Evolution of Democratic Ideas

Abstract

Understandings of Democracy Project 

The term "democracy" can take on a plethora of meanings - in political science as much as in the real world. What “democracy” means often differs drastically between people, between political scientists, and between both of these groups. Within this project, we explore whether different understandings of democracy can explain differences in political orientation, including support for for-right parties. In addition, we investigate the role of emotions in amplifying the effects of different democracy understandings on individual political decision making. 

Researcher: Vanessa Boese-Schlosser, Nikolina Klatt, Janice Ngiam, Daniel Ziblatt

Selected Paper:

"What is Democracy (To You)? Understanding Democratic Reasoning Across Partisan Divides"
Researchers: Vanessa Boese-Schlosser, Nikolina Klatt, Janice Ngiam, Daniel Ziblatt

Main content

Reichstags Project

Project on Change of  ‘Meaning’ of Democracy in historical German MP speeches (1871-Present)
Researchers: Aditya Dasgupta (University of California, Merced), Fabio Ellger 

Project on Change of Meaning of democracy in candidate manifestos in Britain (1832-Present)
Researchers: Aditya Dasgupta (University of California, Merced), Fabio Ellger 

Do Politicians Discriminate Against Constituents with an Immigration Background? Field Experimental Evidence from Germany
Researchers: Jeyhun Alizade, Fabio Ellger 

The Electoral Consequences of New Political Actors: Evidence from the German Greens 
Researchers: Tom Arend, Fabio Ellger, Antonio Valentim

"Elite Cues and the Erosion of the Anti-Prejudice Norm" 
Researchers: Elias Dinas, Vicente Valentim, John Chua, and Daniel Ziblatt

German Political Identity
Researchers: Prof. Daniel Ziblatt, Ph.D.
Cooperation partners:
Elias Dinas, Ph.D., EUI
Vasiliki Fouka, Ph.D., Stanford University