How can education contribute to resolving global crises through collective political action in today’s societies that are increasingly characterised by political polarisation and identity-related differences, conflicts and inequalities? The interdisciplinary DEMOPOL research project (Kone foundation, 2021–2023) addresses this central political and educational challenge of contemporary democracies. The research project brings to dialogue different research traditions with contrasting theoretical perspectives, which reflect the political tension between identity-politics and shared democratic principles. By constructing novel theoretical starting points for democratic and global citizenship education, the project takes part in creating preconditions for collective political action in increasingly polarised and unequal societies.