Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU), Cyprus Policy Center (CPC) and EMU Faculty of Business and Economics, Department of Political Science and International Relations co-organized a seminar titled “Interventionist Research: The Case Of The Czech Citizen Parliament On Media And Democracy”.
At the opening session of the seminar, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Sözen – EMU CPC Chairperson and Head of EMU Department of Political Science and International Relations – introduced Prof. Dr. Nico Carpentier to the participants.
In the seminar, Prof. Dr. Carpentier stressed that academic research should not be limited to analyzing social processes and should also contribute to solving societal problems through the development of intervention-oriented methods. He drew attention to the close relationship between the interventionist research approach and traditions such as action research and participatory research. According to Prof. Dr. Carpentier, this approach is grounded in researchers working collaboratively with social actors to develop solutions to real-world problems and assessing the outcomes at both theoretical and practical levels.
The seminar also addressed the relationship between participation and representation in debates on democracy. In this context, Prof. Dr. Carpentier discussed the example of the “Media and Democracy Citizens’ Parliament” held in Czechia in 2025, explaining that citizens selected from different segments of society engaged in deliberative discussions on issues such as the media system, media representation and media participation, and developed policy recommendations. He noted that the process resulted in various proposals related to media ethics, strengthening journalism, media diversity and citizen participation.
Following the evaluations on the role of citizens’ assemblies and similar participatory mechanisms in strengthening democracy, the seminar concluded with a question-and-answer session moderated by Prof. Dr. Ahmet Sözen.
