Project acronym ALICE
Project Strange Mirrors, Unsuspected Lessons: Leading Europe to a new way of sharing the world experiences
Researcher (PI) Boaventura De Sousa Santos
Host Institution (HI) CENTRO DE ESTUDOS SOCIAIS
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), SH2, ERC-2010-AdG_20100407
Summary Europe sits uncomfortably on the idea that there are no political and cultural alternatives credible enough to respond to the current uneasiness or malaise caused by both a world that is more and more non-European and a Europe that increasingly questions what is European about itself. This project will develop a new grounded theoretical paradigm for contemporary Europe based on two key ideas: the understanding of the world by far exceeds the European understanding of the world; social, political and institutional transformation in Europe may benefit from innovations taking place in regions and countries with which Europe is increasingly interdependent. I will pursue this objective focusing on four main interconnected topics: democratizing democracy, intercultural constitutionalism, the other economy, human rights (right to health in particular).
In a sense that the European challenges are unique but, in one way or another, are being experienced in different corners of the world. The novelty resides in bringing new ideas and experiences into the European conversation, show their relevance to our current uncertainties and aspirations and thereby contribute to face them with new intellectual and political resources. The usefulness and relevance of non-European conceptions and experiences un-thinking the conventional knowledge through two epistemological devices I have developed: the ecology of knowledges and intercultural translation. By resorting to them I will show that there are alternatives but they cannot be made credible and powerful if we go on relying on the modes of theoretical and political thinking that have dominated so far. In other words, the claim put forward by and worked through this project is that in Europe we don’t need alternatives but rather an alternative thinking of alternatives.
Summary
Europe sits uncomfortably on the idea that there are no political and cultural alternatives credible enough to respond to the current uneasiness or malaise caused by both a world that is more and more non-European and a Europe that increasingly questions what is European about itself. This project will develop a new grounded theoretical paradigm for contemporary Europe based on two key ideas: the understanding of the world by far exceeds the European understanding of the world; social, political and institutional transformation in Europe may benefit from innovations taking place in regions and countries with which Europe is increasingly interdependent. I will pursue this objective focusing on four main interconnected topics: democratizing democracy, intercultural constitutionalism, the other economy, human rights (right to health in particular).
In a sense that the European challenges are unique but, in one way or another, are being experienced in different corners of the world. The novelty resides in bringing new ideas and experiences into the European conversation, show their relevance to our current uncertainties and aspirations and thereby contribute to face them with new intellectual and political resources. The usefulness and relevance of non-European conceptions and experiences un-thinking the conventional knowledge through two epistemological devices I have developed: the ecology of knowledges and intercultural translation. By resorting to them I will show that there are alternatives but they cannot be made credible and powerful if we go on relying on the modes of theoretical and political thinking that have dominated so far. In other words, the claim put forward by and worked through this project is that in Europe we don’t need alternatives but rather an alternative thinking of alternatives.
Max ERC Funding
2 423 140 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-07-01, End date: 2016-12-31
Project acronym EDULIFE
Project Education as a Lifelong Process – Comparing Educational Trajectories in Modern Societies
Researcher (PI) Hans-Peter Blossfeld
Host Institution (HI) EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), SH2, ERC-2010-AdG_20100407
Summary Over the last decades, modern societies have evolved into knowledge-based economies in which the role of education and the organisation of educational institutions have become important in all phases of the life course. More than in the past, today, education is a lifelong process where the individual acquires skills and competences in formal and non-formal learning settings throughout the entire life-span. Most empirical research on education is still based on cross-sectional studies and does not analyse education as a highly time-dependent, stepwise, and cumulative process. The aim of the project is therefore to study how individuals’ educational careers and competence trajectories unfold over the life course in relation to family background, educational institutions, workplaces, and private life events. The project takes an explicit life course perspective and utilises innovative data from the new German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). The NEPS data will be compared with longitudinal data from five carefully selected additional countries. Based on its cross-national comparisons the project will do both, (a) establish the generality of findings and (b) study the specific impact of variations in educational institutional settings across countries.
In substantive terms, the project is structured along four themes: (1) the quality of pre-school education and its short- and longer-term effects on individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds; (2) consequences of different models of differentiation in secondary school and their consequences on competence development and educational opportunities; (3) different vocational training trajectories and their impact on entry into the labour market; and (4) the interaction of lifelong learning and job careers.
