DFUTURE: CENTRE FOR DEMOCRATIC FUTURES

The VUB Centre for Democratic Futures (DFUTURE) focuses on studying contemporary democratic challenges and exploring innovative solutions to improve democratic processes. DFUTURE gathers more than 50 junior and senior researchers, whose research spans critical topics, including declining trust in democratic institutions, political inequality, polarization, and citizen disengagement from formal politics. The group examines key political actors, such as representatives, political parties, and civil society, across various democratic systems and structures, with a strong focus on the quality of democracy in Western Europe and interest in democratic backsliding. DFUTURE also has extensive experience with managing large research projects (EOS, ERC, ERA-NET, FWO, Horizon Europe, Innoviris, …).

DFUTURE is characterized by its interdisciplinary and multi-methodological approach. Researchers employ qualitative, quantitative, experimental, and comparative methods to address political issues from diverse democratic paradigms, including participatory, deliberative, and representative democracy. The group’s research also addresses the intersectionality of democratic inclusion, analyzing how factors like gender, ethnicity, and migration status affect political participation and representation.

The primary goal of DFUTURE is to develop a framework for democratic design that integrates research across these domains to propose solutions aimed at strengthening democratic governance. The group is dedicated to both identifying problems and advancing solutions, leveraging the expertise of its scholars and fostering synergies between their research areas.