Southern European countries have faced considerable pressure during the past quarter century – the Great Recession and subsequent austerity, migration flows, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the (effects of) war in Ukraine and elsewhere. This section seeks to further our understanding of how well Southern Europe has withstood the pressures in terms of democratic aspirations, democracy, and democratic governance.
The section covers the diverse challenges to democracy and democratic governance, including forms of democratic backsliding and autocratisation, and patterns of democratic disfunction in the region. Yet, it also seeks to explore the forms or patterns of resilience and adaptation that serve to shore up or advance democracy or democratic aspirations, as well as confront major societal and policy challenges in Southern Europe.
The theme is meant to be broad and inclusive of many research areas, including political regimes, governments, and other institutional analyses, political parties, policy challenges and adaptation under democratic systems, international affairs, political elites’ and citizens’ attitudes and behaviour, and multilevel governance (including the European Union), among other topics.
Geographically, the section covers Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain and Turkey. Panels and papers may examine topics across the region and/or in specific national contexts.
The section welcomes contributions employing a range of disciplinary (including political science, sociology, policy studies, political economy, international relations, and psychology) as well as interdisciplinary perspectives, as well as diverse methodological approaches.
Though not meant to be exclusive, we offer examples of panel and paper topics that would fit the section well:
▪️ Autocratisation, democratic backsliding as well as democratic quality
▪️ Separation of powers, judicial independence and lawfare
▪️ Challenges and innovations related to government formation, stability, and effectiveness
▪️ Ability of formal political institutions and parties to channel societal cleavages and demands
▪️ Ability of Southern European societies to hold political institutions and actors accountable
▪️ Challenges and innovations in Southern Europe’s activity in and relationship with the European Union, including Euroscepticism
▪️ Political, ideological, and affective polarization in Southern European societies and political systems
▪️ Policy stagnation, change, and innovation, including multi-level policymaking, in challenged democracies
▪️ Change and evolution of social and protest movements related to the state of democracy
▪️ Rise and evolution of political extremism
▪️ Political elite behavior and respect for democratic practices and norms
▪️ Citizens’ attitudes and behavior related to democracy and democratic values
▪️ Political equality, inclusion, and representation
▪️ Challenges to, and opportunities for, democracy in Southern Europe in the current international scenario
Below is an initial list of potential panels. If the section is approved, additional panels will be added following the call for papers and panels.
1. The Persistent Challenge of Party Switching to Democratic Governance
The panel explores the intricate relationship between party switching and the resilience of democratic systems. We aim to stimulate a comprehensive discussion highlighting the complexity of party switching, the challenges that party switching poses to democratic governance, representation, and party politics, and identifying ways (at institutional and/or party level) to adapt to these challenges.
2. Fractured Politics in Southern European Democracies: Party Competition between Old and New Divides
Until the late 20th century, left-right and centre-periphery divides structured a significant portion of inter-party dynamics, while the multiple crises in the early 21st century favoured a proliferation of political fractures. The aim of the panel is to uncover the emergence of new political-electoral divides at both the national and sub-national levels, examine their interactions with established cleavages, and assess their political ramifications for the functioning of democracy and policymaking processes in Southern European countries.
3. The Populist Radical Right in Southern Europe: Voters, Ideology and Organization
Populist radical right parties have consolidated their competitive position in Southern Europe and achieved success even in countries previously thought to be immune to this phenomenon. This panel aims to investigate the demand and supply of the populist radical right in this geographical area by examining its electorate, its organizational structure, as well as its core ideological and programmatic features.
4. Authoritarian Tendencies in Southern Europe: Understanding the Radical Right's Resurgence
Recent political shifts in Southern Europe have highlighted a growing affinity for authoritarian ideologies, underscored by the rise of far-right parties and movements. This panel seeks to dissect the multifaceted dynamics behind this trend, examining the drivers that are bolstering support for the radical right, and aims to uncover the factors leading to a departure from democratic norms. Furthermore, the panel will assess the relationship between modern populist movements and traditional authoritarian ideologies.
5. Populist Attitudes and the COVID-19 Pandemic in Southern Europe
In Southern Europe, the rise of populism was deemed a likely political outcome of the restrictive measures enforced and the pandemic's social and economic impacts. This panel focuses on the demand side of this phenomenon: have populist attitudes become more widespread? Were they activated by the crisis? And what was their impact on the way citizens thought about and behaved vis-à-vis the pandemic?
6. Anti-Austerity Parties Ten Years Later
Ten years after the peak of the sovereign debt crisis, what happened to the anti-austerity parties that populated Southern Europe? This panel welcomes papers that focus on analysing the evolution of anti-austerity parties in Southern Europe: how they have changed in terms of ideological foundations, programmatic platforms, organization, leadership, and electoral sociology, and to understand the reasons behind these changes.
