Call for Tenders: Portuguese politics

Writing an article on the political situation in Portugal,
after 4 years of the government of Socialist Party and supported by left forces

The Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung, Madrid Liaison Office, seeks to have a comprehensive article on the last Portuguese government developments and policies carried out. The overall aim is to contribute to a deeper understanding of the policies carried out by Antonio Costa’s government.

It also should shed light on the questions for progressive forces regarding the limits of the European treaties, the balance of supporting a social-democratic government, and the goals got in terms of improvement of material conditions for working class.

The article should address the issue comprehensively by giving insights on fields like: background and previous situation (starting point for social-democratic government); the agreement and conditions for this agreement between the Socialist Party, Bloco de Esquerda and the Communist Party; concrete laws carried out; or the measures still imposed by Brussels.

The article should concentrate the information regarding the concrete measures and laws deployed by the government in the last 4 years. Although the information on the electoral results and trends is part of the analysis, the article should not be narrowed to this type of study.

Some of the research questions could be, amongst other, the following:

  • List of concrete measures that improve material conditions for working class – for example, raising the minimum wage, public housing, among others.
  • Privatizations vs. remunicipalisation of public services: water, cleaning services in municipalities, public policies on housing. Has there been remunicipalisation of some public services?
  • Before and after these 4 years on: 1) labor conditions for civil servants – mainly teachers and educational civil servants; 2) housing situation (price, accessibility, numbers of social houses); 3) minimum wage; 4) women rights laws (abortion rights; violence against women – laws, budget for his matter).
  • Which austerity measures are still coming from Brussels and being implemented? Which is the impact on the national budget, and more precisely on public policies?
  • What EU treaties say regarding economic obligations coming from Brussels?
  • What EU treaties say regarding social policies and sovereignty of countries to carry out these policies? Are they contradictory with economic obligations?

Technical details:

  • Language of the paper: English (it could be translated into other languages).
  • Length of the paper: 50.000-60.000 characters without spaces (including a summary).
  • Please state the remuneration proposed and if you are VAT exempt (only applicable for EU residents)

Application process:

Please send applications by email to Amelia Martínez Lobo, Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung, Brussels Office – Madrid Liaison Office: Nzryvn.Znegvarm-Ybob@ebfnyhk.bet.

Applications should include the following:

  • The author’s/s’ CV/s in English
  • An abstract in English of one page long
  • Remuneration proposal: €2.500

Timeline:

  • The deadline for applications is on the 25th June 2019, 1 pm CEST.
  • A draft should be sent on the 30th September 2019.
  • The peer review meeting will take place on 15th October 2019.
  • The final version should be sent on 30th October 2018.

Budget:

Total of €2.500 (VAT included).