Political Sciences

Topic title	Possible scientific supervisors	Source of funding
Comparative Research in Risk, Security and Societal Resilience	prof. dr. Aistė Balžekienė prof. dr. Audronė Telešienė	state-funded
Social innovations in local and regional development	prof. dr. Eglė Butkevičienė	state-funded
Political culture, societal vulnerabilities and democracy	doc. dr. Ainius Lašas	state-funded
Democracy and governance	prof. dr. Vaidas Morkevičius	state-funded	Research Topic Summary. Democracy, as a political form of governance, faces many challenges in both old and new democracies. The quality of democratic processes is a subject of constant monitoring by political scientists. Recent political processes in many democratic countries pose serious challenges to multi-party systems, trust in the political systems themselves and assessments of their effectiveness. Dissatisfaction with nation-states and especially supranational organizations is growing, and the NATO and European Union is experiencing an identity and institutional crisis. Most often, citizens' dissatisfaction is caused by bureaucracy, inefficiency and/or corruption in the public sector. In addition, societies themselves are changing as they increasingly are influenced by mediatization processes, which in turn begin to affect political processes. On the other hand, in modern democracies, attempts are being made to implement new models of public governance that emphasize the participation of citizens and interest organizations, transparency, accountability and other ethical values, inter-institutional cooperation between government institutions and the impact of public policy on the development of the welfare state. Dissertation projects could include studies that explore political attitudes, values and behavior, political and social participation, political parties and political elites, political institutions, interest organizations, mediatization of politics and public life, new forms and models of political communication, actors, processes and instruments of public governance. They could be based on the analysis of data from international longitudinal social surveys. These studies allow comparative analyses both over time and across countries. Thus, results of these analyses could provide more complete understanding of societal and political trends. Another source of data could be the so-called “big data”, which are the product of communication of citizens and politicians in various public spaces, especially, on the Internet and social media. Politics is increasingly moving to social media, therefore, the behavior of the political community and the attitudes expressed in the social media are an important part of the understanding of modern political processes.
Justice and Democracy in the Age of Digital Capitalism	prof. dr. Andrius Bielskis	state-funded	Research Topic Summary. Political theorists (especially those working within the tradition of critical theory) acknowledge that, in the context of Brexit, Donald Trump, and Putin’s aggression in Ukraine, liberal democracies are experiencing a crisis of political representation. Therefore, it is essential to analyse the deeper causes/reasons and consequences of this crisis: economic and other forms of insecurity, growing inequality, a lack of trust in social and political institutions, the questioning of truth in politics, as well as the influence of digital technologies and artificial intelligence on political life. Furthermore, in the context of ecological crises and other challenges, it is imperative critically to reflect on and analyse alternative conceptions and forms of political engagement. Students and researchers interested in social movements, feminism, and alternative political imaginaries are especially welcome, as are those exploring automation and artificial intelligence