Proyecto europeo Demos

Democratic Efficacy and the Varieties of Populism in Europe’ — ‘DEMOS’

See the working paper on Populist Constitutionalism

See the information sheet from the European Commission

Grant Agreement number: 822590 — DEMOS — H2020-SC6-GOVERNANCE-2018-2019-2020/H2020-SC6-GOVERNANCE-2018.

DEMOS (Democratic Efficacy and the Varieties of Populism in Europe) is a research project aiming at better understanding populism. Funded by the EU Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, the project is carried out by 15 partner institutions in Europe and involves 10 disciplines. DEMOS investigates the phenomenon of populism through the lenses of democratic efficacy. The concept combines attitudinal features (political efficacy), political skills, knowledge, and democratic opportunity structures. The concept, a novelty, is understood as as a condition of political engagement needed to address the challenges of populism.

DEMOS addresses its hitherto under-researched aspects at micro-, meso-, and macro-levels: its socio-psychological roots, social actors’ responses to the populist challenge, and populism’s effects on governance. DEMOS focuses not only on the polity, but equally on citizens’ perspectives: how they are affected by, and how they react to, populism. Politically underrepresented groups and those targeted by populist politics are a particular focus. Examples include youth, women, and migrants.

As populism has varying socially embedded manifestations, DEMOS aims at contextualising it through comparative analysis on the variety of populisms across Europe, including their historical, cultural, and socioeconomic roots, manifestations, and impacts. DEMOS develops indicators and predictors of populism and elaborates scenarios on the interactions of populism with social actors and institutions both at the national and the EU levels.

DEMOS combines in-depth research on populism and democratic efficacy with action research and pilot projects in order to develop lasting tools and timely policy recommendations. Project methods include experiments, deliberative polling, text mining, surveys, and legal analysis. DEMOS places strong emphasis on communication and productive interactions with a variety of stakeholders throughout the project, including policymakers, journalists, students, and the general public.

Constitutional Law jurists from GEDECO:

Josep Maria Castellà Andreu

Marco Antonio Simonelli (Project Manager)

Núria González Campaña

Juan Alonso Tello Mendoza

Funded by the EU Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, the DEMOS project is led by the Centre for Social Sciences, an Excellence Centre of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and is carried out in partnership with 15 institutions in Europe.

COORDINATOR