Civil society and the polarization of Czech society

The presented thesis titled "Civil Society and the Polarization of Czech Society" examined how organizations and actors within Czech civil society contribute to the deepening of pernicious polarization and, conversely, how they attempt to weaken it. Methodologically, a quantitative content analysis was employed, analyzing 100 selected articles from Deník N and iDnes published in 2024. The research demonstrated that pernicious polarization was present in 66% of the analyzed units and occurred primarily between the liberal-cosmopolitan and conservative-national camps. The thesis concludes that polarization within Czech civil society unfolds in an asymmetrical manner. The conservative national camp more frequently employed polarizing strategies of distancing and delegitimization, whereas the liberal cosmopolitan camp more often applied depolarizing strategies aimed at the broader public, thereby preventing the full development of a polarization spiral.