Summary
Over the last decades, modern societies have evolved into knowledge-based economies in which the role of education and the organisation of educational institutions have become important in all phases of the life course. More than in the past, today, education is a lifelong process where the individual acquires skills and competences in formal and non-formal learning settings throughout the entire life-span. Most empirical research on education is still based on cross-sectional studies and does not analyse education as a highly time-dependent, stepwise, and cumulative process. The aim of the project is therefore to study how individuals’ educational careers and competence trajectories unfold over the life course in relation to family background, educational institutions, workplaces, and private life events. The project takes an explicit life course perspective and utilises innovative data from the new German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). The NEPS data will be compared with longitudinal data from five carefully selected additional countries. Based on its cross-national comparisons the project will do both, (a) establish the generality of findings and (b) study the specific impact of variations in educational institutional settings across countries.
In substantive terms, the project is structured along four themes: (1) the quality of pre-school education and its short- and longer-term effects on individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds; (2) consequences of different models of differentiation in secondary school and their consequences on competence development and educational opportunities; (3) different vocational training trajectories and their impact on entry into the labour market; and (4) the interaction of lifelong learning and job careers.
Max ERC Funding
2 488 360 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-06-01, End date: 2016-05-31
Project acronym ERPL
Project European Regulatory Private Law
Researcher (PI) Hans-Wolfgang Micklitz-Roessler
Host Institution (HI) EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), SH2, ERC-2010-AdG_20100407
Summary The focus of the socio-legal project lies in the search for a normative model which could shape a self sufficient European private legal order in its interaction with national private law systems. The project (1) aims at a new–orientation of the structures and methods of European private law based on its transformation from autonomy to functionalism in competition and regulation;
(2) suggests the emergence of a self sufficient European private law, composed of three different layers (a) the sectorial substance of ERPL, (b) the general principles – provisionally termed competitive contract law – and (d) common principles of civil law; (3) elaborates on the interaction between ERPL and national private law systems around four normative models: (a) intrusion and substitution, (b) conflict and resistance, (c) hybridisation and (d) convergence; (4) analyses the new order of values, enshrined in the concept of access justice (Zugangsgerechtigkeit).
Summary
The focus of the socio-legal project lies in the search for a normative model which could shape a self sufficient European private legal order in its interaction with national private law systems. The project (1) aims at a new–orientation of the structures and methods of European private law based on its transformation from autonomy to functionalism in competition and regulation;
(2) suggests the emergence of a self sufficient European private law, composed of three different layers (a) the sectorial substance of ERPL, (b) the general principles – provisionally termed competitive contract law – and (d) common principles of civil law; (3) elaborates on the interaction between ERPL and national private law systems around four normative models: (a) intrusion and substitution, (b) conflict and resistance, (c) hybridisation and (d) convergence; (4) analyses the new order of values, enshrined in the concept of access justice (Zugangsgerechtigkeit).
Max ERC Funding
2 097 840 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-09-01, End date: 2016-08-31
Project acronym MOBILIZING4DEMOCRACY
Project Mobilizing for democracy: Democratization processes and the mobilization of civil society
Researcher (PI) Donatella Alessandra Della Porta
Host Institution (HI) SCUOLA NORMALE SUPERIORE
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), SH2, ERC-2010-AdG_20100407
Summary The project addresses the role of civil society organizations (CSOs) in democratization processes, bridging social science approaches to social movements and democracy. With a theoretical interest in the interactions between structure and agency, the project starts by revisiting the “transitology” approach to democratization and the political process approach to social movements, before moving towards more innovative approaches in both areas. From the theoretical point of view, a main innovation will be in addressing both structural preconditions as well as actors’ strategies, looking at the intersection of structure and agency. In an historical and comparative perspective, I aim to develop a description and an understanding of the conditions and effects of the participation of civil society organizations in the various stages of democratization processes. Different parts of the research will address different sub-questions linked to the broad question of CSOs’ participation in democratization processes: a) under which (external and internal) conditions and through which mechanisms do CSOs support democratization processes? b) Under which conditions and through which mechanisms do they play an important role in democratization processes? c) Under which conditions and through which mechanisms are they successful in triggering democratization processes? d) And, finally, what is the legacy of the participation of civil society during transitions to democracy on the quality of democracy during consolidation? The main empirical focus will be on recent democratization processes in EU member and associated states. The comparative research design will, however, also include selected comparisons with oppositional social movements in authoritarian regimes as well as democratization processes in other historical times and geopolitical regions. From an empirical point of view, a main innovation will lie in the development of mixed method strategies.
