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Call key data
The autocratic appeal: nature, drivers and strategies
Funding Program
Horizon Europe: Cluster 2 - Culture, Creativity and Inclusive society
Call number
HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-DEMOCRACY-07
deadlines
Opening
15.05.2025
Deadline
16.09.2025 17:00
Funding rate
100%
Call budget
€ 10,500,000.00
Estimated EU contribution per project
between € 3,000,000.00 and € 3,500,000.00
Link to the call
Link to the submission
Call content
short description
Proposals should investigate how to effectively protect democracies from autocratic tendencies and narratives.
Call objectives
In many parts of the world, democracies are under attack. Reports and indicators confirm that we are in an ongoing wave of autocratisation, with the number of autocracies increasing steadily since around the turn of the century. Instead of the announced “end of history” through the triumph of the liberal democratic order, authoritarianism seems to have gained appeal while the democratisation wave rolls back. The ongoing invasion of a democratic European country by an authoritarian regime is just one token, and consequence, of the current autocratisation wave.
How does autocracy work in the twenty-first century? Why does authoritarianism continue to spread, not only as an alternative to, but also within liberal democracy, where populist leaders frequently deploy authoritarian tactics and practices, weakening and eroding the rule of law from the inside, while continuing to gain strength and popularity? The growing acceptance of autocratic approaches in well-functioning established democracies is an under-researched phenomenon, and therefore scientific knowledge and understanding of those tendencies could contribute to the development of tools to counteract them. Social and psychological aspects, as well as philosophical and historical dimensions, will need to be considered for such an analysis. Historical experiences with autocratic regimes can shed light on commonalities and differences, so that the lessons from the past underpin current analysis and responses.
Resistance against autocratisation requires also further investigation. While not overlooking structural pre-conditions, patterns of autocratisation, as well as the motivations and strategies used by authoritarian actors, the research to be funded should also look at the actors resisting autocratisation and their strategies, investigating the modalities, actors and patterns of resistance against processes of autocratisation, so as to generate updated and exploitable scientific knowledge on this field. Could media literacy, culture, creativity and arts, for instance, play a role in stemming autocratic tendencies? What role is left to LGBTIQ people and religious, migrant or ethnic minorities, usually targeted by autocrats and populist leaders, in the resistance playbook against autocracies? Could the heteronormative and whitewashing activities of autocracies, visible in different domains such as culture and arts, entertainment industry, tourism or sports, be also resisted and counteracted?
Particularly striking, among those strategies to distract from persistent authoritarian practices, is the adoption of gender-equality reforms by some autocracies to boost their international image. While increased autocracy and anti-democratic tendencies go hand in hand with the global setback on gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights, proposals should not overlook the causes and consequences of autocracies’ pursuit of gender equality. This will shed light on the overall patterns and drivers of autocracies in the twenty-first century.
The resistance against autocratisation tendencies has also moved into the digital realm, in order to counteract the “digital authoritarianism” to which authoritarian and authoritarian-leaning leaders have resorted to. In the digital age, authoritarian power is built and sustained in transnational and globalized configurations that involve state and non-state actors, cutting across regime types. Via online censorship, internet shutdowns, digital surveillance and online disinformation and information manipulation, aspiring autocrats try to silence and disable access to information. Proposals should aim at disentangling the actor configurations engaged in digital authoritarian practices and investigate how these practices fit within the larger authoritarian playbook. In parallel, they should also focus on the challenges brought by resistance to digital authoritarianism, such as protests and investigative research and advocacy, enriching the analysis of the resistance playbook.
Proposals should investigate how to effectively protect democracies from autocratic tendencies and narratives. What means and strategies for protection are at the disposal of different stakeholders (public authorities, civil society organisations, media, citizens)? How can autocratic reforms be reversed and overcome without resorting to anti-democratic means (e.g. party bans, presidential executive orders, censoring) nor inducing large protests leading to increased polarisation?
Proposals could also look into the interrelations between the phenomena of science scepticism and science-denial, distrust in democracies and the autocratic appeal. Proposals should adopt a multidisciplinary, and actor-based, approach, integrating fields such as political science, law, sociology, philosophy, psychology, media and digital studies, gender studies, and history. Proposals should engage citizens, civil society organisations etc. in the development of their activities to ensure calibration and uptake.
