The crisis of representative democracy and the inability of political elites to withstand contemporary challenges are evident across the world. However, the Euro-Mediterranean region appears particularly sensitive to the issue of political elite fragility for several reasons.
First, the European countries of the Mediterranean region have been severely affected by the crises of recent years, most notably economic recessions, the COVID-19 pandemic, and migration crises. Second, political uncertainty in many of these countries has often resulted in political stalemate and prolonged periods of government instability. Third, populism and sovereigntism, understood in their broader meanings and not confined to the extreme-right party family, are particularly prominent across much of the region.
How do these factors affect the resilience of political elites? How do they shape their composition and their attitudes towards representative democracy? And to what extent do they affect pro-European and supranational orientations, which have played a crucial role in the recent processes of democratization in Southern Europe and the Balkans?
This panel seeks to address these questions by welcoming both comparative contributions and case studies, provided that the latter focus on relevant cases and are framed within a comparative perspective. Preference will be given to papers based on original analyses of attitudinal and sociographic data concerning political elites and governing elites in Mediterranean countries, with the aim of developing a broader discussion of possible scenarios for elite consolidation, stability, and convergence. A particular emphasis will be given to the approaching critical elections in several South-European and Balkan countries in 2027 and 2028.
