On 14 July 2026, members of the REDIRECT team at the University of Siena met in Florence for an internal research brainstorming session dedicated to ongoing publications, emerging findings and future collaborative work. The meeting offered an opportunity to take stock of research currently being developed within and around the project, while creating space for discussion of theoretical arguments, methodological choices and publication strategies. Participants presented work at different stages of development, ranging from preliminary analyses and new research ideas to papers already accepted for publication.
Luca Verzichelli opened the meeting with the kick-off presentation REDIRECT Brainstorming. He reviewed the main achievements of the project to date, including completed research activities, data collection, publications, project outputs and dissemination initiatives. He also outlined the tasks to be addressed during REDIRECT’s final phase, drawing attention to forthcoming analyses, publication plans, remaining deliverables and opportunities for further collaboration within the Siena team. The presentation provided a shared framework for the individual contributions and collective discussions that followed.
Elisabetta Mannoni and Marco Improta provided an overview of their respective publications and works in progress, highlighting ongoing collaborative projects and identifying possible connections between different strands of research on political representation, political elites and democratic governance.
Sergio Martini presented Democratic Ambivalence in Europe: Assessing the Role of System Performance, examining the relationship between citizens’ democratic attitudes and their evaluations of how political systems perform. The discussion focused on how apparently contradictory orientations toward democracy can be understood and measured across different European contexts.
Paolo Marzi presented Authoritarian Child-Rearing Values among Citizens and Political Elites, a comparative analysis of mass and elite surveys conducted in seven European countries. The study investigates whether political representatives differ from citizens in the importance they attribute to obedience, conformity, independence and autonomy when considering desirable qualities in children. The preliminary findings stimulated discussion about ideological differences, mass–elite divides and the broader political significance of authoritarian values.
The session also included an exchange on recently accepted research concerning how political elites understand democracy, alongside a wider discussion of publication plans, collaborative opportunities and the next stages of analysis.
The informal format encouraged open and constructive feedback among participants. By bringing together distinct but interconnected research projects, the meeting helped clarify how ongoing work contributes to REDIRECT’s broader objective of understanding the changing relationship between citizens, political representatives and democratic institutions in Europe.
Date: 14 July 2026
Location: Florence, Italy
Activity: REDIRECT research brainstorming and work-in-progress seminar
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