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The dynamics of minority opinions in democratic debate

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  • Galam, Serge

Abstract

A model for the dynamics of opinion forming in democratic public debate is presented. Using concepts and techniques from the physics of disorder the dynamics of social refusal spreading is studied within a perfect world, where the minority holds neither better arguments nor lobbying backing. The one-person-one-vote rule, together with local majority rules, are used to determine the outcome of local group discussions. In case of a local tie, the group decides on keeping the Status Quo. The geometry of social life shaped by offices, houses, bars, and restaurants is shown to determine the distribution size of these discussion groups. It is found to yield very asymmetric unstable thresholds to the total spreading of one opinion at the benefit of the refusal one. The associated dynamics is rather quick and completed within few days. This democratic paradox of public debate driven majority opinion reversal is discussed in light of some European construction issues. The model may apply to rumor and fear propagation.

Suggested Citation

  • Galam, Serge, 2004. "The dynamics of minority opinions in democratic debate," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 336(1), pages 56-62.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:336:y:2004:i:1:p:56-62
    DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2004.01.010
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Nizamani, Sarwat & Memon, Nasrullah & Galam, Serge, 2014. "From public outrage to the burst of public violence: An epidemic-like model," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 416(C), pages 620-630.
    2. F. Jacobs & S. Galam, 2019. "Two-Opinions-Dynamics Generated By Inflexibles And Non-Contrarian And Contrarian Floaters," Advances in Complex Systems (ACS), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 22(04), pages 1-30, June.
    3. Qian, Shen & Liu, Yijun & Galam, Serge, 2015. "Activeness as a key to counter democratic balance," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 432(C), pages 187-196.
    4. Gaudiano, Marcos E. & Revelli, Jorge A., 2019. "Spontaneous emergence of a third position in an opinion formation model," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 521(C), pages 501-511.
    5. Sven Banisch & Tanya Araújo & Jorge Louçã, 2010. "Opinion Dynamics And Communication Networks," Advances in Complex Systems (ACS), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 13(01), pages 95-111.
    6. Gwizdalla, Tomasz M., 2008. "Gallagher index for sociophysical models," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 387(12), pages 2937-2951.
    7. Balankin, Alexander S. & Martínez Cruz, Miguel Ángel & Martínez, Alfredo Trejo, 2011. "Effect of initial concentration and spatial heterogeneity of active agent distribution on opinion dynamics," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 390(21), pages 3876-3887.
    8. Lo Schiavo, Mauro & Prinari, Barbara & Saito, Ikuko & Shoji, Kotaro & Benight, Charles C., 2019. "A dynamical systems approach to triadic reciprocal determinism of social cognitive theory," Mathematics and Computers in Simulation (MATCOM), Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 18-38.

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