Contributor(s): Professor Peter Trubowitz, Professor Sara Hobolt, Dr Florian Foos | We explore political polarisation in the UK, EU, US and on social media in light of COVID-19, and how democracy can be built back. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the world was plunged into lockdown, nations were unified in the fight against the virus. As time has rolled on, a suffering economy, rising infection and death rates, a historic election, Brexit, and confusion around devolved powers have intensified the divide in political attitudes to ideological extremes. Meet our speakers and chair Florian Foos (@FlorianFoos) is Assistant Professor in Political Behaviour, Department of Government, LSE. His research aims to identify the causal effects of formal and informal interactions between citizens, politicians and campaign workers on electoral mobilisation, opinion change and political activism. Sara Hobolt (@sarahobolt) is the Sutherland Chair in European Institutions and a professor in the Department of Government, LSE. She is the Chair of the European Election Studies, an EU-wide project studying voters, parties, candidates and the media in European Parliamentary elections, and the Principal Investigator of the ERC-funded project EUDEMOS: Constrained Democracy: Citizens’ Responses to Limited Political Choice in the European Union. Peter Trubowitz (@ptrubowitz) is Professor of International Relations and Director of the US Centre at LSE and Associate Fellow at Chatham House. His main teaching and research interests are in the fields of international security and US foreign policy. He also writes and comments frequently on US politics. Chris Anderson (@soccerquant) is Professor in European Politics and Policy, European Institute, LSE. His research has centred on the micro-foundations of markets and democracy. Past research projects have investigated the popularity of governments, the dynamics of public opinion about European integration, and people’s satisfaction with democracy. More about this event This event is part of the LSE Festival: Shaping the Post-COVID World running from Monday 1 to Saturday 6 March 2021, with a series of events exploring the direction the world could and should be taking after the crisis and how social science research can shape it. The Department of Government (@LSEGovernment) is a world-leading centre for study and research in politics and government. The European Institute (@LSEEI) is a centre for research and graduate teaching on the processes of integration and fragmentation within Europe. In the most recent national Research Excellence Framework the Institute was ranked first for research in its sector. Twitter hashtags for this event: #LSEFestival