RED-SPINEL – Responding to Emerging Dissensus. SuPranational Instruments and Norms of European Democracy (2022-2025)

Since September 2022, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee has been actively involved in the RED-SPINEL research project, funded by the Horizon Europe Programme of the European Commission, and coordinated by IEE-ULB.

Over a period of 36 months, RED-SPINEL aims at analyzing the illiberal contestation over liberal democracy and identifying the actors of dissensus surrounding democracy as well as its impact on the EU’s legal and political system. The project strives to facilitate democratic practices by developing policy recommendations and a clearer understanding of the political and ideological debates concerning democracy. 

The academic institutions and civil organizations involved in RED-SPINEL will focus their research on key policy instruments and legal mechanisms shaping the EU’s efforts in support of democracy and the rule of law. The studied instruments include the EU rule of law toolbox, the neighborhood and accession instruments, the European semester, fundamental rights and judicial instruments, as well as citizen participation platforms.

The project involves 11 partner organisation representing the academia as well as civil society from 8 European countries: Université libre de Bruxelles (Belgium), Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli (Italy), Universiteit van Amsterdam (Netherlands), Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai (Romania), HEC Paris (France), Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu (Poland), University of Warwick (United Kingdom), PATRIR (Romania), Milieu Consulting (Belgium), Hungarian Helsinki Committee (Hungary) and Stichting Nederlands Instituut voor Internationale Betrekkingen Clingendael (Netherlands).

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