Dr Julia Leser, a postdoctoral researcher in the ‘Societal Peace and Internal Security’ research area at the IFSH, has been awarded a Starting Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) for her research project ‘Reconfiguring Democracy from Below: Micro-Practices of State-Remaking in Times of Far-Right Populism (MicroDemos)’. The grant amounts to approximately 1.75 million euros.
Together with two other researchers, she will investigate how state institutions deal with processes of democratic erosion and how they maintain their capacity to act. The project focuses on places where democracy is practiced on a daily basis and is also increasingly being put to the test. It is in local state institutions such as schools, police stations or museums that the state and citizens come into contact with one another. In these everyday encounters and decisions, processes of democratic erosion often unfold quietly and gradually: A museum program is restructured, an exhibition disappears, a teacher begins to self-censor – not because of direct interventions, but in anticipation of political pressure.
Existing research on processes of democratic erosion and ‘democratic backsliding’ has focused predominantly on elites, political parties and constitutions. What happens in the day-to-day working lives of the people who put democratic norms into practice on a daily basis has received only little empirical scrutiny. Yet it is often precisely in these contexts that political changes are first becoming noticeable. The MicroDemos project therefore focuses on so-called ‘street-level bureaucrats’: teachers, police officers and staff at cultural institutions in three European regions: Eastern Germany, Eastern Poland and Southern Italy. The project investigates what actually happens in the day-to-day practices of state institutions when far-right populist actors gain influence, and under what conditions adaptation to political changes – or resistance to them – becomes more likely. To this end, the research team combines ethnographic observations, interviews and participatory research methods across three institutional sectors: education, security and culture.
The research team behind MicroDemos places great emphasis on collaborative and participatory approaches. Together with the institutions under study and their staff, the aim is to develop a digital infrastructure for democratic resilience, featuring tools for collegial exchange, support and networking. A documentary film is intended to highlight the experiences and strategies of those affected and make them accessible to a wider public. In this way, the project also aims to contribute to UN Sustainable Development Goal 16: ‘Peace, justice and strong institutions’.
About the ERC:
The European Research Council (ERC) funds excellent and innovative project ideas from outstanding researchers across all research disciplines. The ERC Starting Grant primarily supports researchers in the early stages of their careers for a maximum of five years.
