Election Study Center (National Chengchi University)

Election Study Center (National Chengchi University)
Name	Election Study Center (National Chengchi University)
Native name	選舉研究中心（國立政治大學）
Established	1991
Type	Research institute
Location	Taipei, Taiwan
Director	(see Organization and Leadership)
Affiliation	National Chengchi University

Election Study Center (National Chengchi University)

The Election Study Center at National Chengchi University is a Taiwanese research institute specializing in electoral behavior, public opinion, and political sociology. Founded in 1991 within National Chengchi University, the Center has become a major source of survey data, scholarly analysis, and policy-relevant findings widely cited by scholars, media outlets, and institutions across East Asia and beyond. Its work intersects with studies by scholars at Harvard University, Stanford University, Oxford University, and policy organizations such as World Bank and International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance.

History

The Center was established amid democratic transformation in Taiwan during the late 20th century, a period linked to events such as the lifting of martial law and the democratization waves that followed the Kaohsiung Incident and reforms under leaders like Chiang Ching-kuo and Lee Teng-hui. Early collaborations involved comparative projects with teams from University of Michigan, University of California, Berkeley, and University of Tokyo studying electoral reform, party system consolidation, and voter realignment. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, the Center expanded its remit, paralleling developments examined by researchers at Columbia University, Yale University, and Princeton University on electoral volatility, incumbency effects, and campaign finance. Major milestones include the initiation of continuous post-election surveys, the launch of longitudinal panels analogous to projects at British Election Study and American National Election Studies, and hosting conferences attended by delegations from European University Institute, Australian National University, and Seoul National University.

Organization and Leadership

The Center is embedded within the College of Social Sciences at National Chengchi University and is governed by an internal board comprising faculty from departments including Department of Political Science (National Chengchi University), Department of Sociology (National Chengchi University), and Department of Public Administration (National Chengchi University). Directors historically have included prominent Taiwanese scholars who have held joint appointments with institutions such as Academia Sinica, University of Cambridge, and University of California, Los Angeles. Advisory panels have featured visiting researchers from University of Hong Kong, Peking University, Tsinghua University, and policy experts from Ministry of the Interior (Taiwan), Central Election Commission (Taiwan), and international organizations like United Nations Development Programme.

Research and Publications

Research topics span electoral behavior, party identification, candidate evaluation, and issue salience, drawing methodological influence from studies at RAND Corporation, Pew Research Center, and the European Social Survey. The Center publishes working papers, peer-reviewed articles, and policy briefs frequently cited alongside journal articles in American Political Science Review, Journal of Politics, and Comparative Political Studies. Collaborative volumes have appeared with presses such as Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, and Routledge. The Center’s scholars contribute to edited collections about cross-Strait relations involving Chinese Nationalist Party and Democratic Progressive Party, comparative studies of presidential systems referencing United States presidential elections, and research on electoral integrity connected to topics studied by Transparency International and International Foundation for Electoral Systems.

Surveys and Data Collections

The Center conducts large-scale post-election surveys, panel studies, and national probability samples analogous to the British Election Study and American National Election Studies. Data collections include cross-sectional surveys after legislative and presidential contests such as those involving Chen Shui-bian, Ma Ying-jeou, and Tsai Ing-wen, and specialty modules on topics like media consumption tied to outlets including China Times, Taipei Times, and Cable TV. Its datasets are used by researchers at University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins University, and Duke University for multilevel modeling, causal inference, and time-series analysis. The Center also archives historical datasets relevant to studies of the First Republic of China period, electoral reforms, and referendums administered by the Central Election Commission (Taiwan).

Collaborations and Impact

The Center maintains partnerships with domestic institutions including Academia Sinica, Taipei City Government, and civil society groups like Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, as well as international partners at University of California, Santa Cruz, National University of Singapore, and Korea University. Its impact is evident in policymaking discussions, media coverage from outlets such as NHK and BBC, and citations in reports by Asian Development Bank and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Alumni and affiliated scholars have taken roles in public service at ministries including Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Taiwan) and think tanks like China Policy Institute, while contributing to scholarly networks including the International Political Science Association and the Association for Asian Studies.

Facilities and Funding

Facilities include survey labs, data archives, and computing clusters housed within buildings at National Chengchi University’s Taipei campus, with access to specialized collections at National Central Library (Taiwan) and collaboration spaces used for workshops involving delegations from European Consortium for Political Research. Funding sources combine university support, grants from agencies like the Ministry of Science and Technology (Taiwan), competitive awards from foundations such as the Ford Foundation and Japan Foundation, and project contracts with organizations including United Nations Development Programme and regional NGOs.

Category:Research institutes in Taiwan Category:National Chengchi University