Societies are held together by social cohesion, consisting of social trust, cooperation, and political trust. This allows for stable, predictable relations with strangers, economical prosperity, and democracy. Without the social lubricant of social cohesion, societies run into the danger of distrust, conflict, increased transaction costs, populism, and authoritarianism.
Unsurprisingly, social cohesion has been at the centre of sociological and political research at least since Émile Durkheims influential works De la division du travail social (The Division of Labour in Society) in 1893. Previous research has established that social cohesion is formed in relationships among individuals and between individuals and political entities. However, research has hitherto failed to take into account the strong segregation between social classes in modern societies. That is, owing to factors such as the segregation of neighbourhoods and workplaces, differences in leisuretime activities, and preferences for segregation, a majority of social relationships is formed to individuals of the same or an adjacent social class.
In my doctoral research, I tend to this gap and investigate whether the heterogeneity of social relationships of individuals is associated with indicators of social cohesion, such as social trust, cooperation, or political trust.
Social Cohesion, Social Class, Social Networks, Segregation, Homophily, Social Influence, Social Capital
While I enjoy doing research, I regard it of little value if it remains in the ivory tower of universities. If new ideas and developments do not make it into practice, their existence is of little use. Conversely, I believe, that good research is informed by developments, needs, and problems "on the ground". Communication to non-academic channels, an open ear, and a simple and clear presentation of research are key to this. I am very glad to be part of the EQUAL-NET (Link in German), a network of interdisciplinary scholars on education and inequality that aims to research hand in hand with practice partners.
Till Hovestadt, and Georg Lorenz (2025). Social Network Effects on Educational Inequality: The Role of Similarity Bias in Social Influence. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility. 98. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2025.101071.
Till Hovestadt, and Thorsten Schneider (2021). Liefern Jugendliche valide Informationen zum Bildungsstand ihrer Eltern in standardisierten Erhebungen? Befunde zu Schülerinnen und Schülern der 9. Jahrgangsstufe in Deutschland Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft. 24: 715:842. doi: 10.1007/s11618-021-01016-5.
Till Hovestadt, and Kurt Mühler (2020).Frauen - das ängstliche Geschlecht? Pp. 279-316 in: I. Krumpal & R. Berger (Hrsg.), Devianz und Subkulturen. Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. doi: 10.1007/978-3-658-27228-9.