Demos
 

Research

The project "The demos in the imaginary of the new politics: the discussion on the popular will in the Public discourse in Europe" aims to explore how the people (demos) is conceptualized in the discourses of the new political parties in Europe: how do these new movements articulate the will of citizens in a Europe in crisis? Our research seeks to answer the following questions:

1. How are the different political groups that have emerged in various European countries in the last decade defined? Broadly speaking, what discourses characterize these parties and movements in each country?

2. What traits do all these parties and movements share , and how do they really differ from agreement with traditional divisions such as right-left or north-south?

3. What are the characteristics of the demos most prominent in the representations offered by these parties? Who are the "people" in their imaginary?

4. How do these groups understand themselves in relation to other concepts such as citizenship, solidarity, nation, European integration, welfare state, democracy or neoliberalism? How do these groups define themselves, how do they define their role and their relations with the "people" and with other actors in the public sphere? How do they understand themselves in relation to their friends, adversaries and antagonists in the public sphere?

5. How are the activities and practices of the "people" imagined and represented in the activities and practices of each party? What representations or practices are particularly relevant to understanding their self-concept? How is their presence embodied in multimodality?