The Observatory monitors and analyses how illiberal politics and culture wars are reshaping democracies across the globe. Through comparative research, expert collaboration, and accessible insights, it highlights threats to rights, pluralism, and democratic resilience.
About the Observatory
The European Observatory on Illiberalism and Culture Wars is a research initiative dedicated to understanding one of the most pressing global challenges: the rise of illiberal politics and the increasing centrality of cultural conflict in democratic life.
Across the world, political and legal disagreements are increasingly reframed as moral and identity-based struggles — the so-called culture wars. These dynamics, often intertwined with populist narratives, directly affect fundamental rights, pluralism, and institutional legitimacy, while eroding the resilience of democratic systems.
The Observatory provides a systematic, comparative, and interdisciplinary platform to map, monitor, and interpret these developments, offering rigorous yet accessible insights for scholars, journalists, policymakers, and the wider public.
Objectives
The initiative is conceived as a collaborative pilot project relying on voluntary coordination. Its objectives are:
- Monitoring: Track illiberal discourses, legislative regressions, and polarizing events in diverse democratic contexts;
- Analysis: Examine how cultural conflict is instrumentalized politically to undermine liberal-democratic norms;
- Knowledge Transfer: Provide timely, research-based commentary and synthesis for both academic and policy debates;
- Institutional Development: Build the foundations for a permanent programme capable of attracting competitive funding and gaining global visibility.
Thematic Scope
The Observatory focuses on the intersection between illiberal politics, culture wars, and democratic resilience. Key areas include:
- Attacks on fundamental rights (e.g., freedom of expression, gender equality, minority protection);
- Political and legislative pressures on the rule of law and constitutional safeguards;
- The weaponization of debates on national identity, migration, religion, gender, and historical memory;
- The convergence of populist movements with illiberal narratives that challenge pluralism and institutional legitimacy.
Although special attention will be given to Europe, the Observatory is explicitly global in scope, fostering comparative perspectives across regions such as the Americas, Africa, and Asia.
Methodology
The pilot phase will operate as a flexible, low-cost platform, combining monitoring, comparative research, and collaborative knowledge-sharing. The approach includes:
- Media and discourse monitoring in selected countries across Europe and beyond;
- Narrative and legal framing analysis of key themes (e.g., “gender ideology,” “great replacement,” anti-woke policies, memory politics);
- Collaboration with academic partners and national experts, producing short analyses and thematic updates;
- Quarterly briefings and alerts, synthesizing trends and offering comparative insights;
- Outreach and partnership-building to attract institutional collaboration and prepare applications for competitive funding.
The Observatory will begin as a modular initiative requiring only coordination, content curation, and editorial oversight — all ensured on a voluntary basis during the initial stage.
Call for Volunteers
Join the European Observatory on Illiberalism and Culture Wars
The European Observatory on Illiberalism and Culture Wars, hosted within the European Center for Populism Studies (ECPS), is opening a call for volunteers to join its growing research network.
Why get involved?
By becoming part of the Observatory, you will:
- Be part of a transnational research initiative mapping and analyzing the rise of illiberalism and culture wars across Europe and beyond;
- Collaborate with an international network of scholars, experts, and practitioners committed to defending democracy, pluralism, and fundamental rights;
- Gain visibility and impact through co-authored analyses, thematic briefings, and collaborative outputs published under the Observatory’s platform;
- Contribute to events, publications, and debates, helping to shape an emerging field of research and influence the public and academic discussion;
- Strengthen your academic and professional profile by engaging with an institutionally recognized European research center (ECPS).
What we are looking for
We welcome applications from:
- Early-career researchers, PhD candidates, and postdocs working on democracy, populism, illiberalism, identity politics, or related areas;
- Established scholars and practitioners who wish to contribute their expertise to a collaborative and policy-relevant research environment;
- Volunteers with interest in research, content curation, monitoring of national contexts, and transnational comparative analysis.
How we work?
The Observatory operates as a flexible, collaborative platform, initially in pilot phase and with no financial requirements. Volunteers will contribute short analyses, monitoring reports, or thematic updates, coordinated through a common editorial structure. Contributions will be acknowledged and published under the Observatory’s name, ensuring collective visibility and authorship.
Be part of it
If you want to join a pan-European network that bridges academia, media, and policy, and contribute to building a long-term programme within ECPS, we would be delighted to hear from you.
To express interest, please contact us at jfd@populismstudies.org, including a short bio and a note on your research interests.