Elite Political Behavior & Institutions

• De Bruycker, I., Hanegraaff, M., & Willems, E. (2025). Socioeconomic (in) congruence in EU public policy: the role of civil society.West European Politics.
• Jacobs, L., & Pilet, J.-B. (2024). To rule or not to rule? An experimental study of the electoral ramifications of claims to (not) rule with radical right populist parties. Party Politics.
• Walgrave, M., & Soontjens, K. (2025). Responsive nor responsible? Politicians’ climate change policy preferences and public opinion perceptions. Environmental Politics.
• Walgrave, S., Sevenans, J., Varone, F., Sheffer, L., & Breunig, C. (2025). Do Political Leaders Understand Public Opinion Better than Backbenchers?. British Journal of Political Science.
• De Mulder, A., Gevers, I., & Poljak, Ž. (2025). Who Deserves Representation, and When? Unpacking the Temporal Dynamics of Politicians’ Claims of Representation on Social Media. Political Studies.
• Butler, C., Jennings, W., & Stoker, G. (2025). How Do UK Political Elites Reconcile With a Low Trust Environment? Political Studies.
• Goovaerts, I., de Fine Licht, J., & Marien, S. (2025). When Deliberative Mini-Publics’ Outcomes and Political Decisions Clash: Examining how Responsive Communication Influences Legitimacy Perceptions. European Journal of Political Research.
  
  

• Willems, E. (2024). No escape from the media gates? How public support and issue salience shape interest groups’ media prominence. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly.
• Butler, C. (2024). Do Governments Always Take Unpopular Decisions Knowingly? How Perceptual Inaccuracy Affects Policy Decisions. Representation. ​
• Jacobs, L. (2024). How do mainstream parties justify their (un)willingness to rule with populist parties? Evidence from Twitter data. Government and Opposition.
• Gevers, I., De Mulder A., & Daelemans (2024). Towards a large scale analysis of claims: developing a machine learning method for detecting and classifying politicians’ claims of representation. Journal of Computational Social Science.
• Luypaert, A., Thijssen, P. (2024). The comparative politics of solidarity: Political party discourse across three welfare state regimes. Politics and Policy.
• Stevens, F., & Willems, E. (2024). Information, politicization, and reputation: assessing interest groups’ agenda-setting influence in the EU. European Political Science Review.
• Willems, E., Maes, B., Walgrave, S. (2024). Mechanisms of Political Responsiveness: The Information Sources Shaping Elected Representatives' Policy Actions. Political Research Quarterly.
• Lucas, J., Sheffer, L., Loewen, P. J., Walgrave, S., Soontjens, K., Amsalem, E., ... & Varone, F. (2024). Politicians’ Theories of Voting Behavior. American Political Science Review.
• Hug, S., Varone, F., Helfer, L., Walgrave, S., Soontjens, K., & Sheffer, L. (2024). The role of politicians' perceptual accuracy of voter opinions in their reelection. Legislative Studies Quarterly.
• Butler, C., Walgrave, S., Soontjens, K., & Loewen, P. J. (2024). Politicians are better at estimating public opinion when they think it is more salient. Party Politics.
• Walgrave, S., Jansen, A., Sevenans, J., Soontjens, K., Pilet, J.B., Brack, N., Varone, F., Helfer, L., Vliegenthart, R., van der Meer, T. and Breunig, C. (2024). Inaccurate Politicians: Elected Representatives’ Estimations of Public Opinion in Four Countries. The Journal of Politics 
  
  

