Research

Major Research Initiatives

The Ford Program in Human Development Studies and Solidarity

The Ford Program in Human Development Studies and Solidarity

The Ford Program conducts and supports research toward understanding how people become aware of their own capabilities and responsibilities. Our research points to sustainable solutions to problems identified by our partners and community members with whom they work while offering students a rich and practical hands-on learning experience.

Policy and Practice Research Labs

The Kellogg Institute's Policy and Practice Research Labs support high-impact, high-yield research intended to have a tangible influence on policies and practices affecting democracy and human development. The labs intentionally bridge the worlds of research and policy while maintaining a focus on rigorous scholarly inquiry.
Democracy Initiative header

Democracy Initiative

With its 40-year history of excellence in the study of global democracy, the Kellogg Institute for International Studies is a pillar of both the Notre Dame Democracy Initiative and the Democracy, Governance, Institutions and Rights program of the Keough School of Global Affairs.

Research Clusters

Since 2017, the Kellogg Institute has supported faculty-led research clusters in distinctive areas of high-impact, mission-driven research and programming. Through competitive three-year grants, these clusters promote innovative, interdisciplinary research on the Institute’s core research themes of democracy and human development. 

Spotlight

V-Dem Research Highlights

The Varieties of Democracy project has steadily advanced research in many areas since the release of its dataset. Here are a few highlights of the impact the project has had.

Keough School hosts Washington briefing on status of democracy around the globe

The Varieties of Democracy Project (V-Dem) is an ambitious international effort, initially seeded by funding from the Kellogg Institute, to produce new indicators of democracy for all countries since 1900.

V-Dem Researchers Plot Path Forward in Rome Conference

Nine researchers involved in the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) project gathered in Rome, Italy to present their latest findings at the conference ”What Do We Know About Democratization After 117 Years?"