Seminar on "Interventionist Research: The case of the Czech Citizen Parliament on Media and Democracy” with Dr. Nico Carpentier.

Published Date: Wednesday, 4 March 2026

A seminar titled “Interventionist Research: The Case of the Czech Citizens’ Parliament on Media and Democracy” was held on March 4, 2026, in collaboration with the Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) Cyprus Policy Center (CPC) and the Department of Political Science and International Relations. At the opening of the seminar, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Sözen, Director of the EMU Cyprus Policy Center and Chair of the Department of Political Science and International Relations, introduced the speaker Prof. Dr. Nico Carpentier to the participants.

In his presentation, Prof. Dr. Carpentier emphasized that academic research should not be limited to analyzing social processes, but should also develop interventionist methods that can contribute to generating solutions to societal problems. In this context, he noted that the interventionist research approach is closely connected to the traditions of action research and participatory research. He explained that this approach is based on researchers working together with social actors to produce solutions to real-world problems and evaluating the outcomes both theoretically and practically.

The seminar also addressed the relationship between participation and representation in debates on democracy. In this regard, Carpentier discussed the “Media and Democracy Citizens’ Parliament” held in the Czech Republic in 2025. He explained 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 a series of policy recommendations. At the end of the process, various proposals emerged in areas including media ethics, strengthening journalism, media diversity, and citizen participation.

The seminar, which attracted significant interest and participation, concluded with a question-and-answer session moderated by Prof. Dr. Ahmet Sözen, following discussions on the role of citizens’ assemblies and similar participatory mechanisms in strengthening democracy.