Democratic Stability in the EU
The backsliding of democratic stability is more and more prevalent in modern democracies. This has many impacts on the social, economic, natural, and political aspects of our society. Together with the School of Moral Ambition (SMA), we aim to transition people into jobs where they can help as many people and/or animals as possible. SMA strives for maximum impact, developing programs that enable people to use their talents to contribute as much as they can. In doing so, these individuals can serve as role models for millions of others who wish to lead more morally ambitious lives. For this, they developed fellowships focussing on both the tobacco industry and the transition to plant-based protein. SMA now also wants to set up a fellowship that concerns itself with researching democratic stability in the EU.
Collaborator: The School of Moral Ambition
Students: Jane Roeters, Svenja Simke, Mats Werkhoven
Supervisors: Jelger Kroese, Gijs Schumacher
Cohort: 2025
Challenge
In 2024, the world finds itself at a critical juncture. Democracies across the globe are grappling with unprecedented challenges that threaten their core principles and institutions. From the erosion of checks and balances to the undermining of civil liberties and the rise of authoritarian tendencies, democratic backsliding is no longer an isolated phenomenon but a widespread trend. This regression, marked by weakened electoral integrity, constrained freedom of the press, and shrinking spaces for civil society, underscores an urgent need for action to safeguard democratic governance. In only the last two months, we have seen this trend in an alarming number of countries, such as the US, France, Germany, Romania, South-Korea, and Georgia. Earlier this year, we observed similar regressions in Argentina, Austria, The Netherlands, and most importantly the European Parliament.
Approach
To aid SMA in their creation of a fellowship that researches the principle of democratic stability in the EU, we conduct a thorough literary review of various sources. By researching relevant books, papers, articles, and other academic and non-academic sources we gain a perspective on the current political landscape, its origin, and its future that is as complete as possible. Based on that perspective we aim to create a longlist of proven and ranked democracy-strengthening interventions based on their prospected impact and time and resource requirements. In addition, a scoping in which geographical areas in the EU these best-scoring interventions could be the most impactful.
Outcomes
We research and gain a thorough knowledge of current political science aspects of the political landscape in the EU.
We create a theoretical framework from which the new SMA fellowship can start their work.
We create an academically sound longlist of proven democracy-strengthening interventions.
The list has prioritization based on the ITN framework/P4D framework, where the interventions that have the largest prospected impact on democratic resilience with the smallest time and resources investment score highest.
A scoping in which geographical areas in the EU these best-scoring interventions could be the most impactful or are most neglected.