Public Opinion in the Context of (Eastern) European Elections

This WAPOR webinar explores the evolving dynamics of public opinion in the context of elections across Eastern and broader European democracies. As electoral processes reflect the political attitudes and behaviors of diverse populations, this session focuses on the methodological and contextual challenges in capturing these insights, particularly in countries with unique sociopolitical landscapes.

Bringing together experts from Germany, Poland, and Hungary, the webinar will examine a range of topics, including voter behavior, political preferences, and the shifting survey environments in these nations. Discussions will highlight the interplay between innovative methodologies, such as large-scale electoral surveys and survey experiments, and the broader political contexts shaping these efforts. From the experiences of immigrant-origin voters in Germany to the political polling environment in Hungary and beyond, the webinar offers a comparative perspective on the challenges and opportunities in understanding public opinion in these dynamic regions.This session provides valuable insights for academics, practitioners, and anyone interested in the intersection of public opinion research and electoral politics in Europe. 

Speakers: Jonas Elis (Germany); Michal Kotnarowski (Poland); Stefkovics Ádám (Hungary). Moderator: Jan-Karem Hohne (Germany)

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Jonas Elis is a postdoctoral researcher in the Working Group of Empirical Political Science at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany. He is the field and project manager of the Immigrant German Election Study II. In his research, Jonas Elis investigates the voting behaviour, political attitudes and political preferences of immigrant-origin voters. In addition, his methodological focus is on how to improve the mobilisation of immigrants into large-scale electoral surveys.

Ádám Stefkovics holds a PhD in Sociology. He is a research fellow at the HUN-REN Centre for Social Sciences in Budapest and an affiliate at the Institute for Quantitative Social Sciences at Harvard University. With 12 years of experience in polling at Századvég Foundation, his primary research interests include survey methodology and political sociology.

Michal Kotnarowski is a sociologist and Political Science scholar. He works as an assistant professor at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences. He is a member of several survey research projects, including Polish part of the European Social Survey, the Polish Panel Survey POLPAN, the Polish National Election Study. Before joining academia Michal worked as a research manager for leading Polish public opinion institutes (PBS and TNS). He was responsible for various studies on political attitudes of Poles, exit polls and predictions of elections results.