Thirty years of asking who governs, and how well
The Hague Governance Quarterly began as a small seminar series on European institutions and has grown into an independent journal read by public servants, scholars and reporters across the continent.
Our history
We were founded in 1994 by a group of graduate researchers who met in a borrowed room near the Binnenhof. Their aim was modest: to publish plain-language analysis of how decisions moved between national capitals and Brussels.
Through the late 1990s we built a small editorial board, a peer review process and a subscriber base among municipal officials. Our first theme issue on subsidiarity was reprinted by three national ministries.
Independent of any government or corporate sponsor since 2003, we fund the journal through subscriptions and university partnerships, and publish every editorial decision policy in full.
Mission
Our mission is to make governance legible. We publish evidence-led analysis that explains how rules are written, who is consulted, and what happens after a decision takes effect.
- Commission peer-reviewed articles on EU and national policy
- Publish open data alongside every quantitative claim
- Offer editorial training to early-career public servants
Values and team
Editorial independence
Authors are paid on fixed terms and may not accept hospitality from the bodies they assess. Conflicts are declared in every issue.
The editorial team
Eleven editors, four staff and a rotating panel of twenty academic reviewers. Most of the team has worked in public administration before joining us.
Milestones
1994
First seminar series
Six evening lectures at the Hague on the Maastricht negotiations.
2003
Independent funding model
We adopted our current funding and disclosure rules.
2017
Open data policy
Every dataset behind an article became downloadable with its article.