Political trust and legitimacy are foundational to the functioning of representative democracies, and especially during periods of significant change and turmoil. Since the founding of the European Union (EU), European democracies have undergone fundamental transformations, compounded by multiple crises. These coincide with societal polarisation, exemplified by political conflicts over migration, climate change, or gender, to cite a few. The need to restore legitimacy and trust is heightened by existential challenges to the EU’s democratic model, such as democratic backsliding in some Member States and external threats, underscoring the importance of resilience in the face of military aggression, disinformation and hybrid warfare.

However, establishing and maintaining stable trust in these polarised conditions is particularly challenging in the EU’s multi-level system. The EU’s shared responsibilities across local, regional, national, and European levels make restoring legitimacy and trust difficult but critical for overcoming societal polarisation and facilitating democratic change and resilience.

The ActEU project (Activating European Citizens’ Trust in Times of Crises and Polarization), funded within the Horizon Europe framework, aims to conceptualise and empirically measure political trust and legitimacy beyond conventional methods, addressing how policy-makers and civil society can effectively respond to these challenges to sustain democratic governance. To delve into these vital issues, we organised the ActEU Doctoral School, “Democratic Frontiers: Charting Pathways for Trust and Participation in European Governance”, which took place in Brussels from 10 to 13 February 2025.

Objectives and key questions

The ActEU Doctoral School aimed to deepen PhD researchers’ understanding of political trust and legitimacy within the polarised EU multi-level system of governance. Through a multi-method approach, participants gained insights into the “ActEU triangle” – the interrelationship between political attitudes, political behaviour and (feelings of) political representation -, enhancing their analytical skills and research methodologies. The Doctoral School also encouraged collaborative efforts, enabling young researchers to present their research in peer-review exercises and opening opportunities to co-author publications, with the goal of continuing these academic partnerships beyond the seminar.

Among others, the Doctoral School addressed the following key questions:

• How can political trust and legitimacy be effectively conceptualised and measured in the context of a multi-level European Union?
• What impact does societal polarisation on issues such as immigration, climate change, and gender policy have on the trust and legitimacy of democratic institutions?
• What roles do political actors, administrative officials, and civil society representatives play in restoring trust and legitimacy in European multi-layered systems?
• What are the most relevant factors to make European political institutions trustworthy (again)? Should we develop target group-specific measures (e.g., for young vs. older citizens; for well-informed vs. less informed citizens; for engaged vs. disengaged citizens; for poorer vs. richer citizens)?
• How can collaborative efforts between various stakeholders (political and administrative actors as well as the citizenry) contribute to overcoming the challenges of political trust and legitimacy in European democracies?

Format & Eligibility

Under the academic coordination of Prof Dr Daniela Braun (Saarland University, ActEU conceptual leader), the ActEU Doctoral School was an international training programme that alternated between framing presentations by senior researchers, in-depth discussions of field realities and exchanges on emerging research by participating PhD students.

The ActEU Doctoral School ran a call for applications open to PhD researchers who develop their research in the following areas:

• the study of representative democracy in Europe,
• the empirical investigation of citizen politics: e.g., political trust, public opinion, citizens’ participation in Europe, the (feelings) of representation through political parties and social movements,
• the study of societal polarisation in European societies,
• the investigation of multi-level systems (with a predominant focus on Europe),
• or any other topics related to representative democracy in Europe.

The call for applications closed on 24 November 2024 (midnight).

Terms and conditions

Participation in the ActEU Doctoral School was free of charge. However, in order to secure their seats the selected applicants were asked to transfer a deposit of € 100 to be refunded upon participation in the seminar. Additionally, participants in the seminar received a reimbursement for their travel and accommodation costs up to € 450 upon presentation of the original receipts and tickets, and a € 15 per diem for each day when lunch was not provided.