Research institutes

Montesquieu Institute

The Montesquieu Institute Maastricht is a research centre dedicated to European and comparative parliamentary studies. Montesquieu's 'formula' for the organisation of a sustainable and democratic society has to a large extent determined the organisation of many 'modern' parliamentary democracies. However, this formula provides some challenging questions: is it still applicable nowadays? One of the objectives of the inter-university Montesquieu Institute is to stimulate both Dutch and foreign scientists to look for answers to this kind of questions. It is a collaboration between, amongst others, UM, Leiden University and the University of Groningen.

Fast facts

European and comparative parliamentary studies
inter-university institute
main seat: The Hague campus of Leyden University
led by Prof. Aalt Willem Heringa

Research

The Montesquieu Institute Maastricht focuses on parliamentary systems of government in Europe and in the European Union. The Institute’s aim is to contribute to the academic and public debate on democracy and governance in the European Union by deepening the understanding of the constitutional structures and political practice of national systems of parliamentary government. It takes a thoroughly comparative approach to parliamentary studies in a European context.

Education

The institute's staff is also involved in teaching activities within the bachelor's and master's programmes of the Faculty of Law of Maastricht University. They provide courses on Dutch, comparative and European constitutional law. In addition, the institute initiates public lectures and seminars and other activities for students and interested others on various issues related to parliamentary government and democracy.

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Law Blogs Maastricht
Would you like to know more about our research? Visit Law Blogs Maastricht and find more information about the Faculty of Law's research output.

MONT

Sophie van Hoonacker

“The EU member states have shown very little respect for the rules that they themselves created. One thing is becoming increasingly clear: an economic union will not function properly in the absence of a fiscal union with a political foundation.”

Read the whole interview

Sascha Hardt

Aalt-Willem Heringa

“Politicians know best and do not wish to be confronted with courts testing the legal quality of their legislation. We have lived for many years with the idea that this was precisely one of the functions of the Senate. But we have now awoken to the situation that the Senate is also political and voting according to politics and coalition and opposition.”

Blogs and papers

Many of the scholars at the Montesquieu Institute are regularly contribute to blogs and publications in the fields of European and comparative constitutional law and politics. The blogs and papers page contains an overview of the latest contributions.

Go to the blogs and papers page

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Montesquieu Blogs

The hour of European sovereignty
16-09-2018byAalt Willem Heringa in Law
Dat is de titel van de laatste State of the Union op 12 september van Jean-Claude Juncker . Daarmee ligt de focus op de eenheid van de EU en niet alleen intern...
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Call the bluff, prime minister (part 2)
11-07-2018byPrashant Sabharwal in Law
The Brexiteers had their chance in the past two years – they have pushed around a cabinet with a zeal driven by ideology, not practicality or reality. It is time for the remaining adults in the room to take charge. It is time for Theresa May to call the hard right’s bluff. Whether she will have the...
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Call the bluff, prime minister (part one)
09-07-2018byPrashant Sabharwal in Law
With an Implosion of the Conservative Party becoming increasingly likely, Theresa May must stand up to extreme Brexit advocates before it’s too late.
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Mexican standoff (part 1)
25-06-2018byPrashant Sabharwal in Law
With the date of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal fast approaching, it is becoming increasingly evident that the British government still has no clear plan, relies on wishful thinking and is running out of viable options. To prevent a complete disaster, a much more targeted salvaging operation might...
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The presidential refusal to appoint a minister in comparative perspective
20-06-2018byHoai-Thu Nguyen in Law
On 27 May 2018 Italy was thrown into a post-election political and constitutional turmoil when Italian President Sergio Mattarella refused to appoint the designated Minister of Economy and Finance, Paolo Savona, proposed by the Five Star Movement and the League. While not the first time that an...
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Comparative Government ook in Luzern
Thursday, August 4, 2016

De staf van het Maastrichtse MI zal dit najaar voor de tweede keer de mastercursus Comparative Government verzorgen aan de rechtenfaculteit van de universiteit van Luzern. Deze samenwerking bevalt beide partijen uitstekend en geeft ons kans om onze expertise op het vergelijkende staatsrecht te delen met een grotere groep (internationale) studenten. De docenten die in Luzern zullen doceren zijn Aalt Willem Heringa, Sascha Hardt en Thu Hoai Nguyen.

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