Project Description
Aims and Central Research Question
What are politicians’ beliefs about inequality and representation? How do politicians employ normative perceptions and scientific beliefs in forming opinions and attitudes? How do politicians compare to citizens and across countries in the regard?
We investigate these questions by interviewing elected representatives in different European and North American countries in 2022 and 2024/5. Thematically, the study focuses on the domains of economic inequality, public health and environmental concerns.
Our goal is to understand how politicians think about and address domestic and global challenges in democratic societies.
Methods
The core research design is based on parallel surveys with a representative sample of citizens and politicians. The combination of mass and elite surveys allows us to conduct paired and complementary experiments. Next to the core survey, we also ask politicians open-ended questions to gain more insights on the mechanisms that underlie the politicians' answers in the survey.
Starting Date
June 2022
Project Partners
Stefanie Bailer (Universität Basel)
Stefanie Bailer is Professor of Political Science at the University of Basel. Since her doctoral studies at the University of Konstanz (with research stays at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen and University of Michigan), she has devoted herself to the research areas of parliamentarism in Germany, Switzerland and Europe, decision-making processes in the European Union, and international negotiation analysis.
More information about Stefanie Bailer can be found here.
Yvette Peters (Universität Bergen)
Yvette Peters is a professor in the Department of Comparative Politics at the University of Bergen in Norway. Previously, she works as an assistant professor at Humboldt University in Berlin. She is a fellow of the Trond Mohn Foundation. Her research focuses on democracies, how they change, and the ways in which democratic institutions influence citizens' behavior.
More information about Yvette Peters can be found here.