Dynamics of Issue Evolution

The project

What makes an issue politically contentious? How do political problems arise? How do they divide opinions? How do they go away? The “Dynamics of Issue Evolution” project uses modern computational social science techniques to answer these questions, by capturing the long-term evolution of key political issues. 

The project is funded by OpenAI, as part of the international NextGenAI consortium, which brings together leading global universities and OpenAI. The project will run for approximately 3 years, starting in January 2026. 

Project objectives

The aim of this project is to map the evolution of key political issues, such as immigration, the environment, budgets and state administration, over time, in several European democracies. To this end, we will compile diverse corpora of political speeches, parliamentary debates, as well as media reporting, covering the period from the 19th to the 21st century.

This will help addressing questions such as:

• How and when do specific issues emerge in public discourse?
• How do political issues evolve in terms of framing, tone, and positional distribution?
• Who are the actors introducing these issues, and how do their framings, tones, and positions change over time?
• How do competitive environments or exogenous factors influence issue evolution?
• How have these dynamics shifted over time, considering institutional and technological developments?

Ultimately, the project will further our understanding of how political debates translate into policy decisions, focusing on the factors that push specific issues into the legislative arena.

Team

• Emiliano Grossman, Professor, Sciences Po, CDSP & CEE (Principal Investigator)
• Jan Rovny, Professor, Sciences Po, CEE (Principal Investigator)
• Postdoctoral Researcher, Sciences Po, CDSP (open position - applications welcome until February 15)
• Damian Peška, undergraduate intern, Sciences Po, CEE (January-May 2025)

Find out more

About the NexGenAI consortium.

In line with its vision of ethical AI development, Sciences Po has ensured that this partnership respects the following fundamental principles: 

• the principles of the Statement on Inclusive and Sustainable Artificial Intelligence for People and the Planet issued at the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit held on 10 and 11 February in Paris. Namely: AI that is in the public interest, open, inclusive, sustainable, ethical and responsible; 
• the compliance of this cooperation and the models implemented with the applicable national and European regulatory framework (GDPR and AI Act), particularly with regard to data protection and intellectual property;
• the guarantee of academic autonomy and independence in research.