Project description
The drivers of political discontent
Public confidence in political institutions is declining and Europeans are leaning more and more towards populism. While this is not a new phenomenon, the main drivers of political discontent are not well understood. The ERC-funded POLTRUSTLAB project will collect the most detailed individual-level dataset on perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes. It will use survey experiments to uncover the modes of reasoning that generate a link between economic shocks and political discontent. This novel methodology will study the fundamental drivers of political discontent, exploring policy responses of traditional parties and populist narratives as potential mediating factors. It will also investigate how trust in the political system can be regained.
Objective
In the last years, the world has experienced an unprecedented increase in the fraction of people that have lost their confidence in political institutions and have started supporting populist candidates. While a rapidly growing literature in social sciences has investigated this phenomenon, current research methodologies face important limitations. Existing studies have limited measures of political attitudes and provide little evidence on the mechanisms behind the increase in distrust. In this project, I propose a radically different approach to tackle this question. I plan to conduct extensive data collection through online surveys in multiple countries and periods. I will combine this novel data with extensive use of survey experiments and quasi-experimental approaches. This methodology has the potential to significantly expand the research frontier in the study of political discontent. First, I plan to collect the most detailed individual-level panel dataset on perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes. Second, the use of survey experiments provides a unique toolkit uncover the ?mental model? of individuals (i.e. their modes of reasoning that generate a link between a shock and ultimate political discontent). This novel methodology will be applied to answer two main questions: (1) What are the fundamental drivers of political discontent? I will examine the effects of a number of different economic and cultural shocks on discontent and distrust. In the uncovering of the mechanisms, I will pay special attention two key mediating factors: the policy response to shocks of traditional parties and the exposure to populist and nativist narratives. The second research question is: (2) How can trust in the political system be regained? Using a number of experimental and quasi-experimental designs, I will investigate whether exposure to safety-net policies can help individuals to regain trust in the political system.
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.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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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
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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-COG
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28014 Madrid
Spain
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