Institute of Policy and Governance

Description

The Institute for Contemporary Studies, Policy and Governance is a research center at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, dedicated to generating scientific and technical knowledge and transferring it to society.

Since its establishment in 2006, the Institute has carried out extensive research, teaching, and institutional collaboration. it provides postgraduate education and specialized training while maintaining a robust cooperation network with public institutions, governments, and administrations through projects, reports, technical advice, and consulting services. Furthermore, it actively collaborates with national and international universities and research centers, promoting joint projects and activities.

Its work focuses on the field of contemporary historical studies, political and social analysis, and research into public policy and governance—both of the present and the recent past—structured around several specific research lines and programs.

Its researchers lead and participate in a wide range of activities, including university teaching, research projects, observatories, scientific publications, essays, outreach works, audiovisual productions, podcasts, media collaborations, exhibitions, and academic gatherings centered on the socio-political analysis of contemporary societies, their forms of governance, public policies, challenges, and recent history.

The Institute serves as an intellectual meeting point committed to strengthening critical thinking and fostering a more engaging and reflective public debate, oriented toward analyzing the major political and social challenges of our time.

Lines of research

• History and memory of the 20th century in Spain.
• Public policy, political leadership, security, and risk management.
• Contemporary history.
• Democratic Memory.
• Democratic, global, and multilevel governance.
• Equality, diversity, and social transformation.
• Public discourse, communication, language, and contemporary thought.
• Ecological humanities and political ecology.

Research Programs

RESEARCH PROGRAM: OBSERVATORY ON POLITICAL VIOLENCE

The Observatory on Political Violence of the UC3M Institute for Contemporary Studies, Policy and Governance is a research program specializing in political violence, paramilitary forces, terrorism, dictatorships, and various forms of political action, with a particular emphasis on 20th and 21st-century Spanish history.

Its activities focus on historical research, the organization of conferences and seminars, exhibitions, conference panels, audiovisual productions, and general and specialized teaching at the Undergraduate, Master’s, and Doctoral levels.

Objectives:

• To provide the general public with guidance on the historical and political context of current violent conflicts.
• To supervise research presented at UC3M at the Undergraduate, Master’s, and Doctoral levels.
• To provide expert support to institutions and media outlets addressing contemporary issues of political violence.

Coordinator: Eduardo González Calleja

"APRIL 14" PROGRAM FOR REPUBLICAN STUDIES

The "April 14" Program for Republican Studies brings together a group of researchers from the UC3M Institute for Contemporary Studies, Policy and Governance. They conduct various studies related to the origins and precedents of democracy in Spain, the history of historical republicanism, and specifically the Second Spanish Republic during times of peace, war, and exile. To this end, they develop research projects, academic and outreach publications, congresses, seminars, lectures, and knowledge dissemination activities.

Its primary research focus is the Second Spanish Republic (1931–36), the Spanish Civil War (1936–39), and the subsequent Republican exile. However, their work also includes the analysis of precedents such as the Democratic Sexennium (1868–1874) and the First Republic (1873).

The program's researchers carry out research projects and various types of publications, provide general and specialized teaching on these subjects across different UC3M degrees, supervise Undergraduate, Master’s, and Doctoral theses, and collaborate with other universities, institutions, and media outlets.

Coordinator: Álvaro Ribagorda