
This simplification reduces internal tension,
but at the same time creates an external enemy.
This is how the polarization dynamic emerges,
not as a rational analysis, but as an instinctive defense
against disorientation and loss of meaning.
Psychological and systemic dynamics
that fuel polarization
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Projection and externalization
Group identity and attachment
Systemic tension and power dynamics
Fear of losing status, control, or existence
Loss of shared meaning
In summary
Polarization is not a matter of “disagreement,”
but a deep human response to insecurity,
complexity, and systemic tension.
It arises when instinct takes over from consciousness.
Therefore, the only sustainable way out is not a counterreaction,
but a conscious step back to connection,
safety, and shared meaning.
Scientific basis
of the core mechanisms behind polarization
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Projection and externalization
Group identity and attachment
Systeemspanning en machtsdynamiek
Fear of losing status, control, or existence
Loss of shared meaning
The connections between these mechanisms and the literature are based on a thorough analysis of existing theories from, among others, psychology, systems thinking, and social sciences.
They do not form linear proof, but have been carefully constructed based on generally accepted insights.
How
The Three Steps
support psychological needs
Step 1 -
Re-experiencing what TOGETHER means
Needs addressed here
Group identity and attachment
Instead of 'us versus them,' a new, shared we-experience emerges.
People feel again that they belong, without it coming at the expense
of others.
Loss of meaning
The shared experience restores the awareness of a common goal,
of something that connects us.
It gives people a sense of something
greater than themselves.
Step 2 - Training:
DEpolarizing can be learned!
Needs addressed here
Projection and externalization
By learning to recognize why we make others the enemy,
space is created for self-reflection and responsibility
instead of blame.
Fear of loss of status, control, or existence
The training teaches people how their survival instinct unconsciously
drives their behavior. Recognizing this brings choice and calmness.
Step 3 - Active
DEpolarize!
Needs addressed here
Systemic tension and power/helplessness
In small practice groups, people experience that they can have an impact, within a safe and supported structure.
This restores the sense of togetherness.
Group identity 2.0
Not bound by ideology or party,
but by practicing human dignity and equality.
A new form of connection emerges.
In summary
The Three Steps address each of the
underlying psychological needs that,
if left unmet, lead to polarization.
Not through theory, but through experience,
insight, and practice a different person emerges,
and with it a different society.
Finally
Polarization is not a matter of a disagreement,
but a deep human response to fear,
insecurity, and system pressure.
In this analysis, you read how projection,
group formation, loss of control, and meaning
lead to hardening in society.
You also found here a scientific foundation
and a practical approach that dismantles these
mechanisms step by step.
DEpolarization NOW! (before it’s too late...)
offers a proven, human solution for structural change.
