Project description
An exploration of trade-off and compromise in a democracy
Trade-off and compromise. This is what democracies need do to balance political principles like rule of law, freedom and political equality. As long, as citizens and political leaders are willing to compromise, the trade-offs are not a problem. But this is not always the case. The ERC-funded DEMOTRADEOFF project will explore the positions of citizens and parties regarding democratic trade-offs and how these contribute to citizens’ increasing discontent with democracy. Carrying out an empirical analysis on 15 European countries, the project will also examine the preferences of citizens against the positions of political parties. It will also consider how citizens can be reconciled with the idea that some democratic qualities cannot be simultaneously maximised.
Objective
Democracies involve tradeoffs since all their desirable qualities cannot be simultaneously maximized. Hard choices must be made in order to balance democratic principles such as popular sovereignty and the rule of law, or freedom and political equality.
These tradeoffs would not be problematic as long as citizens and political leaders were open to compromise and accept that democracy requires a delicate balancing of virtues. The politicization of these tradeoffs in recent events such as Brexit or Polands judicial reform suggests that this is likely not the case. However, we still know very little about the positions of citizens and parties regarding democratic tradeoffs; how these contribute to citizens increasing discontent with democracy; how the rising politicization of the tradeoffs of democracy might exacerbate these dynamics; and whether it is possible to curb this process.
To investigate these questions this project: (1) elaborates a conceptual map of democratic tradeoffs and empirically examines citizens preferences and parties positions on them; (2) analyzes the determinants of citizens democratic tradeoff preferences, and how the interplay between these preferences and parties politicization of these tradeoffs affects individuals support and satisfaction with democracy; (3) examines how citizens can be reconciled with the idea that some democratic qualities cannot be simultaneously maximized. The empirical analysis focuses on 15 European countries and implements an integrative multi-method approach combining cross-sectional and panel surveys, content analysis, and experiments.
The proposed project breaks new theoretical and methodological ground in the study of political culture. It brings the inherent tensions of democracy to the forefront and develops new tools for the measurement of tradeoff preferences and their consequences.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2021-STG
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
08193 Cerdanyola Del Valles
Spain
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.