ISPS Conference: “America’s Contested Democratic Creed”

image of the U.S. constitution on fire
Event time: 
Thursday, April 30, 2026 at 9:15am through Friday, May 1, 2026 at 12:30pm
Location: 
Institution for Social and Policy Studies, Room A002
77 Prospect Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Google Maps
PLEASE REGISTER AT THIS LINK TO ATTEND
Event description: 

ISPS CONFERENCE SUPPORTED BY DEMOCRATIC INNOVATIONS

Understanding the nature, causes, and consequences of challenges to democracy in the United States is one of the most important tasks facing political science today. Over the past decade, more questions have been raised about the stability of our institutions and the robustness of Americans’ commitment to democratic norms than in any time in recent memory. This conference brings together leading academics conducting research on democratic erosion, stability, and institutional reform in the United States and around the world.

Open to the Yale community; registration is required at this link.

Schedule: Thursday, April 30, 2026 (ISPS Room A002)

time activity
8:30 AM Light Breakfast, Room A001
9:15 AM Introduction
9:30 AM Stigmatization Fatigue: Evidence from the F-word
  • Elias Dinas, European University Institute (Presenter)
  • Alberto Stefanelli, Yale University (Discussant)
10:30 AM Coffee Break, Room A001
11:00 AM Moral Norms and Citizen Judgment of Anti-System Politicians
  • Daniel Goldstein, University of Oslo (Presenter)
  • Nicholas Sambanis, Yale University (Discussant)
12:00 PM Lunch Break, Room A001
1:00 PM Reciprocity and Democratic Backsliding
  • Sean Ingham, University of California San Diego (Presenter)
  • Arturas Rozenas, New York University (Discussant)
2:00 PM Coffee Break, Room A001
2:30 PM The Life of the Lie: Loyalty Testing in Donald Trump’s Republican Party
  • Rory Truex, Princeton University (Presenter)
  • Alan Gerber, Yale University (Discussant)
3:30 PM Coffee Break, Room A001
4:00 PM State, Society, and the Politics of Democratic Backsliding
  • Tom Pepinsky, Cornell University (Presenter)
  • Elizabeth Parker-Magyar, Yale University (Discussant)
5:00 PM Break: Adjourn for the day

Schedule: Friday, May 1, 2026 (ISPS Room A002)

time activity
8:00 AM Light Breakfast, Room A001
8:30 AM Electoral Institutions and Democratic Backsliding
  • Carlo Prato, Columbia University (Presenter)
  • Zhaotian Luo, University of Chicago (Discussant)
9:30 AM Coffee Break, Room A001
10:00 AM Dead on Arrival: Why Electoral Fixes Won’t Save American Democracy
  • Sean Westwood, Dartmouth College (Presenter)
  • Greg Huber, Yale University (Discussant)
11:00 AM Coffee Break, Room A001
11:30 AM Upending Impunity: Why Democracies Prosecute Their Former Leaders
  • Gretchen Helmke, University of Rochester (Presenter)
  • Eli Rau, Tecnológico de Monterrey (Discussant)
12:30 PM Adjournment: Closing remarks and open discussion over lunch (Room A001)

Organized by Professor Milan Svolik with generous support from the Democratic Innovations program at ISPS.