Vienna Center for Electoral Research (VieCER)

The task of the Vienna Center for Electoral Research (VieCER), which is led by Univ.-Prof. Wolfgang C. Müller (Department of Government), is the coordination and the realisation of research on elections (in particular general elections), taking into account the ‘supply side’ (parties and candidates), the ‘demand side’ (voters) and the relevant communication in traditional as well as new media. In a time of increased polarisation and structural change of politics, the Center can make an important contribution to a better understanding of the functioning of Austrian democracy and position it internationally.

The Austrian National Election Study (AUTNES), which is engaged in the comprehensive social science analysis of Austrian national elections, is a central part of the VieCER. The Vienna Center for Electoral Research builds on and develops further the data collection tools established within AUTNES and develops research projects on new questions. The research center VieCER pursues the long-term aim of firmly establishing election research in the areas of political science, communication science, economics and methodological research as a flagship of social science research at the University of Vienna.

The Faculties involved in the research centre VieCER (the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Faculty of Business, Economics and Statistics) consider the Center as a tool for collaborative research in the fields of quantitative social science methods and comparative social sciences.