RED-SPINEL stands for 'Respond to Emerging Dissensus: SuPranational Instruments and Norms of European democracy'. It is an interdisciplinary and intersectoral Research and Innovation Action bringing together 11 partner organisations from 8 European countries. It will jointly analyse the changing nature of dissensus surrounding liberal democracy and its implications for EU supranational policy instruments.
The 2020 Freedom in the World Report stresses that democracies across the globe are in crisis, while several European surveys reflect declining levels of trust in the political institutions of democracy. These trends create a vicious circle as less trust means less efficiency of governance instruments, and in turn, less loyalty to democratic
principles. This has led to an apparent shift from liberal forms of governance based on pluralist representation, the rule of law and fundamental rights towards ones legitimising themselves by contesting those same principles. This heightened dissensus is observable to varying degrees in all Member States of the European Union (EU) and has a direct impact on the legitimacy and efficiency of the EU itself.
RED-SPINEL will unpack the inter-connected internal (within the EU and its Member States) and external (beyond the EU) drivers of contemporary dissensus surrounding liberal democracy. Its findings will be rooted in theoretical innovation and original empirical analyses. Its concept-building effort centered on the notion of 'dissensus' will explore how contemporary dissensus surrounding liberal democracy affects future democratic practices and the rule of law.
Ultimately, RED-SPINEL will provide a typology of said dissensus, map the principal actors of the dissensus in Europe and unpack its two underlying drivers - i.e. heightened internal contestation over liberal democracy and external competition from alternative illiberal models.
Empirically, RED-SPINEL will focus on the key policy instruments and legal mechanisms shaping the EU's efforts in support of democracy and the rule of law. The studied instruments include the EU rule of law toolbox, the neighbourhood and accession instruments, the European semester, fundamental rights and judicial instruments, as well as citizen participation platforms. Furthermore, through a series of stakeholder events, RED-SPINEL will flesh out the implications of its findings for public policy stakeholders (i.e. legal professionals, policymakers, European youth) as well as EU instruments aimed at responding to said dissensus. The project will develop a range of scientifically informed policy recommendations and capacity-building efforts able to foster innovative democratic practices able to respond to the present-day dissensus.
RED-SPINEL's findings are expected to tackle three overarching and intertwined questions:
1. What is the nature of the current dissensus and how disruptive is it to the EU?
2. How have EU institutional actors and instruments contributed and responded to this increased dissensus?
3. What are the implications of this dissensus for policy instruments at EU and Member States levels?
Concretely, the RED-SPINEL work programme will be spread across:
(1) an overarching theoretical Work Package (WP) dedicated to unpacking the central notion of contemporary dissensus surrounding liberal democracy, ultimately offering a set of workable typologies of the concept;
(2) four empirical WPs analysing the implications of this dissensus on key EU governance instruments (i.e. with regard to the Rule of Law Toolbox, EU’s external capacity to act in Enlargement and Neighbourhood, Fundamental Rights and Equality Guarantees, and Socio-Economic Governance);
(3) a transversal WP dedicated to civic capabilities to respond to EU dissensus and empower alternative synergies and modes of actions to traditional governance;
(4) a second transversal WP wholly dedicated to the sustainable and strategic impact of the project, including its policy impact efforts targeting both national and European levels;
(5) two final transversal WPs dedicated to ensuring the highest managerial, ethical and data management standards throughout the project.
Through its nine WPs, RED-SPINEL will offer a series of measurable and credible pathways towards: (1) developing innovative shared know-how on the common challenges facing liberal democracy in Europe; (2) publishing peer-reviewed original findings on the nature of dissensus surrounding liberal democracy and its disruptive effects; (3) producing easily accessible information and empirical analysis on dissensus surrounding liberal democracy in the EU; (4) publishing online training resources for high schools, universities and civic leaders seeking to play an active role in enhancing democratic governance and citizens’ participation throughout Europe; (5) hosting knowledge co-creation spaces involving researchers, citizens, policymakers and activists working together to address key challenges associated with the aforementioned dissensus; (6) providing evidence-based policy options and forecasts on the future of liberal democracy in Europe; (7) creating a series of open access datasets on actors of dissensus in the EU; and (8) training a set of early stage researchers on liberal democracy and dissensus in the EU.
RED-SPINEL's ‘Impact and communication strategy will reach a range of key audiences. These include the global community of democracy and EU studies scholars, EU and national policymakers, European civil society actors and civic leaders, legal practitioners involved in strategic litigation across Europe, students at both the high school and graduate levels, as well as the wider community of engaged citizens. These different audiences will be reached by way of four pathways towards impact, each with theirown logic, platforms and outcomes. The first pathway (I) will focus on policymakers both at the EU and Member State levels. The aim of the second pathway (II) is to disseminate the findings and their implications to a wide range of stakeholders. The third pathway (III) is dedicated to citizen science as it seeks to involve civic leaders and active citizens directly in the knowledge creation process. The fourth pathway (IV) will produce a series of user-friendly online resources aimed at communicating the work and findings over the project’s lifespan.
