news 2023

A new EPFL developed tool, Quotebank , has helped researchers provide the first large-scale data-driven evidence of a drastic shift towards a more negative political tone beginning at the start of Donald Trump's primary campaign in June 2015. A vast majority of Americans believe that the tone and nature of political debate in the United States has become more negative in recent years and more than half have the impression that Donald Trump is responsible.

An international research group with ETH professor Dominik Hangartner has found that solidarity with refugees in Europe has remained stable, despite repeated refugee crises. While there is a tendency to view refugees from Ukraine more positively, this does not come at the expense of other groups. Russia's attack on Ukraine has resulted in one of the largest movements of refugees since the Second World War.

In Sweden, immigrants are allowed to participate in regional elections even if they don't have a Swedish passport. Researchers at the University of Basel recently investigated whether this affects naturalization numbers. Their findings could also be of interest for Switzerland. In most countries, the right to participate in the democratic process is reserved for citizens, so anyone who wants to be able to vote must first go through the naturalization process.