HSE’s Anna Efimova and Denis Strebkov Awarded the Elizabeth H Nelson Prize

Anna Efimova and Denis Strebkov from the Higher School of Economics were awarded the Elizabeth H Nelson Prize at the 71st Annual Conference of the World Association for Public Opinion Research (WAPOR), Marrakech, June 27-30, 2018.

The World Association of Public Opinion Research (WAPOR) hosted its 71st Annual Conference on June 27-30. The conference was held in the city of Marrakech – dubbed the ‘southern pearl’, and one of the most beautiful cities in Morocco and North Africa. This was not by chance: in 2012, WAPOR decided to hold every third conference outside the regions of North America and Western Europe. Asia (Hong Kong) and Latin America (Buenos Aires) hosted the conference in 2012 and 2015 respectively.

Established in 1947, the Association aims to unite researchers of public opinion, both scientists and practitioners, from around the world. This year, 192 scientists and practitioners from 45 countries convened at the conference. The main focus was ‘Public Opinion Research in a Changing World’.

WAPOR President, Claire Duran (University of Montreal), stressed in her opening speech that one of the most important tasks of the Association is to promote transparency in data collection, as well as accessibility. The data should be made accessible to professionals developing data collection methods and to those who use these data - researchers, scientists, students.

The report ‘Linking Public Opinion and Foreign Policy in Russia’ was put together by HSE’s Anna Efimova, a teacher at the Faculty of Social Sciences, and Denis Strebkov, an assistant professor at the School of Sociology. Their report was awarded the Elizabeth H. Nelson Prize. This work is the result of interdisciplinary cooperation between the two departments of the Faculty of Social Sciences. The aim of the study was to identify the relationship between the priorities of Russian foreign policy and public opinion on foreign policy issues from 1997 to 2018, using data from the Russian Public Opinion Research Center and the Levada Center*. During this period, significant shifts occurred in Russians’ perception of the country's international image and their feelings of friendship or hostility towards other countries, such as the US, the EU, China, Belarus, Ukraine and Georgia. These shifts were recorded in the report. Most of the changes can be viewed as a rational reaction by the population to the key international events which occurred at that time. In general, public opinion and Russia’s official policy line moved in the same direction.

The Elizabeth H Nelson Prize has been awarded annually since 1995. It recognises the best work presented at the annual WAPOR conference by authors from countries with economies in transition. Elizabeth Nelson is the executive director of Fly Research and the former president of WAPOR (1991-1992).

In 2019, the annual conference will be held in Toronto. At a recent meeting, the association decided to extend financial support for participation in the conference to include students, as well as scientists, from developing countries. The number of grants available will be increased.

University staff and students are warmly invited to participate in WAPOR next year.

 

* Решением Минюста РФ Левада-Центр включён в реестр некоммерческих организаций, выполняющих функции иностранного агента.