Our Research Objectives
Phase 1
Conceptual Groundwork:
(Re)Conceptualising Democracy & Democracy Support
as Social Practices
To (re)conceptualise democracy and democracy support as social practices, this phase provided concepts for the elaboration of an innovative Democracy Learning Loop applied throughout the project.
It grounded reflections on practices of democracy and democracy support as well as their contestation by providing clear and thorough definitions. These guiding concepts allowed for the application of an innovative Democracy Learning Loop, which helped maximise the EU’s democratic knowledge, empower agents of change and guarantee inclusivity and participation.
Phase 2
Empirical Mapping:
Democracy Support & Contestation Practices (discursive and behavioural)
in the European Neighbourhood
This phase comprehensively analysed democracy support and contestation practices in the EU's Neighbourhoods and aimed to scrutinise four categories of democracy support and contestation practices:
- practices of local democratic politics in the Eastern and Southern Neighbourhoods;
- the EU’s democracy support practices in both Neighbourhoods over the last decade, including the Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2020-2024;
- Member States’ practices related to the EU’s democracy support; and
- the practices of international organisations and third country actors involved in democracy support or prevention in the Eastern and Southern Neighbourhoods.
Phase 3
Actionable Policy Advice:
Synthesis and Policy Recommendations
The final phase fostered action by synthesising results and developing workable policy recommendations to encourage a more effective EU democracy support toolkit.
It connected researchers, policymakers in EU institutions and member states, practitioners, civil society representatives and citizen groups in the EU and its Neighbourhoods. These new channels of interaction and discussions on challenges to democracy support improved future EU interactions with its Neighbours. SHAPEDEM-EU also advised the EU on how to improve its capacities to react to potential gaps and consider consequences of democracy support policies. The consortium achieved this by pilot testing the Democracy Learning Loop, an innovative tool of democracy support practices between the EU and both Neighbourhoods, which transformed lessons learned into policy suggestions and build resilient networks and experiences that extend beyond the project’s duration.