democracy.research is a research project that addresses the development of democracy in Austria and the European Union. Our work is divided into two single projects – i.e. the
Austrian Democracy Lab (ADL) and the Regional Parliaments Lab (REGIOPARL).
The Regional Parliaments Lab (REGIOPARL) systematically studies, contextualizes and explains the role of regional polities in European integration. It thereby aims at gaining, documenting and publicly distributing a better understanding of the instruments, limits and potentials of the regional level as a bearer of European democracy. For that purpose, the European Democracy Lab at the European School of Governance (eusg) is conducting interventions in regional parliaments and assemblies throughout Europe in cooperation with the prestigious partner universities.
The Austrian Democracy Lab (ADL) involves scientific staff from the University of Krems and the University of Graz. We research on the Austrian citizen’s perception of democracy and develop specific suggestions for enhancing the Austrian political system. Semiannual representative surveys addressing issues, such as the trust in democracy, the political efficacy or participation are at the center of the research project. These surveys and their indicators allow for gathering comprehensive data which will be subject to longitudinal analyses. In addition to the survey results, the current international academic debate and the constant interaction with politicians serve as the basis for three central themes, i.e. federalism, participation, and electoral law. Against this background, we aim at encouraging a lively debate on democracy.
The democracy.research project started in January 2018 and is conducted in association with Forum Morgen. Our website is currently under construction and gets constantly updated and supplemented with the project’s most recent research findings.
Thank you for your interest in democracy.research!
