As the state retracts further in the Netherlands, the role of civil society increases. Only now the impact becomes visible due to changing arrangements in the social domain. Since enormous cuts in the welfare budgets have been implemented; creative innovations by civil initiatives are much needed to …

This essay provides a debate about Lasswell’s policy scientist of democracy (PSOD, 1948) in comparison to the model of liquid democracy (21st century) based on the question if the digital age requires new models of democracy. The PSOD of Lasswell, a disciplinary persona, is in favour of an elitist approach …

The objective of this dissertation is to investigate the reasons for a low political participation in Czechoslovakia in the wake of the Velvet Revolution, which started on 17 November 1989, by a literature review. The Czechoslovak citizens reacted on several developments in their surrounding countries, …

This article will discuss the role of environmentalism in environmental education (EE) and education for sustainable development (ESD) in the context of ecopedagogy. Ecopedagogy calls for the remaking of capitalist practices and seeks to re-engage democracy to include multispecies interests in the face …

This article provides a description of the emergence of the Spanish ‘Occupy’ movement, Democracia real ya. The aim is to analyse the innovative discursive features of this movement and to connect this analysis to what we consider the innovative potential of the critical sciences. The movement is the …

The Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage in 2001. Yet in 2012, it was estimated that around 87 Christian wedding officiants continued to refuse to marry gay couples due to their religious beliefs. Even though municipalities were allowed to hire these so-called …

This paper analyses the regional integration possibilities for MERCOSUR, which is a regional integration scheme in South America. The initial goal of MERCOSUR was the creation of a common market. However, MERCOSUR was not able to reach this goal and it created a customs union instead. This paper analyses …

After the “Rose Revolution” in 2003, Georgia’s political elite announced its new policy direction to follow democratic and liberal beliefs norms, values and ideas. This has formed Georgia’s national identity, which, the country claims, has always been European. Georgia’s powerful neighbor country – Russia …