The rise of autocracies and populisms in Europe is not an isolated phenomenon and needs to be looked at within a global context. Therefore, international cooperation is encouraged.
Proposals are encouraged to seek collaboration whenever possible with relevant projects selected under previous EU-funded calls, such as HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01-05, under Horizon Europe, or GOVERNANCE-03-2018, SU-GOVERNANCE-09-2020 and SU-GOVERNANCE-11-2018, under Horizon 2020. Clustering and cooperation with other selected projects under this topic and other relevant projects are strongly encouraged.
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Expected results
Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
- Policymakers, public authorities and citizens at large are equipped with updated and exploitable scientific knowledge (including through SSH disciplines and fields) and understanding of the increasing autocratic tendencies, also in established democracies, including digital authoritarianism and erosion of human rights, as well as of the factors contributing to the rise of these tendencies (including the spread of disinformation in the public sphere, public disparagement of the rule of law, excessive use of police force, demonization of political opposition...).
- Public authorities, journalists and publics alike are provided with methods and tools capable of a) early warning and characterisation of autocratic tendencies, their drivers and strategies; and b) identifying tactics for resisting and combating them.
- Relevant actors (democratic governments, media, civil society organisations) are enabled to take more informed decisions when engaging and dealing with autocracies.
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Eligibility Criteria
Regions / countries for funding
Moldova (Moldova), Albania (Shqipëria), Armenia (Հայաստան), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosna i Hercegovina / Босна и Херцеговина), Canada, Faeroes (Føroyar / Færøerne), Georgia (საქართველო), Iceland (Ísland), Israel (ישראל / إِسْرَائِيل), Kosovo (Kosova/Kosovë / Косово), Montenegro (Црна Гора), New Zealand (Aotearoa), North Macedonia (Северна Македонија), Norway (Norge), Serbia (Srbija/Сpбија), Tunisia (تونس /Tūnis), Türkiye, Ukraine (Україна), United Kingdom
eligible entities
EU Body, Education and training institution, Natural Person, Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) / Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Other, Private institution, incl. private company (private for profit), Public Body (national, regional and local; incl. EGTCs), Research Institution incl. University, Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME)
Mandatory partnership
Yes
Project Partnership
To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:
- the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions
- the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States
- countries associated to Horizon Europe - see list of particpating countries
Only legal entities forming a consortium are eligible to participate in actions provided that the consortium includes, as beneficiaries, three legal entities independent from each other and each established in a different country as follows:
- at least one independent legal entity established in a Member State; and
- at least two other independent legal entities, each established in different Member States or Associated Countries.
Any legal entity, regardless of its place of establishment, including legal entities from non-associated third countries or international organisations (including international European research organisations) is eligible to participate (whether it is eligible for funding or not), provided that the conditions laid down in the Horizon Europe Regulation have been met, along with any other conditions laid down in the specific call topic.
A ‘legal entity’ means any natural or legal person created and recognised as such under national law, EU law or international law, which has legal personality and which may, acting in its own name, exercise rights and be subject to obligations, or an entity without legal personality.
other eligibility criteria
Specific cases:
- Affiliated entities (i.e. entities with a legal or capital link to a beneficiary which participate in the action with similar rights and obligations to the beneficiaries, but which do not sign the grant agreement and therefore do not become beneficiaries themselves) are allowed, if they are eligible for participation and funding.
- Associated partners (i.e. entities which participate in the action without signing the grant agreement, and without the right to charge costs or claim contributions) are allowed, subject to any conditions regarding associated partners set out in the specific call conditions.
- Entities which do not have legal personality under their national law may exceptionally participate, provided that their representatives have the capacity to undertake legal obligations on their behalf, and offer guarantees to protect the EU’s financial interests equivalent to those offered by legal persons.
- Legal entities created under EU law (EU bodies) including decentralised agencies may be part of the consortium, unless provided for otherwise in their basic act.
- International European research organisations are eligible to receive funding. International organisations with headquarters in a Member State or Associated Country are eligible to receive funding for ‘Training and mobility’ actions or when provided for in the specific call/topic conditions. Other international organisations are not eligible to receive funding, unless provided for in the specific call/topic conditions, or if their participation is considered essential for implementing the action by the granting authority.
