Democratic Resilience & Institutional Trust

American democracy has been under significant stress over the last decade, experiencing unprecedented decline in voter confidence, trust in democratic institutions, civility, as well as willingness to engage in deliberative dialogue. These challenges coincide with a fragmented information environment supercharged by AI-mediated systems that reshape how citizens encounter and evaluate political information, and how they express their dissatisfaction with government.

Democratic resilience depends on institutions’ capacity to govern effectively while sustaining public trust through transparent, consistent communication, particularly amid uncertainty or crisis. The Democratic Resilience Lab at the Foley Institute supports programming and research on how governance, trust, and communication shape civic engagement and trust in democratic processes, and how institutions adapt to ongoing and emerging challenges.

Core Focus Areas

• The Mechanics of Elections — Nonpartisan civic education on how elections are run; the decentralized system of state and local administration that makes U.S. elections both hard to explain and unusually resilient to manipulation. 
• AI & Democracy — Examining how artificial intelligence and emerging technologies reshape information integrity, political communication, and public trust, and which policy frameworks are needed. 
• Democratic Governance & Civic Learning — Research and programming on institutional trust, civil discourse, and deliberative dialogue, helping citizens and institutions govern with confidence even amid disagreement. 

How the Lab Works

• Research: Peer-reviewed and public-facing scholarship, commissioned projects, public opinion research, and support for research fellows and non-resident scholars. 
  • The Institute is the host organization of the Pacific Northwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting (pnwpsa.org). The 2026 meeting is held in Spokane between November 6–7, 2026.
• Programming: events, lectures, and speaker series focused on democracy, elections and voting, deliberative dialogue, and tech and public policy. 
  • The 2026 U.S. Midterms Speaker Series, featuring scholars, journalists, and election officials discussing electoral volatility, political campaigns, voting rights, and redistricting. 
  • A Constitution Day documentary screening of Flag Day, exploring ritual, identity, and belonging in a polarized America through the country’s largest annual Flag Day parade in Three Oaks, Michigan. 
  • See full calendar of events here.
• Student Engagement: courses and mentored projects connecting students directly to the Lab’s work. 
  • Internships supporting the CougsVote campaign.
  • Research studying the accuracy of AI chatbots in responding to voting-related queries. 

More News & Stories the About the Foley Institute

SciLine: What research tells us about voter fraud

Thessalia Merivaki, Director of Thomas S. Foley Institute of Public Service and Public Policy at WSU, provided insight into interviewing local officials about electoral processes.

Harvard Kennedy School, Shorestein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy: “What’s normal and what isn’t on Election Day and beyond: A webinar for reporters”

Thessalia Merivaki, Director of Thomas S. Foley Institute of Public Service and Public Policy at WSU, appeared as one of the panelists for this discussion.

CNBC: Election officials ban certain public workers from trading on prediction markets ahead of midterms

Thessalia Merivaki, professor of government and director of the Foley Institute, was quoted in an CNBC article about election officials banning certain public workers from trading on prediction markets ahead of midterm elections. 

Merivaki appointed Director of Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service

The Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service has selected Thessalia Merivaki as the institute’s next director.

Foley Distinguished Public Service Award to be received by former Vice President Mike Pence

The 48th Vice President of the United States, Mike Pence, will receive this year’s Thomas S. Foley Award for Distinguished Public Service in a ceremony to be held in Spokane, Sept. 10, 2026.

Former ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, to speak at the Thomas S. Foley Institute

Former ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul will deliver a lecture based on his recent book, Autocrats vs. Democrats: China, Russia, America and the new Global Disorder, Wednesday, Dec. 3.