We work to deepen the understanding of how democracies emerge, function, and decline around the world — through research that meets the highest standards of scientific rigor, and evidence that helps strengthen democratic institutions worldwide.
A Message from Our Director
Welcome to Vanderbilt's Center for Global Democracy. In an era when public trust in democratic institutions is under strain in many parts of the world, there's an urgent need for better evidence — and better ideas — to counter democratic backsliding. Both citizens and policymakers are looking for strategies that can reverse this trend.
At CGD, we bring together social scientists and policymakers to study democratic development and design innovative policies that strengthen democracy and good governance. Our mission is to understand how people around the world think about democracy, how they interact with their political institutions, and what they expect from their government — and to turn that understanding into approaches that build public confidence in democratic institutions.
Our research staff, faculty, and students pursue this work using the most rigorous methods in the social sciences, building international research capacity, and driving policy innovation. We look forward to collaborating with you.
— Noam Lupu, Director, Center for Global Democracy
What We Do
In an era of democratic backsliding and declining trust in institutions, CGD serves as a hub where cutting-edge research informs evidence-based policy to protect and strengthen democracy worldwide. We bring together top-tier researchers and practitioners to generate knowledge, build capacity, and inform decisions that strengthen democratic institutions and practices across the globe.
The Questions We're Answering
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Why are citizens losing trust in democratic institutions?
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How do people understand democracy and democratic backsliding?
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What tradeoffs do citizens make between security and democratic norms?
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Are younger generations more disillusioned with democracy?
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Why do publics support efforts to undermine democracy?
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How do perceptions of governance shape migration decisions?
Our History
The cornerstone of CGD's research is LAPOP Lab, a hub of excellence in international survey research with a focus on the Americas. LAPOP Lab was founded in 2004 by Dr. Mitchell A. Seligson as the Latin American Public Opinion Project. He led the project until 2013, when Dr. Elizabeth J. Zechmeister took over as director through 2024.
Today, LAPOP Lab is an established world leader in the development, implementation, and analysis of public opinion and political behavior research. Renowned for its flagship AmericasBarometer survey, LAPOP Lab's data and reports are frequently cited in global media, government reports, academic research, and by analysts across the Americas.
At Vanderbilt, CGD collaborates with and trains faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate and undergraduate students. Our research and activities also engage a vast network of partners across universities, civil society organizations, intergovernmental institutions, and government agencies spanning dozens of countries around the world.
A Global Platform for Democracy Research
CGD stewards two of the world's most comprehensive platforms for democracy research — the AmericasBarometer and the Comparative Study of Election Surveys (CSES) — publishing data and policy-relevant reports used by researchers, policymakers, and civil society worldwide.
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34
countries (AmericasBarometer)
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433,000+
interviews
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20+
years of public opinion data
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60+
countries (CSES)
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231
elections studied
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30+
years of election survey data
Partner With Us
Strengthening democracy requires more than commitment — it requires evidence. For Vanderbilt, CGD is a distinctive institutional asset. For partners, it's a rare opportunity to support the empirical foundation of democratic resilience worldwide.