Learning democracy by encountering “the other”

In view of current (economic, social and identity-political) crises, (Western) societies are facing multiple challenges like disintegration, social exclusion and political polarization. In Germany, civic education sees itself facing an increasing problem in the didactic processing of these challenges, as there has so far been a lack of compatible, inclusive narratives that could be put into position against these phenomena of social division. By creating methodically reflected group workshops with citizens and civic educators of the city of Dortmund, the research project ZuNaMi tries to react to these societal challenges by analytically reconstructing narratives of social cohesion. It will be shown that the discussions within the group workshops refer to central questions of democracy theory, and that the subject of social cohesion between citizens and civic educators is negotiated along radical democratic ideals.