A small group of influential voices is driving deep societal rifts, creating a level of political polarisation in which opposing sides have “nothing left in common”.
New research from Aalto University used network theory to quantify the partisan divide, revealing that a tiny “elite” cluster — potentially just a few hundred people — accounts for a disproportionate share of societal division.
The study measured “alignment”, which tracks how closely a person’s views on one issue match their views on others. By 2023, this alignment reached near-maximum levels among online thought leaders, meaning a progressive view on climate almost certainly guaranteed a progressive view on immigration, while conservative social views paired with conservative economics.
“In democracies, it’s healthy –– even desirable –– to disagree sharply on individual issues. But when alignment becomes complete, society splits into just two camps that disagree on absolutely everything –– there’s nothing left in common with the other side,” said Mikko Kivelä, Professor of Computer Science at Aalto University.
The network structure
The algorithm identified these elites not by their job titles, but by their position within the network structure.
“Not all thought leaders –– the so-called elite –– are politicians. But even without knowing exactly who they are, we can infer their status from the network’s structure. You don’t end up at the centre by accident,” said Ali Salloum, a doctoral researcher and lead author of the study.
This intractable siloing leads to political gridlock, where legislation stalls and decision-making falters. However, the researchers warned that studying these dynamics is becoming impossible as platforms restrict data access.
“It’s especially frustrating when we already know what’s inside the black box, and the value of all that data that the platforms control. By law, researchers should have access, but it’s not being followed. In my opinion, we don’t have enough political pressure directed at keeping these platforms transparent and open,” said Salloum.
