In Europe and beyond, the question of identity has become a central flashpoint for political mobilisations along the conservative-progressive spectrum. Our societies are organised around the assumption that identities are homogeneous and stable. However, identity is increasingly seen as fluid, fragmented, and contested. The transformation of our understanding and performativity of identities occurs within broader democratic change, contributing to a growing disconnect between citizens’ lived experiences and the very structures of European democracies. This disconnect, strategically weaponised to advance exclusionary agendas and leading to the erosion of democratic values and rights, needs to be urgently addressed. Consisting of researchers from different disciplines, of various career stages based at the Universities of the Basque Country, Bordeaux, Galway and Göttingen (four ENLIGHT partner institutions), our proposed network thus strives to strengthen the Interdisciplinary Dialogue on evolving identities in times of democratic Transformations, forming IDenti-T.

IDenti-T revolves around three key objectives:

• (1) to share and develop common knowledge on the interactions between identity and socio-legal and political structures, focusing on themes such as gender and LGBTIQA+ rights, intersectionality, functional and cultural diversity, digital identity, and environmental change;

• (2) to build an interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral platform for dialogue and co-creation, fostering public engagement beyond academic research; and

• (3) to create a sustainable community of practice, with a strong emphasis on supporting early career scholars and boosting collaborative initiatives through discussions on joint research, teaching, and mentoring.

In doing so, the network will primarily contribute to ENLIGHT's flagship domains of Equity, but also Culture and Creativity, Climate Change, and the Digital Revolution. Together, we aim to pave the way for conducting cross-sectoral research to reimagine democracy in a way that supports, includes and embraces diverse identities and strengthens resilience against democratic backsliding and erosion of human rights.