2024

CPOST Director on Chicago’s transformation from isolationist to globally engaged: Chicago Tribune

Sun., Mar. 03, 2024

In a recent Chicago Tribune op-ed by Storer H. RowleyProf. Robert Pape says, “In a modern age of empathy and social media, it is so common for people to identify with the plight of people overseas...I think what you are seeing basically is support for positions that have a lot to do with empathizing with other people."

Read full Op-ed here.

Indictments Fueled Extremists’ Support for Trump, CPOST Survey Finds: The Guardian

Fri., Jan. 26, 2024

New CPOST survey results shows increased violent support for Trump aligns with the indictments, as did the erosion of support for democratic norms. In addition, the survey found court cases using the 14th amendment to try to keep Trump off the ballot could further erode confidence in the political system, regardless of how the supreme court rules on the issue.

In an article published in The Guardian on January 26, CPOST Director Robert Pape says support for democratic norms has gone from “bad to worse”, and the more a person believes the system is corrupt or rigged, the more likely they are to support using violence instead of the political system. 

Read the article here.

CPOST Director Says America a ‘Tinderbox’ in 2024: WTTW-Chicago PBS

Tue., Jan. 09, 2024

As the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack passed, WTTW News spoke with CPOST Director Robert Pape, to get his thoughts on the threat of domestic political violence. 

Listen to the interview here.

Expert Statements to Jan 6 Committee Now Available: Just Security

Sat., Jan. 06, 2024

During the course of its 18-month investigation, the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol solicited expert statements to help it better understand “the facts, circumstances, and causes” of the attack. Expert statements to the Committee based on extensive CPOST research are now available online. See item 15 of the Just Security publication here.

CPOST Director on the Unseen Faces of Jan. 6 and Why Trump Poses a “Uniquely Dangerous Threat”: Amanpour and Company

Fri., Jan. 05, 2024

Almost three years after insurgents stormed the U.S. Capitol, the shadow of January 6 continues to hang over the fate of American democracy. CPOST Director Robert Pape joins Walter Isaacson to discuss how political violence moved from the margins to the mainstream.

Watch the interview here.

2023

CPOST Director on Israel’s Endgame: American Trends Podcast

Tue., Nov. 21, 2023

CPOST Director Robert Pape goes on the American Trends Podcast to discuss, "Does Israel Have an End Game in Mind in Its Response to Hamas’ Brutal Attack?" Listen here.

CPOST Director on Way Forward in War Between Israel and Gaza: CNN

Wed., Nov. 01, 2023

In a CNN op-ed, CPOST Director Robert Pape argues "There's a smarter way to defeat Hamas." Pape explains why "Israel’s strategy for defeating Hamas — destroying its military and political capabilities to the point where the terrorist group can never again launch major attacks against Israeli civilians — is unlikely to work." "To defeat terrorist groups like Hamas," Pape writes, "it is important to separate the terrorists from the local population from which they emerge. Otherwise, the current generation of terrorists can be killed, only to be replaced by a new, larger generation of terrorists in the future."

Read the op-ed here.

Robert Pape Talks with Reset’s Shasha-Ann Simmons About CPOST’s Research with the ADL on Antisemitism and Political Violence

Fri., Oct. 20, 2023

CPOST Director Robert Pape joined Anti-Defamation League's Midwest Regional Director David Goldenberg on Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons radioshow on WBEZ to talk through the results of CPOST/ADL's research on the link between antisemitism and support for political violence and how the report's findings connect to antisemitism we’ve seen since the start of the Israel-Hamas war and what might happen in 2024 U.S. presidential election cycle.

Listen to the broadcast (21 minutes) here.

10 Million Americans both High in Antisemitism and Support for Political Violence: New CPOST/ADL Report

Thu., Oct. 19, 2023

New report reveals concrete evidence that the toxic threats of rising antisemitism and support for political violence are not only rising in our country, but are also linked in disturbing ways. The report, a collaboration between CPOST and the ADL, presents findings from a nationally representative survey of nearly 8,000 adults that establish a clear relationship between antisemitism, political violence and antidemocratic conspiracy theories on both ends of the political spectrum.

CPOST Director Gives Talk on Middle East Crisis at Oakton College

Wed., Oct. 18, 2023

CPOST Director Robert Pape gave a public talk at Oakton College on The Hamas Surprise Attack, Israel’s Response, and
Risks of Escalation
on October 18, 2023. With Israel within hours of launching a major ground offensive to completely destroy Hamas militarily and politically, Pape argues it is important to show the US and world why this will lead to massive escalation beyond Gaza, particularly in the West Bank and in Israeli cities. 

According to Pape, this escalation is important, because this escalation inside Israel will likely be the trigger for wider escalation with Hezbollah and the region. His presentation starts by clarifying that terrorist groups like Hamas always seek to win through exactly this strategy -- gruesome civilian attacks that provoke the democracy to escalate with ground forces that massively increase recruitment for the terrorist group. The analysis highlights the risk of escalation within Gaza and the West Bank, and implications for regional escalation as well.

Watch the presentation here. Download the slide deck here.