Summary
The project addresses the role of civil society organizations (CSOs) in democratization processes, bridging social science approaches to social movements and democracy. With a theoretical interest in the interactions between structure and agency, the project starts by revisiting the “transitology” approach to democratization and the political process approach to social movements, before moving towards more innovative approaches in both areas. From the theoretical point of view, a main innovation will be in addressing both structural preconditions as well as actors’ strategies, looking at the intersection of structure and agency. In an historical and comparative perspective, I aim to develop a description and an understanding of the conditions and effects of the participation of civil society organizations in the various stages of democratization processes. Different parts of the research will address different sub-questions linked to the broad question of CSOs’ participation in democratization processes: a) under which (external and internal) conditions and through which mechanisms do CSOs support democratization processes? b) Under which conditions and through which mechanisms do they play an important role in democratization processes? c) Under which conditions and through which mechanisms are they successful in triggering democratization processes? d) And, finally, what is the legacy of the participation of civil society during transitions to democracy on the quality of democracy during consolidation? The main empirical focus will be on recent democratization processes in EU member and associated states. The comparative research design will, however, also include selected comparisons with oppositional social movements in authoritarian regimes as well as democratization processes in other historical times and geopolitical regions. From an empirical point of view, a main innovation will lie in the development of mixed method strategies.
Max ERC Funding
1 747 200 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-06-01, End date: 2016-11-30
Project acronym RELIGIOWEST
Project The (re)construction and formatting of religions in the West through courts, social practices, public discourse and transnational institutions
Researcher (PI) Olivier Patrick Michel Roy
Host Institution (HI) EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), SH2, ERC-2010-AdG_20100407
Summary RELIGIOWEST is an interdisciplinary endeavour to bring together legal, sociological and political insights in the study of religion in the West. It aims at studying : 1) how different western states (in Europe and North America) are redefining their relationship to religions, under the challenge of increasing religious activism in the public sphere, associated with the spread of new religious movements (evangelicalism, cults) and Islam, 2) how this process mobilizes a complex array of often unrelated actors: courts, administrations, business milieus, but also practicing believers who want to be recognized both as citizens and members of a faith community, public opinion eager to curb what is perceived as “foreign” or “extremist” expressions of religion, politicians navigating between political correctness and populism, and “external” actors, like the US government, the European Court of Human Rights and transnational organizations (the Catholic church, the Muslim Brotherhood), 3) how this process is gradually producing a new and common paradigm of the relationship between states, the public sphere and religion, contributing paradoxically to European integration.
We intend to make field-works in 12 countries, both in North-America and Europe, adding Turkey. After studying the specific national legal frameworks dealing with religion in public sphere, we intend to analyse the potential convergences in framing a new common paradigm of the place of religion in the public sphere. The project aims at providing tools for a common European policy implementation on religion.
Summary
RELIGIOWEST is an interdisciplinary endeavour to bring together legal, sociological and political insights in the study of religion in the West. It aims at studying : 1) how different western states (in Europe and North America) are redefining their relationship to religions, under the challenge of increasing religious activism in the public sphere, associated with the spread of new religious movements (evangelicalism, cults) and Islam, 2) how this process mobilizes a complex array of often unrelated actors: courts, administrations, business milieus, but also practicing believers who want to be recognized both as citizens and members of a faith community, public opinion eager to curb what is perceived as “foreign” or “extremist” expressions of religion, politicians navigating between political correctness and populism, and “external” actors, like the US government, the European Court of Human Rights and transnational organizations (the Catholic church, the Muslim Brotherhood), 3) how this process is gradually producing a new and common paradigm of the relationship between states, the public sphere and religion, contributing paradoxically to European integration.
We intend to make field-works in 12 countries, both in North-America and Europe, adding Turkey. After studying the specific national legal frameworks dealing with religion in public sphere, we intend to analyse the potential convergences in framing a new common paradigm of the place of religion in the public sphere. The project aims at providing tools for a common European policy implementation on religion.
Max ERC Funding
1 895 232 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-06-01, End date: 2015-10-31
