Europe finances with 1.5 million the research of Guillem Ripoll, professor at the University of Barcelona.
He has received the scholarship 'Starting Grant', one of the most prestigious scientific grants in Europe, to analyze and prevent illiberal behavior in the public administration
Guillem Ripoll, professor at the School of Economics and Business Administration of the University, has received a scholarship Starting Grant from the European committee of research (ERC). Endowed with 1.5 million euros, the financial aid will allow the professor to carry out for five years the project ILLADMIN, which will focus on analyzing and preventing illiberal behavior in the public administration, a topic of growing relevance in the current context.
ILLADMIN will focus, first, on defining and elaborating a conceptual map of illiberal administrative behavior, which includes the implementation of anti-plural (limiting diversity of opinions and fostering cultural or ideological homogenization) and/or anti-institutional (rejecting the separation of powers and the control of political power) policies, thus eroding the basic principles of liberal democracy. Also, as Ripoll points out, "the factors that may lead public workers to implement these policies will be examined, considering political dynamics, institutional pressures and personal characteristics".
The project will also evaluate strategies and mechanisms that can strengthen the alignment of officials with the values of liberal democracy, with the goal to reduce their propensity to implement policies that undermine these principles.
Strengthening democracy from the administration
The study will be carried out in ten countries representative of five different administrative traditions, using an innovative methodological approach combining longitudinal surveys, experiments and other advanced measurement techniques. This analysis will allow not only to better understand the current crisis of liberal democracy, but also to develop tools and strategies to ensure that the public administration acts as a defender of democratic values.
"Our goal is to strengthen democracy from within the system, addressing the behavior of those at the core of the public administration," says Ripoll. "We want to provide new perspectives and solutions to ensure that the bureaucracy acts as a counterweight and not as a vehicle for policies that can weaken our democracies," she notes.
The scholarship 'Starting Grant' is one of the most prestigious grants in the European Union and is aimed at young researchers with a potential A and innovative projects that address fundamental challenges in science and society. In this edition, 3,474 applications were submitted, of which 494 have obtained financial aid . Of these, 36 have been obtained by Spanish researchers.
