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INDEPENDENT, SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
ON POLITICS AND SOCIETY

Get to know CPS

From the CPS Blog

The American Century is Over

“Trump’s use of tariffs undermines both multilateralism and a rule-based order.” James D. Morrow writes on trade and the demise of the liberal international order. Read more from the CPS blog.

In Michigan, conspiracy thinking can be rooted in real historic harm

Government suspicion is not simply a product of misinformation—it is often a rational response to systemic failures and historical violence. CPS Next Generation Scholar Franshelly Martinez-Ortiz writes on the case of Michigan: More from the CPS blog.

Who’s to blame for runaway presidential power?

Americans have a system of government that is specifically designed so that one guy can’t screw the whole thing up.  It hasn’t worked out that way. Read more from Christian Fong on the CPS blog

Events

This year’s CPS Wednesday seminar series has an exciting lineup of speakers.

Celebrating National Academies Electees

ISR presents a panel discussion with members of ISR’s faculty recently elected to National Academies (2022-2024): Ken Langa, Sasha Killewald, and Vincent Hutchings.
Wednesday, April 23, 3 to 5 pm, ISR Thompson Room 1430

Miller-Converse Lecture 2026

The Miller-Converse Lecture from the Center for Political Studies is the University of Michigan’s preeminent lecture on American electoral politics. Check back for the 2026 date announcement.

The Miller-Converse Lecture

BlueSky Feed

CPS News

Center for Political Studies Affiliates ‘Sweep’ UM’s Presidential Awards for Understanding Democracy

Year of DemocracyPosted April 23, 2024. 

CPS faculty-led projects took four of the five of the University of Michigan Presidential Awards for Understanding Democracy, awarded to enhance understanding of democracy’s operation and promise as part of the universitywide Year of Democracy, Civic Empowerment, and Global Engagement. More from CPS.

 

Talk to him: Mara Ostfeld and Sara Morell show a conversation can shape public support for women’s rights

OstfeldPosted Dec. 18, 2024. 

A single conversation with a close family member may not change a young woman’s views on policies protecting their rights, but it can strongly influence young men’s attitudes. A University of Michigan study found that family opinions heavily shape male youth’s views on women’s rights, while female youth are less affected. More from Michigan News.

 

Pauline Jones Named CASBS Fellow, 2025-26

Pauline JonesPosted April 7, 2025

The Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford University has named Pauline Jones among its 2025-26 fellows class, comprising 33 researchers in social and behavioral sciences. Read more from CPS.

 

Celebrating 75 years of the American National Election Studies

The American National Election Studies celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2024 with events at MPSA, APSA, and more.  The Center for Political Studies blog offers chronicles, comments, and reflections on the project. More from CPS.

ANES at 75

Featured Project

World Values Survey

The World Values Survey (WVS) is an international research program devoted to the scientific and academic study of social, political, economic, religious and cultural values of people in the world. The project’s goal is to assess which impact values stability or change over time has on the social, political and economic development of countries and societies.

Learn more about the World Values Survey

Partisan Hostility and American Democracy

Featured Publication

Partisan Hostility and American Democracy

For generations, experts argued that American politics needed cohesive parties to function effectively. Now many fear that strong partisan views, particularly hostility to the opposing party, are damaging democracy. Is partisanship as dangerous as we fear it is? To provide an answer, this book offers a nuanced evaluation of when and how partisan animosity matters in today’s highly charged, dynamic political environment, drawing on panel data from some of the most tumultuous years in recent American history, 2019 through 2021. The authors– James N. Druckman, Samara Klar, Yanna Krupnikov, Matthew Levendusky, and John Barry Ryan– show that partisanship powerfully shapes political behaviors, but its effects are conditional, not constant. Instead, it is most powerful when politicians send clear signals and when an issue is unlikely to bring direct personal consequences. In the absence of these conditions, other factors often dominate decision-making. They argue that while partisan hostility has degraded US politics—for example, politicizing previously non-political issues and undermining compromise—it is not in itself an existential threat. As their research shows, the future of American democracy depends on how politicians, more than ordinary voters, behave.

Read more about the book. (University of Chicago Press: June 2024)