Keeping Our Enemies Closer: Political Dialogue in Polarized Democracies (Democracy, Citizenship, and Constitutionalism)

An inside look into real-life conversations across ideological, racial, and institutional lines What does it take for a progressive student and a conservative peer to view each other with respect?Can trust form between a police officer and a community member after years of tension and mistrust?At a time when political polarization seems insurmountable, Rachel Wahl offers a rare glimpse into what happens when people with opposing views sit down and talk- not with the goal to debate or "prove" their political point but with the goal to understand the life experiences, hopes, fears, and ideas that drive their disagreements.Drawing on in-depth empirical research with college students, police officers, and community members, this groundbreaking book takes readers inside real-life conversations across ideological, racial, and institutional lines. Wahl draws on political theory to examine two cases: structured dialogue between students and a series of forums held between officers and communit