Projects / Programmes
Political science research programme
January 1, 2022
- December 31, 2027
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 5.06.00 |
Social sciences |
Political science |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 5.06 |
Social Sciences |
Political science |
Democracy, legitimacy, crisis, Slovenia, EU, globalisation, Europeanisation, institutions, public administration, public sector, elections, political parties, interest groups, civil society, protests, political knowledge, comparative research, political data, political science
Data for the last 5 years (citations for the last 10 years) on
April 22, 2024;
A3 for period
2018-2022
| Database |
Linked records |
Citations |
Pure citations |
Average pure citations |
| WoS |
99 |
384 |
328 |
3.31 |
| Scopus |
134 |
1,004 |
861 |
6.43 |
Researchers (13)
Organisations (1)
Abstract
This research programme is a continuation of the Political Science Research Programme - THE ONLY RESEARCH PROGRAMME IN SLOVENIA THAT SYSTEMATICALLY COLLECTS AND ANALYSES THE VARIOUS KINDS OF DATA ON THE DYNAMICS OF THE PRIMARY NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND ACTORS- INCLUDING ELECTIONS while taking into account both the internal and external variables. In the new programme period, our main RESEARCH GOAL is: (1) to further develop political data infrastructure for studying Slovenia in a comparative perspective; (2) to analyse the political transformations in Slovenia and the EU taking into account globalisation and de-globalisation processes; (3) to take part in the current debates on factors co-determining current processes of de-democratisation, polarisation, radicalisation, extremism in misuse of new technologies; (4) to take part in the current debates on social and political impacts of artificial intelligence and the 4th technological revolution; and (5) to analyse the responsiveness of the political elite to the increased global private governance. The MAIN RESEARCH QUESTIONS are: What are the key sources and mechanisms of de-democratization and how they are addressed? What are the key normative, structural and functional challenges in re-creating political managing of states (societies), world regions and global problem solving? Are health, environmental and economic crises factors or causes of radical political changes? What are the possible consequences of alternative scenarios of Slovenian and EU political systems? Which actors, resources, mechanisms and actions could provide alternatives and support the counter scenarios? How political science responds to rising social inequalities, technological revolution and crisis of democracy? In answering these research questions we will focus on several longitudinal RESEARCH PILLARS: DEMOCRACY, GOVERNANCE, LEGITIMACY as well as to: political institutions, political actors, political processes, public policies, political science and profession. The main RESEARCH STRATEGIES are: (1) studying Slovenia from an international comparative perspective; (2) linking the research focused on Slovenia to the current debates on challenges and alternatives to liberal democracy; (3) linking political science and interdisciplinary research; (4) communicating with the stakeholders and paying attention to research methods that allow for (5) an inclusive deliberation. RESEARCH METHODS: The research will be based on qualitative, quantitative and mixed-method research designs, paying special attention to longitudinal and international comparative studies. KEY RESULTS EXPECTED: (1) further develop international collaboration; (2) continuity in development of unique political debates and (3) to communicate with stakeholders.
Significance for science
The implementation of the Political Science research programme is crucial for the development of political science in Slovenia and for its integration into the main fields and streams of political science on the global scale. QUALITY POLITICAL SCIENCE RESEARCH in Slovenia also means enriching the findings of empirical research within a specific social, economic, cultural and political environment and thus contributes to the development of contemporary political science theories. With the already achieved level of INCLUSION IN REGIONAL AND WORLD political science connections, the Slovenian political science research has already become visible in the international academic community. In recent years, with visible publications in internationally recognized journals with SSCI factor or indexed in the SCOPUS database, we have worked intensively for STRENGTHENING THE INDEPENDENT INNOVATIVE POLITICAL SCIENCE contribution to international political science knowledge based on international comparative research and interdisciplinary research while pursuing an ambitious role in the international scientific political science community. This includes the preparation of a thematic issue in the Journal of Public Affairs (co-editor Danica Fink Hafner) on the topic of interest group system in the territory of former Yugoslavia, which is one of the first attempts of comparative research of interest groups in this area; the thematic issue in the journal Teorija in praksa about democracy and alternative models of democracy, which also marked the jubilee of political science research in Slovenia (editor Danica Fink Hafner); the thematic issue about de-democratization in the comparative case of Slovenia and Montenegro in Politics in Central Europe (co-editor Meta Novak) and the thematic issue on international academic mobility as social construct in Teorija in praksa (editors Danica Fink Hafner and Tanja Oblak Črnič). We also continue to research the interest group system and activities in Slovenia with numerous publications in, among others, Interest groups and advocacy, East European politics and societies (Danica Fink Hafner), Romanian Journal of Political Science, Journal of Southeast European & Black Sea studies and Journal of contemporary European research (Meta Novak and Damjan Lajh), while Meta Novak also co-authored a book with foreign authors, published by Palgrave Macmillan. Furthermore, the intensive research of the processes of Europeanization and globalization in higher education and the development of an appropriate research methodology in this field in collaboration with researchers from foreign universities in Europe and elsewhere is very important (South and North America, Asia, Africa). The research results were published in the journals Metodološki zvezki and Teorija in praksa under the lead-authorship of Danica Fink Hafner. An important part of the ongoing activities remains the research of political parties in relation to the broader issue of democracy and electoral studies and the research of the election campaigns. Research results have been, among others, published in Europe-Asia studies (Danica Fink Hafner), Problems