• ​Walgrave, S., & Soontjens, K. (2023). How politicians learn about public opinion. Research & Politics, 10 (3).
• Soontjens, K. (2023). Voters don’t care too much about policy: How politicians conceive of voting motives. Research & Politics, 10 (2).
• Sheffer, L., Loewen, P. J., Walgrave, S., Bailer, S., Breunig, C., Helfer, L., Pilet, J. B., Varone, F. & Vliegenthart, R. (2023, in press). How Do Politicians Bargain? Evidence from Ultimatum Games with Legislators in Five Countries. American Political Science Review, 117 (4), 1429-1447.
• Soontjens, K., & Walgrave, S. (2023).Listening to the people: politicians’ investment in monitoring public opinion and their beliefs about accountability. The Journal of legislative studies, 29(4), 498-518.
• Poljak Ž. (2023). Parties’ Attack Behaviour in Parliaments: Who Attacks Whom and When. European Journal of Political Research, 62 (3), 903-923.
• Poljak Ž. (2023). Negative Interplay between Cabinet and Opposition Agendas: Evidence from Croatia. Parliamentary Affairs, 76 (3), 621–640.
• ​​Walgrave, S., Jansen, A., Sevenans, J., Soontjens, K., Pilet, J.B., Brack, N., Varone, F., Helfer, L., Vliegenthart, R., van der Meer, T. and Breunig, C.(2023). Inaccurate Politicians: Elected Representatives’ Estimations of Public Opinion in Four Countries. The Journal of Politics, 85 (1), 209-222.
• Poljak, Ž. (2023). The impact of public approval on the use of negativity throughout the electoral cycle. West European Politics, 46(5), 947-970.
• Walter, A., & Poljak, Ž. (2023). Incivility from the UK prime minister’s dispatch box: A comparative study of PM question time attacks, 2010–2020. In: Feldman, O. (ed.) Political debasement: Incivility, contempt, and humiliation in parliamentary and public discourse (pp. 69-90). Springer.
• Sevenans, J., Walgrave, S., Jansen, A., Soontjens, K., Bailer, S., Brack, N., ... & Vliegenthart, R. (2023). Projection in politicians' perceptions of public opinion.Political Psychology.
• Willems, E., & Beyers, J. (2023). Public support and advocacy success across the legislative process. European Journal of Political Research, 62(2), 397-421.
• Willems, E., & Heylen, F. (2023). flempar: An R-package for analyzing data from the Flemish Parliament. SocArXiv Papers.
• Stevens, F., & Willems, E. (2023). Institutions, public opinion, and advocacy camps: how interest groups benefit from supportive alignments to gain agenda-setting influence. Journal of European Public Policy.  
• Poljak, Ž. & Walter, A. (2023). Parties’ Parliamentary Attack Behaviour throughout the Electoral Cycle. Party Politics.​  
• Poljak, Ž. & Seeberg, H. B. (2023). Attacks and Issue Competition: Do Parties Attack Based on Issue Salience or Issue Ownership? Political Communication.  
•  Pilet, J. B., Sheffer, L., Helfer, L., Varone, F., Vliegenthart, R., & Walgrave, S. (2023). Do Politicians Outside the United States Also Think Voters Are More Conservative than They Really Are?. American Political Science Review.
• Junius, N. (2023). From Representative to Represented Mini-Publics: How Mini-Publics’ Outputs are Shaped by Representation. Political Studies Review.  
• Papagianneas, S. & Junius, N. (2023). Fairness and justice through automation in China's smart courts. Computer Law & Security Review.
  
  
  

• ​Sevenans, J., & Walgrave, S. (2022). How Politicians Downplay Lower‐Educated Citizens' Opinions. Legislative Studies Quarterly, 48(2), 425-439.
• Sevenans, J., Soontjens, K., & Walgrave, S. (2022). Inequality in the public priority perceptions of elected representatives. West European Politics, 45(5), 1057-1080.
• Walgrave, S., Soontjens, K., & Sevenans, J. (2022). Politicians' Reading of Public Opinion and Its Biases. Oxford University Press.
• Poljak Ž. (2022). The Role of Gender in Parliamentary Attacks and Incivility. Politics and Governance, 10(4), 286-298.
• Thijssen, P., & Verheyen, P. (2022). It's All About Solidarity Stupid! How Solidarity Frames Structure the Party Political Sphere. British Journal of Political Science, 52(1), 128-145.
• Rasmussen, A., & Willems, E. (2022). Interest Groups, Public Opinion, and Political Representation. In The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Interest Groups, Lobbying and Public Affairs(pp. 728-738). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
• Walgrave, S., Soroka, S., Loewen, P., Sheafer, T., & Soontjens, K. (2022). Revisiting Elite Perceptions as Mediator of Elite Responsiveness to Public Opinion. Political Studies.​​
  
