Gilles Pittoors
Biographic Data
| ID | 4377573 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Gilles Pittoors |
| GIVEN NAMES | Gilles |
| FAMILY NAME | Pittoors |
| SIGNATURE | PITTOORS G |
| AFFILIATIONS | Ghent University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0433-3203 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 13 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 23 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 13 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2020 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
The EU as a democratic polity in a geopolitical world: Challenges and prospects
This paper examines the complex interplay between geopoliticization and democratic nature of the European Union by bridging the gap between geopolitics literature, often confined to foreign affairs, and the study of EU decision-making and democracy. As framework for analysis, a conceptual benchmark of EU democracy is established, defined by four key components: transnational politics, representative democracy, intergovernmental bargaining, and th…
How Trickle‐Down Democracy Won the Debate, and Why It Didn’t Have To
Pro‐EU MEPs pursue a strategy to further democratise EU governance through initiatives such as the Spitzenkandidaten and transnational lists. Doing so, they seem to follow a logic of what we call “trickle‐down democracy,” which entails the belief that the reproduction of domestic representative democracy at the EU level will increase popular support for the EU. However, despite extensive increases in power and authority for Parliament, popular su…
Everything Everywhere All at Once? Introducing a Field‐Theoretic Model for Party Politics in the European Union
The European Union (EU) is facing a democratic deficit, which scholars have argued political parties could help resolve. However, few have asked what model of party (system) is suitable for achieving this. To assume that the models of party politics used in the nation‐state context can simply be transposed to the European level would be mistaken. A new model is needed that theorises parties as genuine multilevel actors whose behaviour at the Euro…
From mechanics to meaning: Designing writing assignments in political science education
This article explores how process-oriented writing assignments (POWAs) can foster critical thinking in political science education amid the challenges posed by generative AI (genAI) and hyperpolitics. It argues that traditional product-focused writing tasks are increasingly insufficient, as genAI tools risk bypassing cognitive effort and political polarisation discourages open inquiry. Drawing on writing pedagogy, the article outlines key POWA pr…
Analysing policy actors’ preferences for different modes of governing in local government
Effective citizen participation in policy decision making depends on the support of all democratic actors involved: citizens, but also politicians and civil servants. Drawing on data from over 4,000 respondents, we explore the existence of so-called ‘multi-actor clusters’, that is, groups of people who are characterised by a positive (or negative) stance towards different modes of local policy decision making, irrespective of their formal-institu…
Transcending the National: QCA Insights into Multilevel Party Organization in the EU
Political parties in EU member states are situated in a complex multilevel polity, having to engage with their domestic political reality together with EU politics and international linkages with fellow European parties. But how do these parties organize? This research intends to understand how competing, though not mutually exclusive logics of political behaviour can help explain the variations in how parties apprehend this multilevel context. R…
Closing a gap or creating a new one? Comparing support for participatory instruments among different stakeholders
Representative democracy is perceived to be in crisis in many Western countries. Increasing citizen participation is often considered to be a remedy to close this gap between government and the people. Which instruments should be used to realize this remains, however, open for discussion. In this article, we compare attitudes of citizens, politicians and civil servants towards a number of participatory instruments. We assess to what extent these …
Democracy and European Union: Beyond the dichotomy
The European Union (EU) is facing a democratic deficit, but the debate on how to address it has been caught in a dichotomy that pitches EU democracy as either national or supranational. Considering EU democracy through the nation-state lens, whereby the EU either becomes a nation-state itself or borrows democratic legitimacy from its Member States, obscures the many dilemmas and trade-offs involved in the institutional design and practice of EU d…
Home is where the heart is? A comparative analysis of Flemish and Danish parties' organizational linkages with the EU
In the light of the crucial role political parties play in connecting citizens with political decisions, this article assesses national parties' organizational linkages with the European level. It focuses on explaining variation between parties and the motivations they have to organize the way they do. Building on qualitative comparative case studies of Danish and Flemish parties, this study finds that country‐level factors override party‐level f…
Living up to expectations? EU politicization and party Europeanization in Flanders and the Netherlands
Through the looking glass? Lessons from party Europeanisation in Denmark
The Europeanisation of national political parties is often considered a crucial element in the democratisation of the EU. Yet, party Europeanisation has remained limited. The traditional argument explaining this is that the low political relevance of European affairs creates limited incentives for party organisations to Europeanise. But what happens in a context where Europe ìs politically relevant? Denmark, with its high parliamentary and public…
