Welcome to

Monitoring Electoral Democracy

Building the Future of Democracy Research

Monitoring Electoral Democracy (MEDem) is a new, evolving European research infrastructure that will enable better, more comprehensive, and highly innovative comparative democracy research on electoral democracies by bringing together and linking data sources on the functioning of democracies, and by building standards and instruments for data collection and analysis.

MEDem in the European Research Landscape

Europe is the continent with the highest concentration of democratic countries, yet democracy research remains fragmented across data collections. The ESFRI Landscape Analysis 2024 highlights the need for a unified infrastructure for European Democracy Research, and MEDem is recognized as a key initiative to address this gap!

MEDem Tools & Services Prototypes

MEDem will provide tools & services that are easily accessible to democracy researchers worldwide. MEDem is already building prototypes and a unified platform to discover and integrate diverse data, ensuring long-term interoperability through pre- and post-harmonization. MEDem will thus enhance data accessibility, quality, and usability — supporting research, education, and evidence-based policymaking alike.

MEDem Community

MEDem connects European democracy scholars, (inter)national research groups, networks, and institutions through regular meetings and events — fostering cross-border collaboration and contributing to the consolidation of a long-term, sustainable European research infrastructure for democracy research.