- Joint Research Centre (JRC)— Where provided for in the specific call conditions, applicants may include in their proposals the possible contribution of the JRC but the JRC will not participate in the preparation and submission of the proposal. Applicants will indicate the contribution that the JRC could bring to the project based on the scope of the topic text. After the evaluation process, the JRC and the consortium selected for funding may come to an agreement on the specific terms of the participation of the JRC. If an agreement is found, the JRC may accede to the grant agreement as beneficiary requesting zero funding or participate as an associated partner, and would accede to the consortium as a member.
- Associations and interest groupings — Entities composed of members (e.g. European research infrastructure consortia (ERICs)) may participate as ‘sole beneficiaries’ or ‘beneficiaries without legal personality’. However, if the action is in practice implemented by the individual members, those members should also participate (either as beneficiaries or as affiliated entities, otherwise their costs will NOT be eligible.
- EU restrictive measures — Entities subject to EU restrictive measures under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU) as well as Article 75 TFEU, are not eligible to participate in any capacity, including as beneficiaries, affiliated entities, associated partners, third parties giving in-kind contributions, subcontractors or recipients of financial support to third parties (if any).
- Legal entities established in Russia, Belarus, or in non-government controlled territories of Ukraine — Given the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the involvement of Belarus, there is currently no appropriate context allowing the implementation of the actions foreseen in this programme with legal entities established in Russia, Belarus, or in non-government controlled territories of Ukraine. Therefore, even where such entities are not subject to EU restrictive measures, such legal entities are not eligible to participate in any capacity. This includes participation as beneficiaries, affiliated entities, associated partners, third parties giving in-kind contributions, subcontractors or recipients of financial support to third parties (if any). Exceptions may be granted on a case-by-case basis for justified reasons.
With specific regard to measures addressed to Russia, following the adoption of the Council Regulation (EU) 2024/1745 of 24 June 2024 (amending Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 of 31 July 2014) concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine, legal entities established outside Russia but whose proprietary rights are directly or indirectly owned for more than 50% by a legal person, entity or body established in Russia are also not eligible to participate in any capacity. - Measures for the protection of the Union budget against breaches of the principles of the rule of law in Hungary — Following the Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2506, as of 16 December 2022, no legal commitments can be entered into with Hungarian public interest trusts established under the Hungarian Act IX of 2021 or any entity they maintain. Affected entities may continue to apply to calls for proposals and can participate without receiving EU funding, as associated partners, if allowed by the call conditions. However, as long as the Council measures are not lifted, such entities are not eligible to participate in any funded role (beneficiaries, affiliated entities, subcontractors, recipients of financial support to third parties, etc.).In case of multi-beneficiary grant calls, applicants will be invited to remove or replace that entity in any funded role and/or to change its status into associated partner. Tasks and budget may be redistributed accordingly.
Additional information
Topics
Relevance for EU Macro-Region
EUSAIR - EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region, EUSALP - EU Strategy for the Alpine Space, EUSBSR - EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, EUSDR - EU Strategy for the Danube Region
UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs)
Additional Information
Applications must be submitted electronically via the Funders & Tenders Portal electronic submission system (accessible via the topic page in the Search Funding & Tenders section). Paper submissions are NOT possible.
Applications must be submitted using the forms provided inside the electronic submission system (not the templates available on the topic page, which are only for information). The structure and presentation must correspond to the instructions given in the forms.
Applications must be complete and contain all parts and mandatory annexes and supporting documents.
The application form will have two parts:
- Part A (to be filled in directly online) contains administrative information about the applicant organisations (future coordinator and beneficiaries and affiliated entities), the summarised budget for the proposal and call-specific questions;
- Part B (to be downloaded from the Portal submission system, completed and then assembled and re-uploaded as a PDF in the system) contains the technical description of the project.
Annexes and supporting documents will be directly available in the submission system and must be uploaded as PDF files (or other formats allowed by the system).
The limit for a full application (Part B) is 50 pages.
Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025). It is mandatory to submit a detailed budget table using the template available in the Submission system.
Call documents
Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025 Cluster 2 - Culture, Creativity and Inclusive SocietyHorizon Europe Work Programme 2025 Cluster 2 - Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society(1200kB)
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