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This abstract draws on findings from research deliverable D3.3 on transitions and postcolonialism, which has been submitted but is not yet published. It is written by Elina Hakoniemi (DEMOS), Emilia Palonen (University of Helsinki), Anna Björk (DEMOS) and Alexander Alekseev (University of Helsinki) – Finland The Finnish welfare state was built on a strong, nationalistic SC emphasizing state responsibility, social rights, and equal access to citizenship for Finnish nationals

This abstract draws on findings from research deliverable D3.3 on transitions and postcolonialism, which has been submitted but is not yet published.It its written Ana Matan, University of Zagreb – Croatia. Croatia’s ancien régime developed within socialist Yugoslavia, a distinct socialist system marked by non-alignment with the Soviet bloc, workers’ self-management, and a strong indigenous communist movement under its leader Tito. The SC was twofold: between the socialist r

This abstract draws on findings from research deliverable D3.3 on transitions and postcolonialism, which has been submitted but is not yet published. It its written by André Caiado, Vanda Amaro Dias, Cristiano Gianolla and Rui Carvalho, Centre for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra – Portugal Portugal’s transition to democracy constitutes a multidimensional process shaped by the abrupt collapse of a long-standing authoritarian period (1926-1974), rapid decolonizatio

Elina Hakoniemi, Demos Helsinki Annika Teppo, Uppsala University Mats Hyvönen, Uppsala University This blog post is based on yet unpublished research papers, T3.2 and T3.3, written for the CO3 project by researchers at Demos Helsinki, Uppsala University and the University of Helsinki. Finland and Sweden are often seen as close institutional siblings. Since the 16th century, Finland’s institutions were shaped as part of the Kingdom of Sweden (until 1809). While following diffe

By Prof. Claudia Wiesner, Dr Jessica Schmidt and Dr. Muriel C. Wenzel. Democracy is widely described as being in crisis. Elections still take place, constitutions remain formally intact, and democratic language is ubiquitous, yet trust is declining, participation is uneven, and political conflict feels harder to resolve. What is far less clear, however, is why democracy appears to be in crisis – or whether it is just changing. The literature does not offer a single answer. In

In December 2025, scholars from across Europe gathered in Fulda for the conference “Social Contracts and Democracy in Times of the Anthropocene – Thinking Beyond Crisis.” The post-conference report is now available. Bringing together interdisciplinary perspectives, it captures key debates on how planetary transformations reshape democracy, legitimacy and governance. The report traces emerging discussions on eco-social contracts, adaptive forms of politics, and the future of d

The Report of Country Case Methodology (D3.1)  lays the empirical and conceptual foundation for CO3’s next phase — detailed country analyses (D3.2, D3.3) and cross-European syntheses. It demonstrates how integrating historical depth , digital ethnography , and collaborative comparative methods  can illuminate the complex realities of Europe’s social contracts. The Report of Country Case Methodology (Deliverable 3.1) was written by Annika Teppo and Mats Hyvönen, with contribut

The Report on the deep roots of the social contract of the research project CO3 - COntinuous COnstruction of resilient social COntracts through societal transformations (deliverable D2.2) provides an overview of the impact and legacy of empires and authoritarian regimes on European Social Contracts. The report was written by André Caiado, Vanda Amaro Dias, Cristiano Gianolla, Daniela Nascimento, Gustavo García-López, Rui Carvalho, and other CO3 Consortium partners (country ca

This contribution pursues two main objectives: (i) Providing a general roadmap of the history of social contract theories, distinguishing its main phases, based on recent scholarship; (ii) Proposing a mapping of the different options along several dimensions that are constitutive of the CO3 project: democratic/undemocratic; continuous/one shot; empirically sensitive/a priori; inclusive/exclusive; and the kind of theories of justice they promote. This report is written by Nath

The CO3 project focuses on researching social contracts in a time of geopolitical turmoil marked by growing political and affective polarisation, the ecological and climate crises, the rise of populism, the decay of Welfare States, intense technology politics driven by the rapid advancement of digital technologies and most recently, trade wars. This framework is a transition point between our theoretical and historical analysis and our empirical research. It was written by An

This document provides a detailed exploration of social contract theories, tracing their evolution from classical foundations to contempo...