Democratic governance for times of disruptive changes to the social contract
HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions
Basic Information
- Identifier
- HORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01-06
- Programme
- Standing up for democracy
- Programme Period
- 2021 - 2027
- Status
- Closed (31094503)
- Opening Date
- December 14, 2022
- Deadline
- March 14, 2023
- Deadline Model
- single-stage
- Budget
- €9,000,000
- Min Grant Amount
- €2,000,000
- Max Grant Amount
- €3,000,000
- Expected Number of Grants
- 3
- Keywords
- History of philosophySocial sciences and humanitiesSocial, economic, cultural and political historyLegal systems, constitutions, foundations of lawPolitical theoryPhilosophycritical juncture theoryHORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01-06Contractualismpolitical theory
Description
Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
- Better understanding of ways to account for the need for evaluation and changes in the social contracts in the EU Member States countries through theoretical, philosophical, political, historical, legal, normative and comparative studies, amongst others.
- Investigate and propose safeguards and mechanisms that need to be in place in those circumstances when questioning the very foundations of the social contract.
- Scenarios for how new social contracts in EU Member States could look like or approaches for how to develop the narratives for new social contracts, accounting for the fact of the EU membership and the rights and duties that go with it.
A social contract is the intellectual construct referring to the agreement between members of a society, community, or organisation that spells out the obligations, functions, and rights of each citizen agreeing to the contract. The classic concept of social contract also implies the notion of the individual renunciation of some freedoms, in exchange for core public goods, including the right to democratic participation and the protection that societal life can offer. When the social contract fails to uphold its end of the bargain and leaves its citizens disappointed, there is a risk of social unrest and political instability. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed social and economic inequalities, leading to calls for a new social contract at national, EU and global levels based on inclusivity, participation and sustainability. Such calls may include requests for new articulations of the basic justifications, functions, rights and duties of democratic societies and their citizens likewise.
Some societies flourish while others struggle to maintain the social fabric, hardly avoiding the breakdown of their social contracts. Certain forms or configurations of the social contract appear more successful than others, and not necessarily because of their immutability or endurance. Instead, flexibility, adaptability, trust and resilience seem to be factors of success, in particular vis-à-vis external shocks or disruptive forces (a pandemic, abrupt technological changes, wars…). Such disruptions may hit a pre-exiting equilibrium, bringing to the light dimensions unforeseen by the existing social contract and putting it under stress. In such situations, the social contract could withstand, in the case of better prepared societies, and continue delivering after necessary adaptations, or alternatively could break up, not resisting the pressure, and open the door to the establishment of a new contract through some dramatic or arduous exercise.
In order to identify the factors that drive, or contribute to, the social success of certain societies and their social contract models, proposals are invited to use narrative approaches (historical, legal, anthropological methods and analysis) or data-driven / computer-based approaches, or mixed approaches. In terms of the geographical scope of the research, proposals should focus on EU and/or Member States societies, while international cooperation allowing comparative perspectives in view of extrapolations relevant to EU policies is also encouraged.
Clustering and cooperation with other selected projects under this topic and other relevant projects are strongly encouraged.
Destination & Scope
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which unfolds ominously while this work programme is prepared, has deep and extraordinary consequences on European security, international relations, as well as trust in democratic systems and in the media. However, it cannot be seen as an isolated event. It is part of an accelerated and ever intensifying movement of rejection and challenge of democracy and of the liberal international order. Indexes and reports measuring the overall situation of democracies in the world confirm their increased fragility and vulnerability over the last years: a process labelled as a “long democratic recession”, a shift in the nature of “autocratisation” or a “global expansion of authoritarian rule”, which quantitatively translates into the increase of the number of countries moving towards authoritarianism and the overall decline of the quality of democracies. [[ Cfr. the latest reports from Freedom House or the V-Dem Institute:
https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2021/democracy-under-siege;
https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2022/global-expansion-authoritarian-rule
http://www.v-dem.net/static/website/files/dr/dr_2021.pdf;
https://v-dem.net/media/publications/dr_2022.pdf]]
Interdisciplinary research on the past and present challenges to and facilitators of democracy can help to understand them better, with a view to strengthen their resilience and stability. It will also help to counter the shift from governance based on expertise, rules-based multilateralism and consensual policymaking towards majoritarianism, unilateralism, nationalism, populism and polarisation. It will foster democracy’s further development with a view to enhancing representation, participation, openness, pluralism, tolerance, the effectiveness of public policy, non-discrimination, civic engagement, the protection of fundamental rights and the rule of law. These reflect the European Union’s values as defined in Article 2 of the EU Treaty[[ Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union, Title 1 “Common Provisions”, Article 2: “The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail”.]].
Expected impact:
Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to the following expected impacts of the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan:
- Democratic governance is reinvigorated by improving the accountability, transparency, effectiveness and trustworthiness of rule-of-law based institutions and policies and through the expansion of active and inclusive citizenship empowered by the safeguarding of fundamental rights.
The implementation of the research activities of the destination will assist in the re-invigoration and modernisation of democratic governance. The aim is to develop evidence-based innovations, policies and policy recommendations, as well as institutional frameworks that expand political participation, social dialogue, civic engagement, gender equality and inclusiveness. Activities will also contribute to enhancing the transparency, effectiveness, accountability and legitimacy of public policymaking. They will help improving trust in democratic institutions, safeguarding liberties and the rule of law and protecting democracy from multidimensional threats. Rich historical, cultural and philosophical perspectives, including a comparative dimension, will set the frame for soundly understanding present developments and help to map future pathways. In the medium to long term, the knowledge, data, scientifically robust recommendations and innovations generated will enhance decision-making on all aspects relevant to democratic governance. As the Destination aims directly at citizen engagement and at producing lasting change, it is of particular importance that the research and innovation actions promote the highest standards of transparency and openness. When applicable, it is encouraged to open up the process, criteria, methodologies and data to civil society in the course of the research.
Eligibility & Conditions
General conditions
1. Admissibility conditions: described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes
Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System
2. Eligible countries: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes
A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.
3. Other eligibility conditions: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes
5. Evaluation and award:
-
Award criteria, scoring and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes
-
Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual
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Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement: described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants: described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes
Specific conditions
7. Specific conditions: described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme]
Documents
Call documents:
Standard application form — call-specific application form is available in the Submission System
Standard application form (HE RIA, IA)
Standard evaluation form — will be used with the necessary adaptations
Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA)
MGA
Additional documents:
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 5. Culture, creativity and inclusive society
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 12. Missions
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 13. General Annexes
HE Framework Programme and Rules for Participation Regulation 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
Support & Resources
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Latest Updates
EVALUATION results
HORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01
Published: 07.12.2022
Deadline: 14.03.2023
Available budget: EUR 75 000 000
The results of the evaluation are as follows:
Number of proposals submitted (including proposals transferred from or to other calls): 97
Number of inadmissible proposals: 2
Number of ineligible proposals: 0
Number of above-threshold proposals: 58
Total budget requested for above-threshold proposals: EUR 184 724 528,25
We recently informed the applicants about the evaluation results for their proposals.
For questions, please contact the Research Enquiry Service.
The call HORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01 has closed on 14.03.2023.
97 proposals have been submitted.
The breakdown per topic is:
- HORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01-01: 10 proposals
- HORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01-02: 5 proposals
- HORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01-03: 4 proposals
- HORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01-04: 24 proposals
- HORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01-05: 11 proposals
- HORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01-06: 7 proposals
- HORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01-07: 19 proposals
- HORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01-08: 17 proposals
Evaluation results are expected to be communicated in July 2023.