  

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• Soontjens, K. (2021). The awareness paradox:(Why) politicians overestimate citizens’ awareness of parliamentary questions and party initiatives. Representation, 57(1), 75-94.
• Wouters, R., Sevenans, J., & Vliegenthart, R. (2021). Selective deafness of political parties: Strategic responsiveness to media, protest and real-world signals on immigration in Belgian Parliament. Parliamentary Affairs, 74(1), 27-51
• Bernardi, L., Bischof, D., & Wouters, R. (2021). The public, the protester, and the bill: do legislative agendas respond to public opinion signals?. Journal of European Public Policy, 28(2), 289-310.
• Willems, E., & De Bruycker, I. (2021). Balancing constituency and congruence: How constituency involvement affects positional congruence between organized interests and the general public. Governance, 34(1), 107-126.
• Willems, E., Beyers, J., & Heylen, F. (2021).Interest Representation in Belgium: Mapping the Size and Diversity of an Interest Group Population in a Multi-Layered Neo-Corporatist Polity. Politics Low Countries, 3, 32.

• Heylen, F., Willems, E., & Beyers, J. (2020). Do professionals take over? Professionalisation and membership influence in civil society organisations.Voluntas: international journal of voluntary and nonprofit organizations, 31, 1226-1238.
• Willems, E. (2020). Politicized policy access: The effect of politicization on interest group access to advisory councils. Public Administration, 98(4), 856-872.
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• Lefevere, J., Sevenans, J., Walgrave, S., & Lesschaeve, C. (2019). Issue reframing by parties: The effect of issue salience and ownership. Party Politics, 25(4), 507-519.
  
• Walgrave, S. and Boydstun, A. (2019), “The Comparative Agendas Project: The Evolving Research Interests and Designs of the CAP Scholarly Community” In: Baumgartner, F., Breunig, C., Grossman, E. (eds.), Comparative Policy Agendas. Theory, Tools and Data (pp. 35-49). Oxford University Press, Oxford.
• Walgrave, S., Joly, J., Sevenans, J. (2019), “The Belgian Agendas Project” In: Baumgartner, F., Breunig, C., Grossman, E. (eds.), Comparative Policy Agendas. Theory, Tools and Data (pp. 57-66). Oxford University Press, Oxford.
• Heylen, F., & Willems, E. (2019). Writing blank checks? How government funding affects interest organisations’ advocacy behaviour in a multi-layered context. Journal of European Public Policy, 26(6), 863-882.
  
  
  

Peer-reviewed articles

• Sheffer, L., Loewen, P. J., Soroka, S., Walgrave, S., & Sheafer, T. (2018). Nonrepresentative representatives: an experimental study of the decision making of elected politicians. American Political Science Review, 112(2), 302-321.
• Walgrave, S., & Joly, J. K. (2018). Surveying individual political elites: a comparative three-country study. Quality & Quantity, 52(5), 2221-2237.

Peer-reviewed articles 

• Wouters, R., & Walgrave, S. (2017). Demonstrating Power: How Protest Persuades Political Representatives. American Sociological Review, 82(2), 361-383.
• Walgrave, S., & Dejaeghere, Y. (2017). Surviving information overload: How elite politicians select information. Governance, 30(2), 229-244.
• Walgrave, S., Sevenans, J., Van Camp, K., & Loewen, P. (2017). What Draws Politicians’ Attention? An Experimental Study of Issue Framing and its Effect on Individual Political Elites. Political Behavior, 1-23.
• Walgrave, S., & Lesschaeve, C. (2017). The Matthew Effect in Electoral Campaigns: Increase in Policy Congruence Inequality During the Campaign. Electoral Studies: An International Journal.

