Best of CASE District VII Award
 

Institution: Stanford University

Title of entry: Pulling Back from Polarization

About this entry: The political divide seems wider than ever. But what can we do to resist the forces pulling us apart? In “Pulling Back From Polarization,” Stanford Business talks with Stanford Graduate School of Business faculty and alumni about practical ways to minimize partisan animosity, find common ground, and restore trust in civic institutions.

For this article, senior editors Kevin Cool and Dave Gilson gathered a panel of experts that included political scientists and other researchers who are at the forefront of studying polarization and ways to defuse it. They also interviewed Stanford GSB affiliates and alumni with experience in politics and business, including former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, as well as a Republican member of Congress and the mayor of a medium-size city in Arizona, both of whom had dealt with the effects of polarization while in office.

The article provided multiple points of entry and solutions to appeal to Stanford Business’ ideologically diverse audience. It focused on how business leaders can foster depolarization by, in the words of cross-cultural psychologist Michele Gelfand, acting as “role models for how to bring people together and help[ing] show how to agree to disagree.”