Workpackage 3: Studying Political Leaders in the Financial Crisis.
This WP3 investigates the nexus of political leadership and legitimacy in the European Union with a specific focus on political leaders during the financial crisis. It will provide empirically grounded insights in the interaction between their policy ideas, dominant discourses and citizen’s perceptions of Europe. As such, this work package will contribute to a better understanding of how political leaders may initiate sensible crisis measures while remaining responsive to dominant public discourses. We will make use of special software tools that will enable us to study leaders from a distance. This will clarify where, when and how leaders may help resolve the inherent tension between democratic legitimacy, political leadership and expertise that characterizes much EU decision-making.