CES coordinates European research on the rise of authoritarianism and the future of democracy

The Centre for Social Studies (CES) at the University of Coimbra will coordinate a European project dedicated to studying why authoritarian regimes and discourses are increasingly appealing to growing numbers of people, and what is essential to counter this trend. Entitled DeAppeal | Deconstructing and Resisting Autocratic Appeal to Revitalise Democracy, the project is funded by the European Commission under the Horizon Europe programme.

Democracy is under siege. Across the world, populist and authoritarian leaders are eroding institutions from within, normalising practices that contradict democratic values, and gaining support at a pace that challenges conventional explanations. DeAppeal begins with a simple yet increasingly urgent question: what makes these political projects so attractive to so many people? And what is required to reinvigorate democratic life?

To address these questions, the project brings together a consortium of 11 organisations across 11 countries (Brazil, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, and Zimbabwe), including universities, research centres, and communication and civil society organisations. Researchers from sociology, political science, psychology, communication studies, law, and history will combine their perspectives to examine 16 historical and contemporary contexts, within and beyond Europe, in order to map how authoritarianism expands and what forms of resistance emerge against it.

One of the project’s central areas of focus is the digital sphere. Social media, algorithms, and data surveillance have become powerful instruments both for amplifying authoritarian messages and for organising resistance against them. DeAppeal aims to understand how
these mechanisms operate and how they may be challenged.

However, the project will not remain confined to academic research. Its findings will be transformed into practical tools, co-created with citizens, activists, journalists, educators, and policymakers: media literacy workshops, creative laboratories, and educational materials designed to strengthen societies against disinformation and growing scepticism towards science.

DeAppeal will begin on 1 October 2026 and will run for three years. The project is coordinated by Cristiano Gianolla, and the CES team includes Giovanni Allegretti, Inês Amaral, Júlia Garraio, Lisete Mónico, Luciana Sotero, and Maria Elena Indelicato.

For further information, please contact: Cristiano Gianolla | cgianolla@ces.uc.pt