The Center for Analytic Political Engagement (CAPE) is a focal point for scholars, students, and community leaders in California’s San Joaquin Valley, founded by the Political Science faculty at the University of California, Merced. It aims to enhance a healthy democratic society by advancing responsible civic participation and elevating the voices of the under-represented.
CAPE seeks to:
Provide students the scholarly and pragmatic skills to participate in politics and policy creation and to navigate the realities of electoral politics and partisanship;
Support research that incorporates sound social science and data analysis of citizen action and the processes by which governments make, enact, and adjudicate policy;
Engage the community – especially the San Joaquin Valley region – to amplify its voice and enrich its public-minded pursuits.
