Tuesday, May 13. 09:30-10:30. Keynote Lecture: “The Emergence of the “Illiberal” Voter? Comparative Analysis of American and Global Elections 2016–2024”
Over the past decade, Donald Trump has emerged as a defining force in U.S. presidential politics—contesting three consecutive elections, reshaping the Republican Party in his own image, and eroding support among traditional Democratic Party constituencies. His surprising electoral victories, the January 6th insurrection, and even multiple assassination attempts have intensified debates about democratic backsliding, cultural backlash, economic grievances, and the rise of extreme partisan polarization and political violence in American politics. Yet these challenges are not uniquely American; liberal democracies around the world are similarly grappling with illiberal forces, candidates, and parties.
In this presentation, I will draw upon extensive data from American national election surveys conducted in 2016, 2020, 2022, and 2024 as part of the Comparative National Elections Project (CNEP), alongside other recent surveys and experiments with American voters. I will also incorporate comparative analyses from CNEP surveys that my colleagues and I have conducted in other liberal democracies over the past decade, placing the American experience within a global context. Through this analysis, I will highlight both the stability and the evolution of Americans’ fundamental democratic and political beliefs that have shaped today’s political landscape and contributed to Trump’s 2024 electoral success.
Speaker
Erik C. Nisbet (Ph.D., Cornell) is the Owen L. Coon Professor of Policy Analysis & Communication at Northwestern University and the founding director of the Center for Communication & Public Policy. His scholarship centers on American and comparative political communication, opinion formation, and political behavior. He is Co-PI of the Comparative National Elections Project (CNEP), conducting regular CNEP election surveys in the United States since 2012 and ad hoc election surveys in Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Turkey, Iran, Ukraine, and Serbia. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and Meta.
Thursday, May 15. 10:00-11:00. Keynote Roundtable: “Elections Worldwide: Challenges and Innovations”
Almost half of the world’s population voted in national elections in 2024, yet numerous studies have documented the declining health of global democracy in recent years. As electoral systems face new challenges and adapt to technological and political shifts, understanding these dynamics is more important than ever. This roundtable brings together leading experts in public opinion research and electoral studies to discuss key trends, obstacles, and innovations shaping elections worldwide.
The panel features three distinguished speakers:
• Alejandro Moreno (Mexico) – Professor of Political Science at Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) and former President of the World Association for Public Opinion Research He is an expert on public opinion and electoral behavior in Latin America.
• Richard Wike (USA) – Director of International Survey Research at Pew Research Center, specializing in global public attitudes toward democracy, governance, and political change.
• Yashwant Deshmukh (India) – Founder-Director of C-Voter, a leading public opinion and election research agency, with extensive experience in electoral analysis and polling.
The panel will be moderated by Olga Kamenchuk (USA), Associate Professor of Research and Instruction at Northwestern University and Co-Principal Investigator at the Comparative National Elections Project (CNEP) for Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine.