Graduate Student Wataru Onishi Awarded Prestigious APSA Spring Centennial Research Grant

dzara016 — Mon, 27 Oct 2025 21:12:41 +0000

Graduate Student Wataru Onishi Awarded Prestigious APSA Spring Centennial Research Grant dzara016 Mon, 10/27/2025 - 14:12 More News Donald Zárate October 27, 2025

The Department of Political Science is proud to announce that Ph.D. student Wataru Onishi was awarded a Spring 2025 Centennial Center Research Grant earlier this year from the American Political Science Association (APSA) for his project, “Can Intra-Party Disagreement Mitigate Affective Polarization?”

Over the past decade, Americans have grown increasingly hostile toward members of the opposing political party. Many citizens not only disagree across party lines but also feel anger, distrust, and resentment—an emotional division known as affective polarization. This trend has become a serious concern for the health of democracy, as it undermines civic cooperation and cross-partisan understanding.

While prior research has largely focused on how national leaders—such as presidential candidates—contribute to this divide, Onishi’s work asks a critical but underexplored question: What role do rank-and-file members of Congress play in shaping partisan animosity?

To answer this, Onishi will use his APSA Centennial Center funding to conduct a survey experiment testing whether exposing citizens to intra-party disagreement can reduce affective polarization.

Onishi aims to assess whether highlighting internal diversity within political parties can help citizens see opponents in a less hostile light—and whether party leaders’ influence might amplify or limit that effect.

Onishi explained that this “research serves the public by clarifying the importance and limitations of different types of politicians in shaping affective polarization." His findings will shed light on how ordinary members of Congress—not just party elites—can either reinforce or reduce emotional divides in American politics.

Can Digital Tech Actually Help Save Democracy?

dzara016 — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 22:35:06 +0000

Can Digital Tech Actually Help Save Democracy? dzara016 Thu, 10/16/2025 - 15:35 More News Donald Zárate October 16, 2025

The relationship between democracy and digital technology is often cast in pessimistic terms—marked by polarization, misinformation, and online hostility. But what if the same tools that threaten democratic life could also help renew it?

In a recent IGCC blog post, UCR’s own Professor Kevin Esterling, Director of the Laboratory for Technology, Communication, and Democracy (TeCD-Lab), argues that digital technology can, in fact, strengthen democracy—if designed with deliberation in mind.

Drawing on insights from democratic theory and lessons from ancient civic practice, Esterling introduces Prytaneum, a platform developed by TeCD-Lab to promote meaningful, large-scale democratic dialogue. Named after the civic center of ancient Greek city-states, Prytaneum uses AI to summarize and curate public feedback during virtual discussions—helping participants see the diversity of perspectives in the room and engage beyond partisan echo chambers.

“Democracy shouldn’t just mean broadcasting or venting opinions—it’s about mutual understanding and informed debate,” Esterling explains. “Prytaneum is designed to make that possible at the scale of modern society.”

By facilitating deliberation between citizens and their representatives, Prytaneum aims to model a digital public square where people can reason together rather than talk past one another.

The full essay, published by the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC), explores how modern technology—guided by democratic values—can move us closer to this goal.

Read the full article here: Can Digital Tech Actually Help Save Democracy?

Political Communication

Graduate Student Wataru Onishi Awarded Prestigious APSA Spring Centennial Research Grant

Can Digital Tech Actually Help Save Democracy?