Events

Anti-democratic parties and popular support for democracy
The Ronald F. Inglehart Honorary Lecture

Wednesday 21 May, 13:00 BST
Online/Central London

One of the world’s most cited political scientists, Professor Ronald F Inglehart (1934–2021) founded the World Values Survey and led its development into the most encompassing, widely referenced and comprehensive survey database to monitor social and cultural change globally, thereby developing the concepts and infrastructure for a major field of comparative politics.

To commemorate Professor Inglehart and his scientific legacy, in 2022 the World Values Survey Association introduced The Ronald F. Inglehart Honorary Lecture, a keynote presentation held on an annual basis.

The Policy Institute will be hosting this year’s lecture, which will be delivered by Robert Mattes, Professor of Government and Public Policy at the University of Strathclyde.

Mattes will discuss how the emergence and influence of anti-democratic political parties are shaping popular attitudes toward democratic governance, including whether such parties serve primarily to attract existing authoritarian-minded voters (a “cueing effect”), or whether they actively persuade their supporters to adopt more authoritarian attitudes (a “persuasion effect”) – and what these dynamics mean for the health and resilience of democratic institutions worldwide.

Past events

(De)polarisation in values, attitudes and beliefs: comparative perspectives

Thursday 11 April 2024

Mass polarization, institutional distrust and the breakdown of democracy? Debunking a commonplace dystopia

Keynote address by Prof Christian Welzel, Professor of Political Culture at Leuphana University and Vice President of World Values Survey Association

“Things fall apart, the center cannot hold”: fractionalized and polarized party systems in Western democracies

Keynote address by Prof Pippa Norris, Paul F. McGuire Lecturer in Comparative Politics at Harvard University and Vice President of the World Values Survey Association. With responses from panel: Prof Bobby Duffy, Professor of Public Policy, Director of the Policy Institute, King’s College London; David Halpern, President of the Behavioural Insights Team; Anand Menon, Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs, King’s College London; and Paula Surridge, Professor of Political Sociology, University of Bristol

A public polarised? Values, attitudes and beliefs in post-Brexit Britain

Thursday 8 June 2023

Panel discussion

  • Mark Easton, Home Editor, BBC News (chair)

  • Maria Sobolewska, Professor of Political Science, University of Manchester and co-author of Brexitland

  • David Halpern, Chief Executive, the Behavioural Insights Team

  • Gaby Hinsliff, Guardian columnist and writer

  • Bobby Duffy, Director, the Policy Institute at King’s College London