Next Left Focus Group “Reflection 20 years after Maastricht”

The Next Left Research programme is getting enriched – as the new working group is being established!

The research project “Next Left: The Future of European democracy and role of europarties – Reflection 20 years after Maastricht” was initiated by a workshop that was organized by FEPS with the support of Renner Institut and held at the PES Convention in Brussels in November 2012. Following the debate and the outcomes of it, it was agreed that the research on the transnational party system at the EU level should be continued in 2012, with the purpose of bringing together a still loose network of academics working in this specific field of expertise.

There are several objectives of the project:

• To create a framework on the European level to collect, exchange, explore and develop knowledge on the European transnational party system, with particular attention to the socialist family.
• To discuss the state of European democracy and related themes, such as the disengagement of citizens, which has become more evident during the current Eurocrisis, and the loss of credibility of the political institutions at all levels of the European system of multi-level governance.
• To bring together researchers and experts working on this topic by creating a sustainable and continuous platform for exchange.

The project will be a part of the  FEPS “Next Left” Research Programme and as such will be chaired therefore by Dr. Alfred Gusenbauer, former Chancellor of Austria. The work on the project will be coordinated within FEPS by Dr. Ania Skrzypek, FEPS Senior Research Fellow, who will be supported in coordination by Dr. Isabelle Hertner (University of Birmingham) and Dr. Simon Lightfoot (University of Leeds).

Photo of the Next Left Working Group on Eurodemocracy and Europarties: