New IOS platform: Contesting Governance

Institutions for Open Societies is proud to announce the newest IOS platform: Contesting Governance. Governance, in all its shapes and sizes, is increasingly contested. Sometimes such contestation can lead to more open societies and stronger institutions, while in other instances it may endanger them. This is exactly why it is crucial to study such contestations in order to better understand the conditions creating, safeguarding or endangering open societies.

The new platform Contesting Governance first came together as a research group with the support of the Centre for Global Challenges. It now aims to connect with more researchers across the university. The group applies critical perspectives to unravel how power is constituted and how it operates across particular institutional and societal fields. It addresses pertinent questions such as: How is state violence contested by civil society? How do citizens respond when they feel unprotected, abandoned or attacked by the state? How do people voice concerns and make claims in the streets, or in the courts? How do people negotiate their everyday needs and livelihoods when (private) armed actors control their material and social spaces, and decide their fate? When the state no longer governs, how do rebels rule?

The core research group is made up of researchers from three faculties: Law, Economics and Governance (LEG), Humanities (HUM), and Social Sciences (SBS). The new platform is currently led by Dr. Brianne McGonigle Leyh (LEG), Dr. Martijn Oosterbaan (SBS) and Dr. Chris van der Borgh (HUM)

In the near future, you can read all about Contesting Governance on the new website that is being developed.