Political Process Preferences in Europe: Rethinking Conceptual, Ontological and Methodological Foundations

Introduction

To understand the levels of dissatisfaction with democratic performance in Europe, as well as the most effective reforms for addressing it, requires an understanding of citizens’ process preferences: how do they want democracies to function? Empirical research on process preferences is rapidly proliferating, but it has been underpinned by an assumption that the task of this research is to discover which one of a set of abstract, normative models of democracy citizens subscribe to.

Limitations of Current Research

The driving idea behind PoPPiE is that this assumption is a serious limitation. It has led the study of process preferences to focus on discrete choices between simple alternatives that fail to represent the real choices facing the inhabitants of complex democratic systems. Additionally, it has neglected the extent to which individuals are conflicted between competing democratic norms. This limitation prevents robust inferences on important questions, such as levels of polarization and support for democratic innovations.

New Approach

PoPPiE develops a groundbreaking new approach to rethink the conceptual, ontological, and methodological foundations for researching political process preferences.

Key Innovations

1. Re-conceptualization of Process Preferences:

   • By applying democratic systems theory to re-conceptualize the content of process preferences, it will generate a wholly new conceptual understanding of preferences for complex democratic systems, rather than ideal models of democracy.

2. Multidimensional Theoretical Framework:

   • Instead of assuming that the nature of process preferences is inherently ideological, PoPPiE uses a novel multidimensional theoretical framework to assess levels of contextuality, conditionality, and coherence in process preferences.

3. Mixed Methods Approach:

   • It develops a new mixed methods approach, producing a unique dataset that combines qualitative and quantitative data on a single individual’s preference.

Conclusion

The new approach will not only strengthen the foundations of the science of process preferences but also ensure its findings are more policy-relevant for the project of renewing European democracies.