Evaluation of Democracy Research Group (EvalDem)

Advanced democracies are facing major political crises and a decline in democratic legitimacy. Evaluation practices are widely used to account for the democratic systems that condition the implementation of public policies. The research group "Evaluation of Democracy" (EvalDem) aims to provide an interdisciplinary, comparative and innovative evaluation of the democratic character of the public policy production process.

Its work is organised around three themes:

  • Scientoscepticism and the crisis of democracy

The implementation of public policies can be made more difficult by the growing mistrust of the citizens. Scientoscepticism is a symptom of a wider political malaise. To understand its roots, it is necessary to study the institutional and intellectual environment of individuals (populist discourses, the role of the media, the losers of globalisation).
  • Political participation and the financing of democracy

The crisis of political representation in representative democracies highlights the importance of studying the modalities of political participation. Improving knowledge of the characteristics of candidates and the evolution of their representation over time contributes to examining the functioning of a democracy and the perceptions of citizens.
  • New forms of media funding

The financing of democracy is also the financing of the media. The research group aims to study the extent to which different capital and governance structures affect the information produced by the media and electoral participation, and to assess the effectiveness of media regulations in guaranteeing their independence.

Associated research projects

Ongoing projects

Déterminants Sociaux des Décisions de Justice Pénale (SoDeJuPe)

La déontologie parlementaire : usages et effets d’un nouveau régime de probité (PolEthics) (2022)

Inclusive Democracies? Conceptualising and Measuring the Descriptive and Substantive Political Representation of Under-represented Groups in Democratic Parliaments (InclusiveParl) (2021)

Public opinion, democratic accountability and evaluation of defence: towards a new comparative research agenda (OPIDEF) (2020) 

The mechanics and determinants of anti-science attitudes : a litterature review (2020)

Study of the characteristics of candidates in general elections in the United Kingdom since 1918 (2019)

Finished projects

Evaluating Anti-Corruption Policies (2017, 2019)

Ethnicity and Policy : Ethnic Group Identity, Political Competition and Policies Outcomes in Europe - ETHPOL (2017)

Independence and Quality of Mass Media in the Internet Age - MIRAGE (2017)

Etat de la démocratie (2017)

The use of digital technology to Assess the Impact of Parliament on the Lawmaking Process (2016)

Reception and Judgement of Socio Fiscal and Symbolic Policies (2016)

Evaluating the Impact of the July 2008 Constitutional Reform (2015 and 2016)

Evaluation de l'efficacité des aides à la presse (2015)

Who Owns the Media? Capital, Governance and Independence (2015)

Systèmes électoraux : quel impact, quelles régulations ? (2015)

Policy Agreement and Political Support (2015)

« Symbolitique » - How to evaluate political symbols? (2015)

New Perspectives on Institutional Change (2015)

The Dualization of Europe (2015)

Long-term Evaluation of Public Policies: An Historical Investigation Into Colonial Policies in French Western Africa and its Impacts on Modern Political Attitudes and Intra-state Conflicts (2015)

Baromètre des priorités politiques (2014-2017)

2014 Chapel Hill Expert Survey Data (2014)

Policy evaluation, media dissemination and public perception of government performance (2013)

Voting and public policies – elections 2012 (2013)

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