The Rooney Institute’s 2025–2026 Year in Review is now live! Take a look back at our work, key highlights, and everything we’ve been involved in over the past academic year: new.express.adobe.com/webpage/HmYX...

New article on @lseblogs.bsky.social! McKenzie Bennett examines how "Partisanship and racial attitudes have widened White Americans' divided opinions on Black Lives Matter." Read the full analysis on the LSE USAPP Blog. blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/20...

Partisanship and racial attitudes have widened white Americans’ divided opinions on Black Lives Matter | LSE United States Politics and Policy

The 2020 murder of George Floyd by a police officer was an event of national importance for the US, with many Americans' reaction becoming split between support for and opposition to the Black Lives M...

blogs.lse.ac.uk

New publication in @theconversation.com! Matt Hall, Brittany Solomon, and Tyler Leigh explore "Why democratic neutrality is an overlooked threat to American democracy." Read their analysis here: theconversation.com/why-democrat...

Why ‘democratic neutrality’ is an overlooked threat to American democracy

While only a sliver of Americans say they support violating core democratic norms, many more say they’re ambivalent about politicians who undermine democracy.

theconversation.com

Rooney Democracy Institute faculty member, David Campbell, has been appointed to the prestigious Kluge Chair in Law & Governance at the Library of Congress. This honor is a well-deserved recognition of his outstanding leadership and scholarship! Read more news.nd.edu/news/notre-d...

Notre Dame political scientist David Campbell appointed to Kluge Chair in American Law and Governance

The Library of Congress has named David Campbell, the Packey J. Dee Professor of American Democracy at the University of Notre Dame, to the Kluge Chair in American Law and Governance, a prestigious re...

news.nd.edu

Rooney Democracy Institute faculty Matthew Hall and Brittany Solomon, and postdoc Tyler Leigh have published a new op-ed in the @chicagotribune. Read their analysis on "The overlooked threat of democratic neutrality in America" here: www.chicagotribune.com/2026/06/06/o...

Professors: The overlooked threat of democratic neutrality in America

Surveys estimate that about half of the U.S. population expresses an unwillingness to support or oppose policies that undermine democracy.

chicagotribune.com

Congratulations to our Rooney Institute faculty on their recent promotions!🎉 Brittany Soloman – Associate Professor with Tenure Enrique Seira Bejarano – Faculty Chair Luis Fraga – Emeritus Faculty We celebrate these achievements and their contributions to our community.

The Rooney Democracy Institute is hiring a Policy Impact Specialist to help translate our research into public impact. The position will be based in Washington D.C. If this sounds exciting to you, or someone you know, please apply! careers.nd.edu/search-caree...

3743990013154958 - Policy Impact Specialist | Rooney Democracy Institute

careers.nd.edu

New research from Rooney Graduate students James Kirk and Abigail Hemmen explores when Americans actually support political compromise — and what that reveals about polarization and democracy. Read more: al.nd.edu/news/latest-... #PoliticalScience #Democracy #NotreDame

Congratulations to Jeff Harden on receiving the 2026 Arts & Letters Research Award at the University of Notre Dame. The honor recognises his outstanding scholarship, leadership, and commitment to research in Political Science. Read more: al.nd.edu/news/latest-...

Collaboration in community: Political scientist Jeff Harden wins Arts & Letters Research Award

Jeff Harden,…

al.nd.edu

Thank you to Erin Rossiter for her talk, “Supporters of Political Violence Can Influence Their Peers' Beliefs: Evidence from a Network Dyad Experiment” at last week’s Rooney Seminar. We’re grateful for the opportunity to engage with such rigorous and thought-provoking research!

@notredame.bsky.social political scientist, and Rooney's very own, David Campbell has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest learned societies and independent policy research centers. al.nd.edu/news/latest-...

Democracy scholar David Campbell elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

David Campbell, the Packey J. Dee Professor of American Democracy at the University of Notre Dame, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and ...

al.nd.edu

New from Notre Dame News: research by our own Matthew Hall, published in Nature Human Behaviour, shows how “voting neither” can weaken democratic accountability. Check out the ND News article on the publication! news.nd.edu/news/why-vot...

Why voting ‘neither’ could harm American democracy

What is one of the greatest threats to American democracy? According to a recent study from the University of Notre Dame, voters who neither agree nor disagree when asked about substantive issues rele...

news.nd.edu

This NDDay, we are encouraging our friends to support our undergraduate affiliate, the ND Washington Program which encourages students to become immersed in American Political life. Please consider supporting their efforts at bit.ly/NDDayWP #NDday @NDloyal

Rooney Report #11 is out! Over 80–90% of Americans support key democratic principles—but a smaller share still endorses violating them in practice. The gap between ideals and application reveals a critical tension in U.S. democracy. Check out the full report on our website!

