Two-thirds of Americans feel democracy is threatened. They also tell us that having “free and fair” elections is a key part of democracy. So how do those two things connect? For one, most across the party spectrum want their state’s elections to be run by a nonpartisan or bipartisan entity. […] Read more »
Trump Isn’t the Only One to Blame for the Capitol Riot
… The riot was an attack on our institutions, and of course, inflammatory conservative rhetoric and social media bear some of the blame. But our institutions also helped produce that violent outburst by building a sense of entitlement to power within America’s conservative minority. … If the basic mechanics of […] Read more »
Not all polarization is bad, but the US could be in trouble
Protesters and counter-protesters face off at a political rally in September 2021. AP Photo/Nathan Howard Robert B. Talisse, Vanderbilt University For the first time, the United States has been classified as a “backsliding democracy” in a global assessment of democratic societies by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, […] Read more »
Americans don’t agree on what to call Jan. 6 attack
A year since supporters of former President Donald Trump attacked the Capitol, Americans are split over how to describe what happened on Jan. 6, 2021. A new poll from the PBS NewsHour, NPR and Marist finds that roughly half of U.S. adults say an insurrection took place that threatened democracy, […] Read more »
Republicans and Democrats have split over whether to support multiethnic democracy, our research shows
As the first anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol approaches, it’s clear that the ever-increasing gap between the Republican and Democratic parties includes different views about the nature of U.S. democracy and core American values. Our recent research finds that this divergence grows in no small part […] Read more »
6 questions for politics in 2022
From control of Congress and the strength of the Biden presidency to potential Jan. 6 committee revelations and the future of abortion rights, there’s a lot at stake in 2022. We have lots of questions about what’s ahead. Here are six: 1. Can Biden turn it around?President Biden ended 2021 […] Read more »