Political Science Professors Present Research in Argentina

Photo Credit: Wals, Barton, and Hillebrecht standing together after presenting their research
by Sarah Wagelie Tue, 09/15/2015 - 12:53

Photo above: From left to right in the photo, Professors Sergio Wals, Dona-Gene Barton, and Courtney Hillebrecht, after presenting their research on the effects of violence on perceptions of democracy and human rights in Mexico, during the 68th annual conference of the World Association for Public Opinion held in Buenos Aires, Argentina this past summer.


This summer, Department of Political Science faculty members Dona-Gene Barton, Courtney Hillebrecht and Sergio Wals attended the World Association for Public Opinion Research 68th Annual Conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Barton, Hillebrecht, and Wals presented their joint research on public opinion and human rights. Their research suggests that “citizens in emerging democracies use their perceptions of human rights to evaluate the performance of democratically elected leaders”. This research was published by the journal Democratization in an article titled, “Perceived Human Rights and Support for New Democracies: Lessons from Mexico.” The full article can be found here. They also wrote a policy brief for the site openDemocracy which can be found here.