ND Day is next week! We’re helping spread the word about our undergraduate affiliate program, the ND Washington Prog., which provides students the opportunity to become immersed in American political life in DC. Giving is already open, help us support their efforts! bit.ly/NDDayWP #NDday

Congratulations to Rooney graduate students Conner Martinez, Abigail Hemmen, and Emma Schroeder on successfully defending their dissertations last week! 👏 We’re proud to celebrate this incredible achievement and all the hard work behind it at the Rooney Democracy Institute. 🎓

Really interesting piece on Matthew E. K. Hall, B. Tyler Leigh, and Brittany C. Solomon's latest published research: “The overlooked threat of democratic neutrality in the USA” Check it out! ⬇️ scienmag.com/the-hidden-d...

The Hidden Danger of Democratic Neutrality in America

In recent years, the political landscape of the United States has been marked by deep divisions, fierce partisanship, and an increasing struggle for ideological dominance. Yet, amidst the glaring

scienmag.com

Americans don't oppose democracy... but a lot of them are on the fence. New research by Rooney Democracy Institute scholars Matthew E. K. Hall, B. Tyler Leigh & Brittany C. Solomon explores why that neutrality may be more dangerous than it seems:⬇️ www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The overlooked threat of democratic neutrality in the USA - Nature Human Behaviour

Hall et al. document ‘democratic neutrality’ (neither agreement nor disagreement with undemocratic practices) as prevalent and as consequential as outright support for undemocratic practices in shapin...

nature.com

A new guide from the American Academy of Arts & Sciences will help higher education institutions prepare students for engagement in the democratic process. Democracy Initiative director David Campbell led the group of experts who developed the report. rooneyinstitute.nd.edu/news/democra...

Democracy Initiative director advances nationwide dialogue on civics education through new American Academy of Arts & Sciences publication

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rooneyinstitute.nd.edu

Inside the RPL Lab at the Rooney Democracy Institute. Jointly managed by Rooney faculty Jim Curry, Jeff Harden, and Rachel Porter, the lab brings together faculty and grad students studying how representative democracy works in practice. Check it out⬇️ youtu.be/nC4zxS6Ui08?...

Representation and Politics in Legislatures (RPL) Lab

YouTube video by Rooney Democracy Institute

youtu.be

Kicking off March with the next installment of the Rooney Democracy Institute’s Spotlight Series — this time featuring Conner Martinez! 🎓 Each feature highlights members of the Rooney community and the work they are doing to strengthen democratic scholarship. Read more below!

We’re excited to continue the Rooney Democracy Institute’s Spotlight Series — this time featuring Jeff Harden! Each Spotlight highlights the people and research driving the Rooney mission and and advancing public-facing scholarship. Read more below. #RooneyInstitute #SpotlightSeries

Thank you to Ariel White for her talk, “High-Profile Voter Arrests Scared Off Other Voters With Felony Convictions,” at last week’s Rooney Seminar. We’re grateful for the opportunity to engage with such rigorous and thought-provoking research!

We’re excited to continue the Rooney Democracy Institute’s Spotlight Series — this time featuring one of our amazing grad students, Fiona Rodger.🎓 Each Spotlight showcases the scholars and research driving the Institute’s mission forward. Read more below! #RooneySpotlightSeries

The Rooney Democracy Institute is proud to support American Politics faculty and research at Notre Dame. Read more about what makes our Political Science department a leader in Political Science research and education. research.nd.edu/news-and-eve...

A department on the rise: Notre Dame political science turns heads with big hires, impactful research, and vibrant centers and institutes

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research.nd.edu

Thank you to Christopher Lucas for his talk, “One Language is Enough: Using Transfer Learning to Detect Populist Rhetoric Across 25 Languages Without Translation,” at last week’s Rooney Seminar. We’re grateful for the opportunity to engage with such fascinating research!

We’re excited to share the second feature in the Rooney Democracy Institute’s Spotlight Series, highlighting Jim Curry! Each post showcases the scholars whose research and perspectives drive the Institute’s mission. #RooneyInstitute #SpotlightSeries

Thank you to Traci Burch for her insightful talk, “Voting After a Felony Conviction,” at last week’s Rooney Institute Seminar. We’re grateful for the chance to engage with such timely and important research. #PoliticalScience #NotreDame #RooneyInstitute

Congratulations to Rooney Institute faculty Matthew Hall and Brittany Solomon on their new PNAS publication, “Reply to Malka and Druckman: Durability tests already account for countermessaging.” Access the article here: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Thank you to Samara Klar for her illuminating talk, ‘Measuring Polarization Across Contexts,’ at last week’s Rooney Institute Seminar. We’re grateful for the opportunity to engage with such relevant and impactful research. #PoliticalScience #NotreDame #RooneyCenter