Beyond the Western Toolkit: A Global-Local Atlas of Depolarization Interventions in Turkey

Affective polarization—characterized by hostility and distrust toward political opponents—has evolved into a critical global challenge, yet the academic solutions proposed remain fragmented and heavily skewed toward Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) contexts (Hartman et al., 2022; Chan et al., 2023). Furthermore, the field currently faces a "measurement crisis" where the actual effects of interventions on democratic outcomes, such as reducing political intolerance, remain uncertain (Courchesne et al., 2021; Voelkel et al., 2023). To address these gaps, this paper proposes the construction of a "Global-Local Intervention Atlas," a systematic taxonomy designed to evaluate the transferability of global strategies to the polarized, hybrid media context of Turkey. Integrating the TRI (Thoughts–Relationships–Institutions) framework (Hartman et al., 2022) with the Ecological Model (Bronfenbrenner, 1994; Hodson et al., 2025), this study moves beyond descriptive inventories to classify interventions based on their underlying mechanisms and level of impact. The methodology employs a rigorous, multi-source review process: alongside a bibliometric analysis of standard databases (Scopus, Web of Science) , this study uniquely utilizes the specialized intervention database collected under the COST Action CA22165 DepolarisingEU. This proprietary dataset allows for a more granular classification of interventions, distinguishing between cognitive corrections (e.g., prebunking) and structural changes (e.g., algorithmic friction) (Vasconcelos et al., 2024; Lewandowsky & Van der Linden, 2021). The resulting Atlas specifically assesses "contextual fit" for Turkey, where polarization manifests as a deep-seated regime of "othering"—involving high social distance and moral superiority—rather than simple policy disagreement (Erdoğan & Uyan-Semerci, 2018; 2025). By mapping global evidence and COST network data onto local dynamics, this study provides a critical, mechanism-based roadmap for researchers and policymakers. Ultimately, it advocates shifting focus from short-term psychological fixes to scalable, evidence-based solutions capable of disrupting the "destructive polarization" cycles inherent in digital ecosystems (Esau et al., 2025; Iyengar et al., 2024)