DIViNE Doctoral Network (Democratic Institutions and Violence Network in Europe)
Democracies are often perceived as inherently peaceful and resilient, yet they experience a wide range of political violence that challenges this assumption. While democratic institutions can mitigate conflict, they are not immune to riots, social unrest, extremist mobilization, or criminal violence. Moreover, democracies may erode their own legitimacy when responding to these threats through militarized security forces, emergency legislation, or repressive measures that undermine the rule of law. Understanding such dynamics requires integrating insights from fields that have traditionally evolved in parallel—democracy studies, conflict research, and comparative politics. The DIViNE Doctoral Network (Democratic Institutions and Violence Network in Europe) unites leading European universities— Amsterdam, Essex, Milan, Madrid, and Uppsala —to train a new generation of researchers capable of analysing political violence in democratic contexts. The consortium builds on each institution’s unique strengths in quantitative conflict and behavioral analysis; in political theory, historical methods democratization research and in global data infrastructures and peace research. Together, they form a synergistic network that transcends disciplinary and methodological boundaries. DIViNE will provide doctoral researchers with cutting-edge training that combines large-scale data collection and computational methods with qualitative fieldwork, historical analysis, and theory-building. DIViNE will have four thematic work packages: WP1-Conflict inheritance and legacies in democracies; WP2- Democratization and conflict resolution; WP3- Dynamics of support for violent movements and responses; WP4-Democratic resilience and violent stress. By building a durable research infrastructure and fostering cross-national collaboration, DIViNE will position Europe at the forefront of research on how democratic institutions both constrain and reproduce political violence.
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Imported from OpenAIRE Italy | Grant 101312379.
Open sourceOverview
Grant agreement 101312379 | DIVINE
Open sourceDemocracies are often perceived as inherently peaceful and resilient, yet they experience a wide range of political violence that challenges this assumption. While democratic institutions can mitigate conflict, they are not immune to riots, social unrest, extremist mobilization, or criminal violence. Moreover, democracies may erode their own legitimacy when responding to these threats through militarized security forces, emergency legislation, or repressive measures that undermine the rule of law. Understanding such dynamics requires integrating insights from fields that have traditionally evolved in parallel—democracy studies, conflict research, and comparative politics. The DIViNE Doctoral Network (Democratic Institutions and Violence Network in Europe) unites leading European universities— Amsterdam, Essex, Milan, Madrid, and Uppsala —to train a new generation of researchers capable of analysing political violence in democratic contexts. The consortium builds on each institution’s unique strengths in quantitative conflict and behavioral analysis; in political theory, historical methods democratization research and in global data infrastructures and peace research. Together, they form a synergistic network that transcends disciplinary and methodological boundaries. DIViNE will provide doctoral researchers with cutting-edge training that combines large-scale data collection and computational methods with qualitative fieldwork, historical analysis, and theory-building. DIViNE will have four thematic work packages: WP1-Conflict inheritance and legacies in democracies; WP2- Democratization and conflict resolution; WP3- Dynamics of support for violent movements and responses; WP4-Democratic resilience and violent stress. By building a durable research infrastructure and fostering cross-national collaboration, DIViNE will position Europe at the forefront of research on how democratic institutions both constrain and reproduce political violence.