On the 23rd of October 2009 the Montesquieu Institute Maastricht hosted a conference on parliamentary involvement with military missions. Even where it does not concern the actual waging of war, sending troops on military missions abroad is never undertaken lightly. No matter how many safeguards are put in place, it remains a decision that potentially risks the lives of men and women in the armed forces.

When lives are so directly influenced by political decision making, the question arises ...

In the European Union, a debate is on-going about the Europeanization of contract law. However, its impact on the different welfare states’ types, as they are developed in political science, has not been discussed elaborately.

Nearly all Member States of the European Union can be characterized as a welfare state or may be post-welfare state. There are many definitions and descriptions of the welfare state. It is generally accepted that social citizenship is a common characteristic of the w...

Politiewerk is altijd het werken met informatie. Per definitie vaak gevoelig, want de politie verkrijgt die informatie vaak door gebruik te maken van bevoegdheden die slechts weinigen hebben. Maar hoe zit dat nu precies? Hoe komt de politie aan haar informatie, wat kan zij ermee, mag die informatie verstrekt worden aan anderen en zo ja, onder welke voorwaarden? De voorwaarden voor gebruik, het verzamelen en analyseren van informatie worden voor de politie begrensd door privacybepalingen, uitg...