This report from Salzburg Global's Polarization and Violent Threats to Democratic Systems program aims to identify ways to mitigate the threat of political violence and address the dangers that polarization and political violence pose to democratic systems. The HFG-supported report suggests that the greatest dangers to democratic systems emerge when full democracies shift toward “hybrid democracies,” i.e., systems with democratic structures but marked by dysfunction, identity struggles, and intense forms of political competition that undermine democratic processes.

This HFG report, authored by Dr. Vally Koubi, analyzes the existing research on the relationship between climate and conflict. It includes key takeaways, policy recommendations, and areas for future study.

‘We Want You To Be A Proud Boy’: How Social Media Facilitates Political Intimidation and Violence, an HFG-funded report from the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, details how social media use can enable or contribute to political strife. Based on a review of more than 400 social science studies, the report by Paul M. Barrett identifies particular features of social media platforms that make them susceptible to exploitation and suggests how to mitigate the dangers.

In Government Legitimacy, Social Solidarity, and American Homicide in Historical Perspective, Randolph Roth, professor of history and sociology at The Ohio State University, argues that shifts in citizens’ beliefs about the legitimacy of their government and the character of political leadership, feelings of affinity for — or alienation from — fellow citizens, and acceptance or resentment of their place in the social order affect the frequency with which Americans kill each other.

In Is Bail Reform Causing an Increase in Crime?, criminologists Don Stemen and David Olson examine crime rates in eleven states and cities that adopted bail reforms, finding “no clear or obvious pattern” connecting bail reform to changes in violent crime rates.