About DDI

The Democracy Discourse Index (DDI) is a research methodology designed to measure the quality of democratic discourse in online spaces. By analyzing social media posts across four key dimensions - Empathy, Civility, Trust, and Agency - the DDI provides quantifiable insights into how people engage with one another on issues of public importance.

The central question the DDI seeks to answer is: "Does this post contribute to or detract from the quality of democratic discourse?" This methodology focuses on discourse quality rather than political content, enabling objective assessment across different cultural and political contexts.

The DDI is a collaborative project bringing together researchers, academics, and students from around the world. The founding consortium includes seven universities from seven countries, working together to analyze democratic discourse across diverse cultural and political contexts.

The DDI aims to provide a robust, replicable framework for measuring democratic discourse quality that can be applied across different languages, cultures, and political systems. By training student coders in this methodology, we are building a global community of researchers equipped to analyze and understand how democratic values are expressed in online communication.