Created by the Center for International Studies and Research of the University of Montreal (CÉRIUM) and the Fondation Maison des Sciences de l'Homme (FMSH), in Paris, with the support of the Vice-Rectorate for Community and International Partnerships and of the International Affairs Department, the Chair on Global Governance aims to develop an international research, training and outreach program on global governance issues.

The research program proposed by the two holders, entitled Electoral democracy in danger? Ideological and affective polarization promises to be innovative. Without omitting ideological polarization, it indeed aims to stimulate comparative research on affective polarization, a concept that is still little explored. The field of study will extend not only to Europe and North America, but also to newer democracies, such as Latin America.

With young researchers and students, and during various academic activities on both sides of the Atlantic, Ruth Dassonneville and Romain Lachat will focus on the following questions in particular: what is the degree of affective polarization among citizens? How does this vary according to contextual characteristics (degree of democratic consolidation or institutional factors) or the types of competing parties, their strategies and rhetoric? Are socio-cultural issues more likely than socio-economic issues to generate conflicts of an identity nature? Under what conditions can this polarization lead to a weakening of support for democratic norms?