of post-communism, Annales: anali za istrske in mediteranske študije, Series historia et sociologia, Politologický časopis, Politics in Central Europe (Alenka Krašovec), Party politics, Communist and Post-Communist Studies, Journal of comparative politics, Prispevki za novejšo zgodovino (Simona Kustec), Digital journalism, Revista românaa de ştiinţe politice, Zdravstveno varstvo: Slovenian journal of public health, and Lex localis - Journal of Local Self Government (Tomaž Deželan). In connection with the analysis and research of last elections in Slovenia in the, an edited volume with the title Volilno leto was published (editors Alenka Krašovec and Tomaž Deželan). Trends of de-democratization, especially in Slovenia, were also addressed in the monograph Populizem (Danica Fink Hafner). The political education and participation of the youth has been actively researched within the framework of the development of political science in Slovenia. The research results were published in Annales: anali za istrske in mediteranske študije, Series historia et sociologia, European journal of education, Educational philosophy and theory (Tomaž Deželan), Šolsko polje: revija za teorijo in raziskave vzgoje in izobraževanja, Družboslovne raziskave and Communications (Tanja Oblak Črnič). Within the framework of the ongoing health crisis, the responses of political elites to the COVID-19 pandemic were addressed in an article published in Politički život: časopis za analizu politike (Danica Fink Hafner). In addition to the numerous publications, the research group strengthens its links and connections with the international research community by participating in international conferences and workshops and organising meetings with the international research community in Slovenia.
Significance for the country
A) SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE: The research programme is just as important for Slovenia as all other research programmes addressing national identity and culture, and it is especially important for the development of publicly available databases in the field of research of political phenomena. POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS, THEIR FUNCTIONING, POLITICAL CULTURE, BEHAVIOR AND POLITICAL ACTIVITIES OF CIVIL SOCIETY, and how they change through history, are at least to some extent always unique for a specific society. Research results (especially the results of international comparative research) are valuable in the process of (TRANS)FORMATION OF INSTITUTIONS IN SLOVENIA, since Slovenian society and its political (sub)system adapts to the social, politico-cultural and institutional environment of the European Union and the globalized world. In the context of the Europeanisation of Slovenian politics, the issues of STRENGTHENING COMPETENT ACTIVITIES of the Slovenian political elites, institutions, public administration, political parties and civil society are becoming increasingly important in the new circumstances of the policy-making process and in the processes of implementation of public policies. Both processes are becoming more professionalised making the pursuit of Slovenian interests and the interests of Slovenian players relatively difficult and complex. We expect that the Slovenian political institutions will to an even greater extent express the need for cooperation with the political science profession in the future, especially in relation to the specific issues of institution-building and building of communication channels for effective multilevel political decision-making and implementation of common European policies in Slovenia. In addition, researchers of the Political Science Research programme are DEVELOPING a METHODOLOGY for social science research, such as connecting the Delphi and Focus Group methods, which also enables the development of political science itself. B) TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES: the flow of research knowledge into structuring the contents of postgraduate study as well as the connection of research work with postgraduate study is largely ensured given that researchers from the Political Science Research programme (Danica Fink Hafner, Damjan Lajh and Bogomil Ferfila) are the coordinators of master and doctoral political science programmes at the Faculty of Social Sciences in Ljubljana and active mentors to master and doctoral students. Employees in the Slovenian public administration are largely enrolled in these study programmes, while students of these programmes are employed in the public administration, non-governmental organizations and in the economy. APPLIED RESEARCH: The practice of target research projects has thus far ensured the transfer of applicable political science findings into the practice of political institutions (especially the development of methodologies for the evaluation of specific policies and the evaluation of specific policies). ADVISORY WORK AND EXPERTISE: continuation and development of current practice. In connection to this, the researchers of the Political Science Research programme regularly hold STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS, where they organise, together with non-state and state stakeholders, deliberative discussions on the basis of which the researchers also prepare recommendations primarily for improving the policy-making process. C) STRENGTHENING THE NATIONAL IDENTITY: The work of the research group will make an important contribution to a) national knowledge about the international ADVANTAGES AND WEAKNESSES of the functioning of the Slovenian political system and of the Slovenian political science, b) RECOGNITION of Slovenia in the international public (the latter especially through open access publications in foreign journals, presentations of research findings within the framework of cooperation with numerous foreign research organizations, through participation in all major international scientific conferences and workshops abroad and through organization of international scientific conferences and workshops in Slovenia). In the framework of European integration, we plan not only to DISSEMINATE research findings that reveal similarities and differences between Slovenia and old and new EU member states, but also to further develop DIDACTIC APPROACHES AND PUBLICATIONS for teaching European content with an informal approach in primary, secondary schools and youth centres. The research work will also contribute to the c) DEVELOPMENT OF SLOVENIAN POLITICAL SCIENCE TERMINOLOGY d) to STRENGTHENING DEMOCRATIC EDUCATIONAL PRACTICES and e) to ASSERTION OF SLOVENIAN POLITICAL SCIENCE IN THE INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL SCIENCE COMMUNITY (mainly by publishing abroad and by professional work in international projects and within political science regional and world associations).
