common concern with efficient political systems: state sustainability and democratic resilience
Nea_Polis literally means new city. Modern political systems are large-scale units that are becoming increasingly complex in terms of the institutions they comprise and the policy issues that have to manage. Their main scope is to uphold the sustainability of the state and the resilience of democratic institutions in the course of transforming public problems and demands into coherent public policies. We are concerned with sustaining conditions of an equilibrium in the functioning of political systems. Much like a computer system, any political system needs regural upgrade of its «harware» (i.e. institutions) as well as updating and sync of its «software» (i.e. public policies and political practices) in order to safeguard its capacity to efficiently respond to a constantly changing wider context and unforeseen challenges and crises. Political systems do not rest on AI apps, but instead their functioning rests on human choices, that is the choices made by voters, heads and members of government and other political and societal actors. This is an era in which political systems thought to be resilient and efficient are faced with shortcomings in democratic representation and legitimacy (e.g. drop in the rates of trust in political institutions, rise of antisystemic parties), which to a certain extend stems from the fact that they are lagging behind in adapting their major policies to new demands and challenges. Hence, government leadership, other policy-making actors (e.g. public administration, interest groups) and citizens are engaged into a common pursuit of deepening democracy and delivering even better policy results. Therefore, it becomes all the more important to provide the means for effective «steering» (i.e. choice of government leadership, political support, policy planning) and «rowing» (i.e. policy implementation, capacity of public administration, role of other policy actors). This means fostering in practice the principles inter alia of deliberation, accountability, transparency, while sustainability and fair representation, and in the meantime advancing the required leadership skills at different levels of political and administrative workings.
new avenues for civic engagement
Data from different political systems suggest an increasing fatigue, or even disillusion, with party politics. Yet, active citizens seek alternative ways to voice their concerns and have a stake in decision-making. Thanks to digital technology, avenues for policy implementation and civic engagement have mushroomed in recent years. Citizens may find it difficult to cope with the complexity and range of goverment affairs, but they are increasingly concerned with the delivery of sound policy results. Hence, they expect effective modes of holding governments accountable with reference to credible data, which enable oversight of performance and comparison with policy trends across political systems. This is especially important in the EU context, which offers a range of common policy tasks and the oversight of achievements with reference to average rates (EU medium policy scores). Citizens are more eager to exert pressure on national authorities to comply with policy standards set at the EU level, while policy preferences are largely shaped by forms of networking and political interaction within intergovernmental bodies and largely as a result of interaction among policy actors in the European public space.
the nexus of public administration
One of the things that is being overlooked is that public administration at large is emerging as an essential nexus between leadership and citizenship in almost every aspect of the cycle of policy-making, from drafting proposals, to drawing-up, legislating, implementing and assessing policy targets. Digital transformation creates new opportunities and demands for delivering public services, but requires regular upgrading of resources and structures.
responsive leadership
We set out to explore innovative ways to interlink leadership, administration and citizenship in ways that uphold sustainable and resilient democratic governance. We point out that the term responsive better describes how each of the three actors – leaders, citizens and public sector servants – should relate to each other. Responsiveness refers to advancing public causes, sharing resources, mutually reinforcing initiatives, overcoming policy gridlocks, valuing consent as much as contestation. Above all, it points to streamlining the claim for free and equal citizenship, and care for the least advantaged, in every aspect of policy-making.
a dynamic network
Analysis and empirical insights for Nea_Polis is substantially enriched by our constant interaction with fellow-academics, students in under-and-post-graduate studies and public servants. Indeed, a dynamic Nea_Polis network of people with similar concerns and fruitful contributions has evolved that instigates brainstorming and new approaches. Our activities include mentoring and webinars, data research, bibliography review and reading lists, policy proposals and common causes. We work together with different focus groups: students, public servants, members of parliament and government, local and regional administration authorities, civil society organization staff.
manos’ background
Nea_Polis is supervised by the Associate Professor in Political Systems Manos Papazoglou (Department of Political Systems and International Relations, University of the Peloponnese link). Manos holds a PhD in Government (Essex University, UK, PhD thesis on Citizenship and Democratic Legitimacy in the European Union: Euro-Republicanism and the Concept of Responsive Citizenship, 2005). He also received a Master’s Degree in Political Philosophy from the Politics Department, York University, UK (2001) and a BA in Political Science and Public Administration from the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Athens (2000). Manos has taught in British and Greek Universities: Visiting Lecturer at the University of London, Goldsmiths College, Department of Politics, Visiting Lecturer at the London Metropolitan University, Open University of Greece and the and Athens University of Economics and Business/ International MBA course. Currently, Manos’ yearly teaching agenda includes four courses in Political Science topics at the University of the Peloponnese, five different MA courses in EU studies and Public Policy at his department’s MA programs and two MA courses in Public Administration in distance-learning programs at the Universities of Neapolis Pafos and Open (Greece).
Nea_Polis 