Programme Description
This Summer School is organised by the European Governance and Politics Programme (EGPP) of the European University Institute at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies in collaboration with Faculty of Political and Social Sciences of the Scuola Normale Superiore. The initiative is funded by the PNRR through the MERITA, the network for talent project, and by the EUI Widening Europe Programme.
The Summer School will offer a thought provoking forum for young scholars to examine democratic erosion (and its resistance) across regions, through diverse disciplinary and methodological lenses. With growing scholarly attention in the field of political participation focused on democratic backsliding and political actors (also called the ‘entrepreneurs’ of regression), this School encourages critical reflection on both theoretical and methodological approaches. Another research area high on scholarly agenda and of interest to this School include public opinion, electoral, and party politics studies, which increasingly examine the norms, values, and attitudes that underpin regressive trends in society, political actors, and policymaking. Finally, the Internet and social media play a key role, shaping and mediating various related processes.
Participants in the EGPP Summer School will engage with key themes such as social movements and collective actors, media and democratic backsliding, comparative perspectives on Eastern Europe, political elites and state institutions, and the influence of EU institutions on democratic resilience. Emphasising a multidisciplinary and inclusive perspective, the programme particularly welcomes contributions addressing underrepresented regions and actors in current research.
The Summer School will be held at the Palazzone di Cortona, one of the sites of the Scuola Normale Superiore, in the small town of Cortona in southern Tuscany, Italy and at the European University Institute (plenary session only). The school will take place from September 27-30 2025.
The EUI offers scholarships to 10 applicants from Widening countries. These scholarships cover all school-related costs, including air travel and accommodation. To qualify, applicants must both hold citizenship in and be affiliated with a university from one of the countries in the following list:
Inside the European Union: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
Outside the European Union: Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Moldova, and Ukraine.