Objective To what extent are democratic governments responsive to citizens’ demands and preferences between elections? Are governments more likely to be responsive to the interpretation of public opinion through surveys or to collective and publicly expressed opinion –generally in the form of protests? When does one ore the other type of expression prevail as a mechanism to foster governmental responsiveness? What happens when both forms of expression of the public mood are in clear contradiction? Are certain institutional and political configurations more likely to make governments more responsive to citizens’ views between elections? Are certain political configurations more conducive to governments paying attention to opinion polls while others make them more receptive to collective action claims-making? This project will answer these questions by developing a comparative study of of governmental responsiveness in established democracies between 1980 and 2010. To this purpose, we will discuss the relevant definitions of ‘governmental responsiveness’ and ‘public opinion’, and analyse data from various sources: (i) public opinion surveys, (ii) datasets with information on protest events, (iii) news reports on public moods, collective action, and governmental activity and decision-making, and (iv) comparative indicators on institutional attributes of democratic systems. In terms of the research strategy, the project will combine the analysis of a large number of cases (20 established democracies) with a more detailed study of a set of up to 7 cases. This study will provide a highly innovative approach to the representative link between citizens and governments by comparing the dynamics of democratic representation in decision-making junctures in the periods between elections for which governments cannot invoke an electoral mandate, with the dynamics that emerge in ‘normal’ policy-making situations. The project lies at the intersection of political science and sociology. Fields of science social sciencessociologysocial sciencespolitical sciencespolitical transitionselectionssocial sciencespolitical sciencesgovernment systemsdemocracy Programme(s) FP7-IDEAS-ERC - Specific programme: "Ideas" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) Topic(s) ERC-SG-SH2 - ERC Starting Grant - Institutions, values, beliefs and behaviour Call for proposal ERC-2011-StG_20101124 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-SG - ERC Starting Grant Host institution FONDATION NATIONALE DES SCIENCES POLITIQUES EU contribution € 70 880,00 Address RUE SAINT GUILLAUME 27 75341 Paris France See on map Region Ile-de-France Ile-de-France Paris Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Marinela Popa-Babay (Mrs.) Principal investigator Laura Morales Diez De Ulzurrun (Dr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data Beneficiaries (2) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all FONDATION NATIONALE DES SCIENCES POLITIQUES France EU contribution € 70 880,00 Address RUE SAINT GUILLAUME 27 75341 Paris See on map Region Ile-de-France Ile-de-France Paris Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Marinela Popa-Babay (Mrs.) Principal investigator Laura Morales Diez De Ulzurrun (Dr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER Participation ended United Kingdom EU contribution € 1 369 742,00 Address UNIVERSITY ROAD LE1 7RH Leicester See on map Region East Midlands (England) Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire Leicester Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Marie Adams (Mrs.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data