The uncertain road to sustainable democracy: elite coalitions, citizen protests and the prospects of democracy in Central and Eastern Europe

This article proposes that to understand backsliding in Central and Eastern Europe, we need a broad “Tillyian perspective” emphasising elite–citizen interactions and the role of the state. The article views backsliding as the outcome of processes of state capture by rent-seeking elites united in party ideological or network configurations. Simultaneously, citizen protests provide an indication of (Tillyian) struggles for the growth of democracies with a broader societal basis. As different societal interests emerge, some engage in a struggle against elite coalitions, while others embrace conservative values. Based on this analysis, sustainable democracy will depend on broad societal mobilisation to defend democratic principles.Security and Global Affair

What lessons can be learned from the failure to form a government in Bulgaria and the Netherlands?

The politics and administration of institutional chang

Consolidating and Revitalizing Enlargement: Further Insights from MAXCAP

Seventh Framework Programme (FP7)320115Security and Global Affair

'The ‘old’ and the ‘new’ Europeans: Analyses of public opinion on EU enlargement in review'

Seventh Framework Programme (FP7)The politics and administration of institutional chang

Reinvigorating the Enlargement Process and Strengthening the EU’s Integration Capacity: Insights from MAXCAP

Seventh Framework Programme (FP7)320115The politics and administration of institutional chang

What Do Citizens’ Opinions and Perceptions Mean for EU Enlargement?

Seventh Framework Programme (FP7)320115Security and Global Affair

De Nederlandse Grondwet geëvalueerd; anker- of verdwijnpunt?

Effective Protection of Fundamental Rights in a pluralist worl

Controlled English for Reasoning on the Semantic Web

The existing Semantic Web languages have a very technical focus and fail to provide good usability for users with no background in formal methods. We argue that controlled natural languages like Attempto Controlled English (ACE) can solve this problem. ACE is a subset of English that can be translated into various logic based languages, among them the Semantic Web standards OWL and SWRL. ACE is accompanied by a set of tools, namely the parser APE, the Attempto Reasoner RACE, the ACE View ontology and rule editor, the semantic wiki AceWiki, and the Protune policy framework. The applications cover a wide range of Semantic Web scenarios, which shows how broadly ACE can be applied. We conclude that controlled natural languages can make the Semantic Web better understandable and more usable

Learning the wrong lessons from success? Why European Union conditionality can make institutions, but cannot inspire citizens

Inaugural lecture given by Prof.dr. Antoaneta L. Dimitrova on the acceptance of her position as professor of Comparative Governance at the Universiteit Leiden on Monday March 12, 2018Inaugural lecture given by Prof.dr. Antoaneta L. Dimitrova on the acceptance of her position as professor of Comparative Governance at the Universiteit Leiden on Monday March 12, 2018Security and Global Affair

Post-Accession Policy-Making in Bulgaria and Romania: Can non-state actors use EU rules to promote better governance?

This article investigates whether EU accession can help Bulgaria and Romania limit state capture and the undue influence of business actors on the policy process. Particularly vulnerable to such influence, Bulgarian and Romanian institutions are monitored through the EU's co-operation and verification mechanism and the Commission and ECJ infringement procedures. We argue that, under certain conditions, these tools can improve the quality of democracy in both countries. The key conditions are the presence of domestic actors able to use the EU and carry over procedural policy requirements from the acquis to other policy-making. Analysing policy-making processes in the forestry sector, we find NGOs able to use EU links and governments sensitive to naming and shaming can result in a positive influence of EU rules on the policy process and quality of democracy. This is true even in least likely cases, such as non-acquis policy areas in Bulgaria and Romania.</p