National Parties as Multilevel Organizations in the EU. A Comparative Case Study of Flanders, Denmark and the Netherlands
This article scrutinizes national political parties' organizational linkages with the European level. Such linkages not only provide parties with information from the European level, but also provide the EU with a source of democratic legitimacy. By applying an inductive research design and qualitatively reconstructing the organizational linkages of 15 parties in Flanders, the Netherlands and Denmark, this article shows that not only national par…
Living Apart Together? The Organization of Political Parties beyond the Nation-State: The Flemish Case
This article aims to contribute both theoretically and empirically to the study of political parties in the EU context, focusing on party organisation. Theoretically, it draws on insights from various literatures to develop a novel typology of multilevel party organisation specific to the EU context. It argues that parties are goal-seeking actors that choose their organisation based on a cost-benefit analysis, involving both party characteristics…
National Parties as Multilevel Organizations in the EU. A Comparative Case Study of Flanders, Denmark and the Netherlands
This article scrutinizes national political parties' organizational linkages with the European level. Such linkages not only provide parties with information from the European level, but also provide the EU with a source of democratic legitimacy. By applying an inductive research design and qualitatively reconstructing the organizational linkages of 15 parties in Flanders, the Netherlands and Denmark, this article shows that not only national par…
Living up to expectations? EU politicization and party Europeanization in Flanders and the Netherlands
Everything Everywhere All at Once? Introducing a Field‐Theoretic Model for Party Politics in the European Union
The European Union (EU) is facing a democratic deficit, which scholars have argued political parties could help resolve. However, few have asked what model of party (system) is suitable for achieving this. To assume that the models of party politics used in the nation‐state context can simply be transposed to the European level would be mistaken. A new model is needed that theorises parties as genuine multilevel actors whose behaviour at the Euro…
Closing a gap or creating a new one? Comparing support for participatory instruments among different stakeholders
Representative democracy is perceived to be in crisis in many Western countries. Increasing citizen participation is often considered to be a remedy to close this gap between government and the people. Which instruments should be used to realize this remains, however, open for discussion. In this article, we compare attitudes of citizens, politicians and civil servants towards a number of participatory instruments. We assess to what extent these …
Analysing policy actors’ preferences for different modes of governing in local government
Effective citizen participation in policy decision making depends on the support of all democratic actors involved: citizens, but also politicians and civil servants. Drawing on data from over 4,000 respondents, we explore the existence of so-called ‘multi-actor clusters’, that is, groups of people who are characterised by a positive (or negative) stance towards different modes of local policy decision making, irrespective of their formal-institu…
Democracy and European Union: Beyond the dichotomy
The European Union (EU) is facing a democratic deficit, but the debate on how to address it has been caught in a dichotomy that pitches EU democracy as either national or supranational. Considering EU democracy through the nation-state lens, whereby the EU either becomes a nation-state itself or borrows democratic legitimacy from its Member States, obscures the many dilemmas and trade-offs involved in the institutional design and practice of EU d…
Through the looking glass? Lessons from party Europeanisation in Denmark
The Europeanisation of national political parties is often considered a crucial element in the democratisation of the EU. Yet, party Europeanisation has remained limited. The traditional argument explaining this is that the low political relevance of European affairs creates limited incentives for party organisations to Europeanise. But what happens in a context where Europe ìs politically relevant? Denmark, with its high parliamentary and public…
Living Apart Together? The Organization of Political Parties beyond the Nation-State: The Flemish Case
This article aims to contribute both theoretically and empirically to the study of political parties in the EU context, focusing on party organisation. Theoretically, it draws on insights from various literatures to develop a novel typology of multilevel party organisation specific to the EU context. It argues that parties are goal-seeking actors that choose their organisation based on a cost-benefit analysis, involving both party characteristics…
Living Apart Together? The Organization of Political Parties beyond the Nation-State: The Flemish Case
This article aims to contribute both theoretically and empirically to the study of political parties in the EU context, focusing on party organisation. Theoretically, it draws on insights from various literatures to develop a novel typology of multilevel party organisation specific to the EU context. It argues that parties are goal-seeking actors that choose their organisation based on a cost-benefit analysis, involving both party characteristics…
National Parties as Multilevel Organizations in the EU. A Comparative Case Study of Flanders, Denmark and the Netherlands
