About Enlightenment 2.0

We live in an increasingly polarised present, looking to a complex and uncertain future while basing our legislative decisions on systems of the past. Policymakers need the processes and structures that underpin their political decision-making to be aligned with the complexities of the 21st century. But knowledge is not the only driver of political decision-making.

Emotions, self-interest, power relations and values all play their role in decision-making and political discourse. Today’s drivers of political behaviour have become more complex, transnational, instrumentalised and agenda-driven than ever, bringing into question the very nature of democracy.

There is a need to better understand and explain the drivers that influence policy decisions and political decision-making, this will help to optimise the way that evidence is used in policymaking. The multi-annual Enlightenment 2.0 research programme seeks to provide the interdisciplinary scientific underpinning to optimise this evolution of the political decision-making process.

The research programme is divided into 4 separate projects that are closely linked to ensure that each initiative benefits from the learnings and outcomes of the others:

• Understanding our political nature: how to put knowledge and reason at the heart of political decision-making (2019)
• Technology and Democracy: Understanding the influence of online technologies on political behavior and decision-making (2020)
• Values and Identities: A policymaker's guide (Publication: 17 November 2021) 
• Trustworthy Public Communication: How public communicators can strengthen our democracies (Publication: 12 June 2024)

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