In January 2019, REPRESENT co-hosted some very impressive researchers and participants from the OSCE region at a Winter School on Political Parties and Democracy in Warsaw. Our participants discussed a wide range of topics, and presented new research on political parties, party systems, elections, representative democracy, and the practical implications of these for democracy support.
The Winter was organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR), in partnership with the Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw and REPRESENT.
Marcin Walecki, Head of the ODIHR Democratization Department, stressed the unique combination of expertise this first ECPR/ODIHR Winter School brought together:
The variety and high level of the research presented, as well as the number of OSCE participating States represented at the Winter School, is evidence of the distinctive importance of bringing academics and practitioners together in Warsaw to discuss current challenges to political party systems across the OSCE region.
Irina Kulikova, one of our participants, told us the Winter School was a very valuable opportunity:
This event is an excellent opportunity in my professional and academic career, offering a solid link between the study of political parties and the international human rights framework. Feedback and insights received from leading professors, researchers and practitioners have been invaluable.
For more details see the OSCE-ODIHR website.