CSES Module 6: Representative Democracy Under Pressure
Scientific Theme & Core Agenda
CSES Module 6 (2021–2026) is titled:
“Representative Democracy Under Pressure”
The intellectual motivation for Module 6 emerges from the need to understand how the public engages in democracies straining to realize ideal outcomes, and the role of citizens in contributing to—or buttressing against—declines in democracy.
Key research areas:
- Democratic Quality & Backsliding: Citizen evaluations of the functioning of democracy, democratic procedures, and preferences over alternative forms of government.
- Affective Polarization & Support: Partisan feeling thermometers, social distance, and political trust.
- Electoral Integrity & Crisis Contexts: Electoral administration evaluations and attitudes surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
Module 6 Second Advance Release (December 16, 2025)
The Second Advance Release includes data from post-election studies conducted in 17 polities: Australia (2022), Austria (2024), Brazil (2022), Denmark (2022), France (2022), Montenegro (2023), New Zealand (2023), Poland (2023), Portugal (2022, 2024), Republic of North Macedonia (2024), Slovakia (2023), Slovenia (2022), Sweden (2022), Switzerland (2023), Taiwan (2024), Turkey (2023), and the United States (2024).
Download Module 6 Dataset Packages
| Data Format | Download File | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Stata | Download Stata Package (cses6_stata.zip) |
Stata .dta file with variable labels |
| SPSS | Download SPSS Package (cses6_spss.zip) |
Portable .sav data file |
| R | Download R Package (cses6_r.zip) |
R dataset (.rdata) |
| SAS | Download SAS Package (cses6_sas.zip) |
SAS dataset (.sas7bdat) |
| CSV | Download CSV Package (cses6_csv.zip) |
Comma-delimited text format |
| Codebook | Download Codebook Package (cses6_codebook.zip) |
Complete text codebook series |
Source Documents & Survey Materials
- Module 6 Questionnaire: Download TXT
- Methodological Guidelines: Download TXT
- Macro Report Specifications: Download PDF | DOCX
- Design Report Specifications: Download PDF | DOCX
- Respondent Booklet: Download PDF | DOCX
How to Cite Module 6
Comparative Study of Election Surveys (www.cses.org). CSES Module 6 Second Advance Release [Dataset]. GESIS Datenarchiv, Köln. https://doi.org/10.7804/cses.module6.2025-12-16