Coordinator: Roberto Falanga
Vice-coordinator: Carlos Meléndez

The Research Group on Regimes, Institutions, Governance and Policies (RIGoP) conducts theoretical and empirical research on the regulation and governance of society via subnational, national and supranational institutions. 

RIGoP looks at the way different political regimes shape the interplay between political and economic elites and citizens, as well as citizens self-organize themselves to voice in the policymaking. In fact, RIGoP is attentive to the development, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of a wide range of public policies through a comparative and multidisciplinary approach. Most research and policy outputs and dissemination activities are developed in close collaboration with the Observatory on Quality of Democracy.

RIGoP is organized in four interlinked “nodes”:

Node 1. Patterns, causes and effects of regime change. 

This node includes theoretical and empirical studies on long-term legacies and contemporary challenges to national and international regimes by focusing on two main areas: the historical trajectories that framed the modern nation-state, and the dynamics and trends of contemporary political regimes and elites. It conducts research on types of regimes and their diffusion, processes of regime change (why some regimes endure whereas others break down and under what conditions), the effects of regime types both at the process and outcome levels, and the transformations of representative democracy. The node encompasses conceptual and measurement work on the stability and performance of political regimes.

Node 2. Democratic quality and innovation. 

This node largely focuses on the conceptualization and measurement of the Quality(ties) of Democracy at multiple levels. This node loos at the causes behind the improvement of democratic performance indicators, as well as at the roots of the "malaise" appealed by theories on democratic innovations, which draw from the long-standing debate on participatory and deliberative democracy. This node is also attentive to developments taking place within political institutions, such as intra-party democracy, and on (anti)corruption and political ethics regulation in democracies. Therefore, this node encompasses conceptual and measurement work on democratic quality and innovation, including operationalization of, and data collection for, the development of comparative indices.

Node 3. Multi-level governance, policy and citizenry. 

This node deals with the development of multi-level systems of governance, above and below the nation-state, with a focus on the institutional and political conditions that contribute to policy effectiveness and public accountability. This node sheds light on the various forms through which systems of governance change through time according to different sociopolitical and socioeconomic contexts, and how knowledge transfer takes place both upwards to the global level and downwards to the local level. Likewise, this node interrogates emerging forms of scaling off new practices of governance that calls for a greater participation and control of civil society over policies and elites.

Node 4. Political actors, processes and institutions. 

This node encompasses research on the persistence, reproduction and change of political and economic elites and how they affect sustainable social, economic and environmental development. To this end, the node emphasizes both structures and processes of core democratic institutions (political parties, legislatures and executives), therefore, the behavior of multiple actors and their interplay. In fact, this node aims to account for the entrenched ways in which organized interests, political institutions and decision-making processes shape political institutions and have an impact on societies, such as political (in)stability, the ascendancy of populism and new repertoires of action promoted by social movements.

Seminars

RIGoP organizes regular seminars on ongoing research by doctoral students, researchers and visiting fellows. Seminars are open to participants from outside the group. If you would like to receive information about the seminars, you can subscribe to our mailing list. The group also supports and co-hosts thematic lectures series organized under the auspices of ongoing research projects.

Advanced training

RIGoP is connected to the Doctoral Program in Comparative Politics and runs advanced training programs, such as methods and thematic schools, for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers.

Outreach and technical assistance

As part of its outreach activities, RIGoP members are regularly invited to provide technical assistance to international organizations and governmental authorities in different areas of specialization.