Philipp Lutz
You might think that most people have misperceptions about immigration. Yet many false beliefs are merely low-confidence guesses, rather than firmly held views. Drawing on new Swiss survey evidence, Philipp Lutz and Marco Bitschnau show that this distinction has important implications for understanding public opinion, and for the quality of democratic debate Read more
Chris Butler
Politicians need to have a good understanding of which issues matters most to voters. Chris Butler reports from a recent survey of politicians that reveals that while they have a reasonable understanding of which issues matter, there are also common reasons why they make mistakes that have consequences for representation Read more
Osman Sabri Kiratli
NATO recently agreed to a historic 5% defence spending target. But Osman Sabri Kiratli presents new experimental evidence revealing that what Americans truly care about goes far beyond the numbers. In fact, democratic allies may have more leeway than they realise Read more
Sebastian Jäckle
Few moments captured the volatility of transatlantic relations better than the explosive Oval Office meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy on 28 February 2025. Sebastian Jäckle, Ronald Schleehauf, Judith Reinbold and Marius Fröhle studied its impact on German public opinion using a natural experiment based on an online survey Read more
Ann-Kathrin Reinl
Ann-Kathrin Reinl argues that welfare security is the quiet hinge of public support for EU enlargement. Credible guarantees on national benefits blunt fears about costs and migration. If we reassure citizens on welfare, support for a larger EU holds Read more
Dmytro Panchuk
Russian aggression in Ukraine triggered a surge in support for EU enlargement — but public goodwill is beginning to fade. Dmytro Panchuk argues that this moment of elite-public alignment is rare and fragile. To seize it, EU leaders must act decisively before war fatigue and populist rhetoric erode the case for widening Read more
Robert Nordström
Despite a series of court rulings challenging Japan’s same-sex marriage ban, public opinion remains largely unmoved. Robert Nordström presents evidence from new survey data which reveals the fleeting influence of judicial action in advancing LGBTQ rights in this conservative society Read more
Anja Durovic
Democratic governments conduct extensive public opinion research, but we know little about how they use it. When and why do they seek to find out what the public thinks? Opening the black box of government polling in Germany, Anja Durovic and Tinette Schnatterer find governments exploit polls in a highly strategic way. Read more
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