Smart city-policy makers and technology vendors are increasingly stating they want to bring about citizen-centered smart cities. Yet, it often remains unclear what exactly that means, and how citizens are envisaged as actors in smart cities. This article wants to contribute to this discussion by exploring …

While the concept of Responsible Innovation is increasingly common among researchers and policy makers, it is still unknown what it means in a business context. This study aims to identify which aspects of Responsible Innovation are conceptually similar and dissimilar from social- and sustainable innovation. …

The transformation from the current energy system to a decentralized renewable energy system requires the transformation of communities into energy neutral or even energy producing communities. Increasingly, citizens become 'prosumers' and pool their resources to start a local energy initiative. In this …

Since the 1960s, the structure of the German population has significantly changed as a result of a number of migration waves. This structural change, and the fact that is was rather ignored by German governments, created a democratic deficit. Large parts of the permanent population were structurally …

The EaP was implemented in 2009 and focuses on fostering a political dialogue between the EU and its Eastern Partner countries, in order to draw them closer to European Integration and values. It does so through the ‘more for more’ approach, a reformulation of EU conditionality, which grants incentives …

After the failure of the League of Nations after World War I, the Allied powers (the United Kingdom, the United States and the Soviet Union) came together to form a new international organization – the United Nations - that could save future generations from war and the atrocities experienced during …

Coltan is a rare mineral which is mined, both legally and illegally, at Congolese dig sites at the expense of the wellbeing of coltan miners. This dissertation provides an understanding on the living and working conditions of the Congolese coltan miners and the relation of coltan to armed conflict in …

The Dutch colonization of the East Indies, which lasted for around 350 years, set the stage for the creation of modern Indonesia, the third largest democracy in the world. The colonization period saw the introduction of colonial policies and administration. Systematic regulation, as well as bribery set …

Enlargement fatigue is an effect that has been felt in the European Union (EU) by member states ever since its creation in 1957. Enlargement fatigue can be felt in the member states in two different ways, which are the constitutional deepening of the EU and the geographical widening of the EU. While …