Leiden, a.d. V Id. Aug. MMDCCLXIX A.U.C., A basic principle in constitutional design has long been separation of power, the idea that by introducing checks and balances in the political system no single actor or group can take over the country. As James Madison put it: "Ambition must be made to counteract ambition." While there are... Continue Reading →
Amsterdam, a.d. V Kal. Iun. MMDCCLXIX A.U.C., A couple of months ago I predicted that Trump would not win the Republican primaries. I was fully convinced that Trump's competitors would coordinate their candidacies in order to prevent a Trump candidacy. In other words, I thought that as soon as became clear who would be the... Continue Reading →
Leiden, a.d. IV Non. Mai. MMDCCLXIX A.U.C., A few weeks ago, on the 6th of April, the Netherlands held a referendum about an association agreement with Ukraine. After a half-hearted campaign by the Dutch government, some 61% of the 32% who bothered to show up voted against. Putin had a great day. While sharing the... Continue Reading →
Leiden, a.d. III Non. Apr. MMDCCLXIX A.U.C., Yesterday Chancellor Merkel decided to let public prosecutors prosecute the German comedian Böhmermann for this rather juvenile poem, at the request of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, AKA The Mustache, AKA Sultan Erdogan. The poem discusses how Erdogan bombs Kurds, locks up journalists, shuts down free speech, and worst of... Continue Reading →
For political scientists something very exciting is going on in Spain right now. But, I think it is also interesting for people who are generally interested in how politics and societies work. Spain traditionally had a two-party system at the national level, so a system in which only two political parties have a real chance... Continue Reading →
Leiden, a.d. XVI Kal. Feb. MMDCCLXIX A.U.C., A few weeks ago the Dutch lower house (Tweede Kamer) decided to start phasing out coal fired power plants (CFPPs). Three energy companies, who recently built three CFPPs immediately threatened to sue the Dutch government for €6billion. This provides a good example of an issue I discussed in an... Continue Reading →
Leiden, a.d. VI Ian. MMDCCLXIX A.U.C., Four days ago the Telegraph published an article in which several European populist parties are accused of being supported by the Kremlin. The organiczars organizers of the Dutch referendum on the association treaty with Ukraine are among the accused (more on this topic). Accidentally, two weeks ago I wrote this draft: "For... Continue Reading →
Leiden, a.d. IX Kal. Ian. MMDCCLXVIII A.U.C., On the 6th of April the Netherlands will hold a referendum on the ratification of the association treaty between the European Union and Ukraine. I personally think this is a total non-issue, being used to actually discuss the decision making processes of the EU, something the organizers have... Continue Reading →
Leiden, a.d. XV Kal. Dec. MMDCCLXVIII A.U.C., Today the UN Conference on Climate Change has started in Paris. In expectation of this, last week the Labour party (PvdA) and 'Green Left' (GroenLinks) announced a plan to cut CO2 emissions by 95% compared to 1990 by 2050. This would be a major change to the current Dutch environmental policies, because... Continue Reading →
