The research program “Building Democracy Daily: Human Rights, Violence and Institutional Trust” explores the way in which laws, rules, and procedures are implemented over time and how this dynamic defines the legitimacy of institutions that are crucial for democracy. The proposal is to analyze how the legitimacy of institutions is constructed or jeopardized in everyday life, exploring the relationship and interactions between citizens and public servants and the consequences of this process for human rights and violence. To this end, we seek to identify factors associated with the acknowledgement and respect for laws and authorities, taking into account the importance of how authority is routinely practiced and perceived by the population and its agents. The research questions are analyzed empirically from three complementary perspectives: (i) the perspective of the population; (ii) the perspective of public servants; (iii) the perspective of preadolescents. The issues addressed in this research demand a long-term perspective and contributions from different areas of knowledge. It is an innovative project, which merges quantitative and qualitative methods and adopts a longitudinal approach. In addition to the research activities, the CEPID program also promotes projects on education as well as the dissemination and transfer of knowledge.
