SPAIS Lunchtime Talks are a chance to hear SPAIS lecturers and researchers offer their take on some of the big issues of the day. Talks will draw on their research and expertise, inviting us to think critically about events and ideas shaping popular discourse on politics and international relations today. Talks will last approximately 25 minutes, followed by a Q&A session. 

In this talk, Dr Lucas de Abreu Maia reflects on the relationship between ideology, identity, and voting habits in US politics. Scholars of political behaviour have long debated the role ideology plays in voting preferences – many arguing that the electorate is largely naive of ideology and that voting is driven by social identities, such as partisanship. Dr de Abreu Maia draws on five decades of survey data to suggest a far more optimistic view of representative democracy than has been the norm -  his research shows that voters are able to make sense of politics and more often than not choose the candidates who best represent their political beliefs.