START YEAR 2022

END YEAR 2025

TEAM
Manuela Caiani (PI, SNS Coordinator); Hans Joerg Trenz (SNS member); Ivan Tranfic, Batuhan Eren and Nicolò Pennucci (external research fellows).

AUTHLIB is a multidisciplinary project that aims to explore the varieties of neo-authoritarian, illiberal ideologies in Europe, their social, psychological and historical causes, their organisational background and their political implications. The study aims to capture the dynamics of ideological change in the European Union as a whole, but it will particularly focus on Poland, France, Italy, Hungary, Czechia, the United Kingdom and Austria. We will map ideological configurations by analysing textual data and social media, and by organising surveys of citizens and experts. The mapping of ideological structures will be complemented by a study of emotional triggers and rhetorical strategies pursued by illiberal actors. The contemporary ideological configurations of illiberalism will be embedded within their historical-cultural context, and the study of ideas and preferences will be supplemented by investigation of illiberalism in power, and the co-operation of illiberal political actors. In order to identify the mechanisms behind the support of illiberalism, and the susceptibility of citizens towards changing their attitudes, we will conduct laboratory and online panel-based survey experiments. Finally, in order to observe how ideological and emotional stimuli work in co-operative settings, we will set up deliberative fora, involving both ordinary citizens, ideological opponents, and individuals responsible for educating future generations and operating the intricate procedures of liberal democracy.

The task of the SNS in particular will be the exploration and mapping of the co-operation of illiberal organisations, namely the transnationalization and diffusion of their frames, networks and strategies. With the help of social network analysis based on online links between issues and actors; interviews with activists and experts, we will explore and map the spread of such new initiatives and their impact on the illiberal intellectual agenda. We will also identify the role played by external forces, such as the Russian government and radicalised U.S. think tanks, in ideational production and in providing resources for the spread of ideas. The social media analysis conducted within WP3 will provide additional information as it will uncover the role of bots (highly automated accounts). This WP will draw on social movement studies, and research on political parties (and movement-parties) to address the dynamics of internationalisation, paying special attention to the political opportunities provided by the European integration

PARTNERS
Central European University (CEU) Hungary; University of Oxford (UOXF) UK; Paris Institute of Political Studies (SCIENCES PO) France ; Charles University (CUNI) Czechia; SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities (SWPS) Poland; German Marshall Fund (TF) Belgium ; University of Vienna (UNIVIE) Austria.

FUNDING
European Commission (HORIZON-CL2-2021-DEMOCRACY-01-01)