This article scrutinizes national political parties' organizational linkages with the European level. Such linkages not only provide parties with information from the European level, but also provide the EU with a source of democratic legitimacy. By applying an inductive research design and qualitatively reconstructing the organizational linkages of 15 parties in Flanders, the Netherlands and Denmark, this article shows that not only national par…
Through the looking glass? Lessons from party Europeanisation in Denmark
The Europeanisation of national political parties is often considered a crucial element in the democratisation of the EU. Yet, party Europeanisation has remained limited. The traditional argument explaining this is that the low political relevance of European affairs creates limited incentives for party organisations to Europeanise. But what happens in a context where Europe ìs politically relevant? Denmark, with its high parliamentary and public…
Democracy and European Union: Beyond the dichotomy
The European Union (EU) is facing a democratic deficit, but the debate on how to address it has been caught in a dichotomy that pitches EU democracy as either national or supranational. Considering EU democracy through the nation-state lens, whereby the EU either becomes a nation-state itself or borrows democratic legitimacy from its Member States, obscures the many dilemmas and trade-offs involved in the institutional design and practice of EU d…
Home is where the heart is? A comparative analysis of Flemish and Danish parties' organizational linkages with the EU
In the light of the crucial role political parties play in connecting citizens with political decisions, this article assesses national parties' organizational linkages with the European level. It focuses on explaining variation between parties and the motivations they have to organize the way they do. Building on qualitative comparative case studies of Danish and Flemish parties, this study finds that country‐level factors override party‐level f…
Living up to expectations? EU politicization and party Europeanization in Flanders and the Netherlands
How Trickle‐Down Democracy Won the Debate, and Why It Didn’t Have To
Pro‐EU MEPs pursue a strategy to further democratise EU governance through initiatives such as the Spitzenkandidaten and transnational lists. Doing so, they seem to follow a logic of what we call “trickle‐down democracy,” which entails the belief that the reproduction of domestic representative democracy at the EU level will increase popular support for the EU. However, despite extensive increases in power and authority for Parliament, popular su…
Everything Everywhere All at Once? Introducing a Field‐Theoretic Model for Party Politics in the European Union
The European Union (EU) is facing a democratic deficit, which scholars have argued political parties could help resolve. However, few have asked what model of party (system) is suitable for achieving this. To assume that the models of party politics used in the nation‐state context can simply be transposed to the European level would be mistaken. A new model is needed that theorises parties as genuine multilevel actors whose behaviour at the Euro…
From mechanics to meaning: Designing writing assignments in political science education
This article explores how process-oriented writing assignments (POWAs) can foster critical thinking in political science education amid the challenges posed by generative AI (genAI) and hyperpolitics. It argues that traditional product-focused writing tasks are increasingly insufficient, as genAI tools risk bypassing cognitive effort and political polarisation discourages open inquiry. Drawing on writing pedagogy, the article outlines key POWA pr…
Analysing policy actors’ preferences for different modes of governing in local government
Effective citizen participation in policy decision making depends on the support of all democratic actors involved: citizens, but also politicians and civil servants. Drawing on data from over 4,000 respondents, we explore the existence of so-called ‘multi-actor clusters’, that is, groups of people who are characterised by a positive (or negative) stance towards different modes of local policy decision making, irrespective of their formal-institu…
Transcending the National: QCA Insights into Multilevel Party Organization in the EU
Political parties in EU member states are situated in a complex multilevel polity, having to engage with their domestic political reality together with EU politics and international linkages with fellow European parties. But how do these parties organize? This research intends to understand how competing, though not mutually exclusive logics of political behaviour can help explain the variations in how parties apprehend this multilevel context. R…
Closing a gap or creating a new one? Comparing support for participatory instruments among different stakeholders
Representative democracy is perceived to be in crisis in many Western countries. Increasing citizen participation is often considered to be a remedy to close this gap between government and the people. Which instruments should be used to realize this remains, however, open for discussion. In this article, we compare attitudes of citizens, politicians and civil servants towards a number of participatory instruments. We assess to what extent these …
The EU as a democratic polity in a geopolitical world: Challenges and prospects
This paper examines the complex interplay between geopoliticization and democratic nature of the European Union by bridging the gap between geopolitics literature, often confined to foreign affairs, and the study of EU decision-making and democracy. As framework for analysis, a conceptual benchmark of EU democracy is established, defined by four key components: transnational politics, representative democracy, intergovernmental bargaining, and th…
Political science (11 works) · Sociology (11 works) · European Union Policy and Governance (9 works) · Law (8 works) · Law (8 works) · Political economy (8 works) · Politics (8 works) · Economics (7 works) · Public Administration (7 works) · Public Administration (7 works)