The European Research Council (ERC) provides funding for ambitious frontier research projects by selecting researchers through a globally competitive peer-review process based on the criterion of Scientific Excellence.
Under the ERC 2025 Starting Grant (StG) call published within the Horizon Europe framework, Assoc. Prof. M. Tahir KILAVUZ from Sabancı University has been awarded a grant of €1.5 million.
We extend our congratulations to our esteemed researcher and the host institution, and we wish them continued success.
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Principle Investigator (PI): Assoc. Prof. M. Tahir KILAVUZ Project Acronym: DEMIG Project Title: Democracy-Migration Paradox: Anti-Immigrant Attitudes and Commitment to Democracy Call: ERC-2025-StG Panel: SH2 - Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems Host Institution: Sabancı University Budget: 1.5 Million € Duration: 60 months |
People express widespread support for democracy while simultaneously holding exclusionary attitudes toward immigrants. This contradiction—where societies that claim to uphold equality and inclusion also embrace exclusionary attitudes—threatens the integrity of democratic values and suggests the emergence of a selective adherence to democracy. In DEMIG Project, Assoc. Prof. M. Tahir KILAVUZ aims to investigate this increasingly pressing paradox and its potential consequences by using AI-assisted surveys and experimental methods to measure public attitudes toward immigrants and democratic principles. Beyond generating theoretical insights, DEMIG Project aims to guide policymakers in promoting more inclusive migration policies and strengthening democratic governance. Additionally, by developing innovative survey techniques, the project seeks to make a lasting contribution to the quality of measurement in the social sciences.
Assoc. Prof. M. Tahir KILAVUZ’s project proposal was supported during the application phase under TÜBİTAK’s ERC Principal Investigator Development Program (EBAG).