[Commlist] CfA Summer School on Democratic Innovations

*Call for Applications*

*3rd ECPR Standing Group Summer School on Democratic Innovations in 
Europe and in the EU*

*26-30 August 2019, Brussels (Belgium)*

The weaknesses of representative democracy, the recurring problems in 
the process of political representation, and the partial failure of 
government accountability led to an increasing discontent of citizens 
towards political institutions and politicians. One solution to address 
this ‘democratic malaise’ has been the adoption of different democratic 
innovations (e.g. direct democracy, dialogue-oriented procedures) aiming 
to foster the effective inclusion of citizens in political 
decision-making. Over the last three decades democratic innovations 
gained momentum throughout the world both in terms of rules and use. 
This summer school seeks to provide students with a fuller understanding 
of democratic innovations. The courses follow a student-centered 
approach and will discuss in detail their effects on communities, 
structures, systems, policies and citizens’ participation. It aims to 
identify and assess the benefits, disadvantages, functioning and 
challenges of democratic innovations in contemporary representative 
democracies. To achieve these objectives, the summer school will combine 
a broad array of theoretical approaches (made available to students in 
the reading package of every course) with methodological and empirical 
perspectives in every course (i.e. a hands-on approach). The sessions 
are divided in five days of teaching that alternate between the three 
major types of innovations: direct democracy, dialogue-oriented, and 
mixed. Students will be encouraged to actively participate in a series 
of applied exercises that will reveal the complexities of democratic 
innovations.

Target audience:

The summer school is primarily open to PhD students, research master 
students and master students from Political Science, Sociology, European 
Studies, International Relations or related areas. A limited number of 
practitioners may participate as well. The summer school will 
accommodate a maximum number of 25 participants.

Fee and costs:

Thanks to the support of the ECPR, the Standing Group on Democratic 
Innovations, and the organizing universities and partners, the 
registration fee amounts to only 100 € and covers accommodation, meals, 
coffee breaks, and all teaching activities in Brussels from Monday (26 
August) till Friday (30 August). Participants are responsible for their 
own travel to and from Brussels.

How to apply:

Interested applicants should fill in the form available at 
https://deminnov.wixsite.com/summerschool no later than 1 April 2019 and 
ideally before as applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Further information about the content, schedule and instructors is 
available at https://deminnov.wixsite.com/summerschool


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