PERSPECTIVE Democratic Expeditions Against Polarisation: Reconstructing Civility Christian Golden and Peter Verpoorten The Problem of Civility Lost Civility Appeals to civility may seem quaint and old-fashioned in our moment of democratic crisis. Many on the left see it as unacceptably conservative, a regressive tool of“re­spectability politics”(Cherry 2021; Eltahawy 2019). Simi ­larly, those in the far-right,“post-liberal” Catholic move­ment known as“Integralism” describe civility as a mis ­guided obstacle to the power politics they practise (Ahmari 2019). Meanwhile, right-wing authoritarians like Donald Trump replace civil rhetoric with threats to use state power to punish rivals and persecute critics, whom Trump describes as the“enemy from within”(Hubbard, Rosen, and Huey-Burns 2024). Presumably, gestures of unity and tolerance have no pla­ce in such apocalyptic politics. Is civility obsolete? On the contrary, we believe it’s a vital resource for civic renewal in challenged democracies. Polarisation and Conflict Today’s growing partisan divides threaten democracies. As they become more rigidly polarised, citizens’ trust in government and each other erodes(Schedler 2023). As a result, communication between opposing groups breaks down, normalising chronic conflict and dysfunction and increasing the likelihood of violence. This process rein­forces partisan identity, which increasingly dominates how citizens understand every aspect of their lives, from religion to lifestyle choices. Such political“mega-identi ­ties” stifle civility and dialogue(Levendusky 2023, 30) and even undermine like-minded political movements through internal division and gridlock(Talisse 2021). When everything is politicised, compromise between and within groups is perceived as capitulation to the enemy. Unlike“adversaries,”“enemies” no longer see each other as legitimate opponents. Politics comes to be seen as war by other means. What seems needed, then, are“partisan strategies that cut across social identities” in order“to avoid the tribal lock-in that makes partisan identity such an anti-democratic force”(Ruckelhaus 2022). Against Polarisation: Reconstructing Civility 1