John Ulan/Ulan PhotographyJared Wesley is a political science professor at the University of Alberta and the lead of the Common Ground initiative. Common Ground has released the first phase of its online toolkit focused on equipping people with common language for political discourse.
Launched in 2019, Common Ground seeks to help Albertans bridge the gap between their individual and community identities. The initiative uses surveys, census data, and focus groups to capture a “realistic snapshot of who Albertans are in reality.” According to their research, there is a large gap between how Albertans are as individuals and how they see themselves as a community.
Common language is necessary for productive political discourse, Wesley says
Common Ground was approached by Alberta municipalities with reports of local politicians encountering increased hostility in-person and online. In response, the initiative worked with local politicians and community members to develop tools to help people recognize democratically dangerous behaviours, Wesley said.
“We lack a common language to talk about what’s acceptable and not acceptable in political discourse,” he said.
The toolkit seeks to create a “common lexicon of political behaviour.” Popular terms like ‘gaslighting’ are accessibly explained, allowing people to understand and recognize them. The toolkit also serves as a self-reflection tool, allowing people to recognize when they commit the “democratic sins” that they may critique in others.
Online toolkit provides resources for navigating political polarization
One of Common Ground’s goals is to “help Albertans align their personal attitudes with their perception of what Alberta is.” When Common Ground asks focus group participants to draw an Albertan, they typically draw a cowboy, oil worker, or farmer. These images impact people’s sense of belonging, according to Wesley.
“Alberta is more democratically diverse than the common conception suggests.”
According to Wesley, the U of A’s Student Experience Action Plan (SEAP) survey results found that “a large proportion of students on campus are not comfortable engaging in these kinds of political discussions.”
Wesley emphasized the importance of making space for people who wish to forge common ground in polarized environments like Alberta. People who seek collaboration with others can be labelled as traitors or appeasers which discourages genuine dialogue, according to Wesley.
“Liberal democracy and pluralism that underlies it is built on the notion that more voices result in better outcomes for a broader public,” he said.
He hopes the toolkit will encourage people to be more confident engaging in productive political discourse.
“We want to try to empower the moderate middle in Alberta to become engaged in politics again,” he said.
A series of card games based on the toolkit have been designed in collaboration with undergraduate students in Design 493. The card games will be available at the end of the year. Additionally, the second phase of the toolkit will provide strategies on how to redirect conversations to make them more productive.
