Center For The Study Of Democratic Institutions

A panel of Vanderbilt political science faculty explored the factors that led to the Jan. 6 riot in a virtual event, “Dissent, Disorder and Democracy: What Led to the U.S. Capitol Insurrection.” Hosted by the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy, the panel also engaged with the event’s serious implications for the strength of the nation's democracy. Read More

The deep partisan divide in Tennessee has never been more apparent than on the questions of whether citizens will get the COVID-19 vaccine and curb holiday travel at the height of the global pandemic, according to the latest Vanderbilt Poll-Tennessee. The poll also found a deep chasm between registered voters on the legitimacy of the results of the presidential election. Read More

Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos emphasized the vital importance of faculty leadership to guide the future direction of Vanderbilt when he delivered his 24th and final faculty assembly address on April 4. Read More

Author and prison reform advocate Anthony Ray Hinton, who spent 30 years on death row in Alabama as an innocent man, will speak at Vanderbilt on Feb. 19. Read More

Six days after the swearing in of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States, Yale University's Jacob Hacker will join three Vanderbilt University professors to discuss the election that brought Trump to power and its political, economic and social consequences. Read More

Residents of Tennessee are optimistic as they wait for the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, according to the latest Vanderbilt Poll. Read More

A little savvy when it comes to interpreting political polls can be very helpful for members of the public looking for some insight. Read More

Barring a "cataclysmic event," Tennessee voters will pick Donald Trump to be the next president on Election Day, according to the new Vanderbilt Poll. Read More

To say that this has been a crazy year in politics is a laugh-out-loud understatement. We turn to the experts in Vanderbilt’s renowned political science department for insight not only into the 2016 presidential race, but also into the future of U.S. politics itself. Read More

Vanderbilt University political scientist John Geer, the nation’s leading expert on negative political advertising, is available to comment on the U.S. Democratic and Republican presidential primary elections. Geer co-chairs Vanderbilt’s Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions. Read More

The newest Vanderbilt Poll results will be released 11 a.m. Dec 3 at the Student Life Center. Read More

Though they didn’t meet until graduate school at Stanford University, Molly and Saul Jackman both grew up in California and became fascinated with politics while very young. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers studied 1,307 appointments made by the Obama administration in its first six months, seeking data about the appointees’ education, work history and political involvement. Read More

The latest Vanderbilt Poll results are in, with registered voters in Tennessee giving their opinions on Medicaid expansion and other issues. Read More

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Maraniss and First Amendment Center founder John Seigenthaler will lead a conversation about the Gettysburg Address to mark its 150th anniversary. Read More

Several authors and other political experts will discuss the 2012 election at a free event at the First Amendment Center Sept. 24. Read More

The latest Vanderbilt Poll shows that Tennesseans strongly support charter schools while their feelings about school vouchers are more divided. Read More

Josh Clinton and John Geer will present results from the latest Vanderbilt Poll of public opinion in Tennessee on May 21 in the Student Life Center. Read More

Losing experienced employees from federal service jobs can have serious consequences, and there's a good way to lessen the chances of that happening, a new study shows. Read More

Whether politicians and the press seem like friend or foe, elected officials regularly use news outlets to share and defend their views to the public. New research from Vanderbilt University finds certain media actually influenced the voting behavior of politicians. Read More