   

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Peer-reviewed articles

• Sevenans, J., Walgrave, S., & Vos, D. (2015). Political elites’ media responsiveness and their individual political goals: A study of national politicians in Belgium (pdf). Research and Politics, 10.1177/2053168015593307.

Peer-reviewed articles

• Vliegenthart, R., Walgrave, S., & Meppelink, C. (2011). Inter-party agenda-setting in Belgian parliament. The role of party characteristics and competition. Political Studies, 59(2), 368-188.
• Van Aelst, P., Louwerse, T. (2014). Parliament without government: the Belgian parliament during the long government formation processes of 2007-2011. (pfd). West European politics, p. 475-496.

Book chapters

• Green-Pedersen, C. & Walgrave, S. (2014). Political Agenda Setting: An Approach to Studying Political Systems. In: Agenda Setting, Policies, and Political Systems. A Comparative Approach. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, p. 1-18.
• Green-Pedersen, C. & Walgrave, S. (2014). Conclusion: What it Takes to Turn Agenda Setting from an Approach into a Theory. In: Agenda Setting, Policies, and Political Systems. A Comparative Approach. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, p. 220-230.
• Walgrave, S., Zicha, B., Hardy, A., Joly, J., & Van Assche, T. (2014). Strong Devolution but no Increasing Issue Divergence: Evolving Issue Priorities of the Belgian Political Parties, 1987-2010 (pdf). In: Agenda Setting, Policies, and Political Systems. A Comparative Approach. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, p. 145-163.

Articles without peer review

• Erkel, P. van, Thijssen, P., Van Aelst, P.  (2014). Vier ideologische dimensies, één breuklijn (pdf). Samenleving en politiek, p. 36-44.
• Meulewaeter, C., Rihoux, B., Walgrave, S., & Lesschaeve, C. (2014). Is er nog een België in de Belgische Politiek? (pdf) Samenleving & Politiek 7, 27-37.

Working papers

• Sevenans, J., Walgrave, S., & Epping, L. (2014). What Draws Political Elites’ Attention and Why.  The Accessibility and Applicability of Media Information (pdf).

Books

Green-Pedersen, C. & Walgrave, S. (Eds.) (2014). Agenda Setting, Policies, and Political Systems. A Comparative Approach. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Peer-reviewed articles

• Vliegenthart, R., Walgrave, S., & Zicha, B. (2013). How preferences, information and institutions interactively drive agenda‐setting: Questions in the Belgian parliament, 1993–2000 (pdf). European Journal of Political Research, 52(3), 390-418.

Peer-reviewed articles

• Walgrave, S., Lefevere, J., & Tresch, A. (2012). The Associative Dimension of Issue Ownership (pdf). Public Opinion Quarterly, 76(4), 771-782.

Conference papers

• Prezelj, I., Perko, T., Turcanu, C., Cantone, M. & Geenen, D. (2012). Nuclear Emergency Communication: One Emergency, Many Voices and the Problem of Coordination. Proceedings of the 21st International Conference Nuclear Energy for New Europe, 5 September 2012 - 7 September 2012, Ljubljana, Slovenia
• Perko, T. & Železnik N. (2012). Are communication campaigns enough to enhance the radiation related knowledge? Proceedings of the 21st International Conference Nuclear Energy for New Europe, 5 September 2012 - 7 September 2012, Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Peer-reviewed articles

• Helbling, M., & Tresch, A. (2011). Measuring party positions and issue salience from media coverage: Discussing and cross-validating new indicators (pdf). Electoral Studies, 30(1): 174-183.
• Vliegenthart, R., & Walgrave, S. (2011). Content matters: The dynamics of parliamentary questioning in Belgium and Denmark (pdf). Comparative Political Studies, 44(8): 1031-1059
• Vliegenthart, R., Walgrave, S., & Meppelink, C. (2011). Inter‐party Agenda‐Setting in the Belgian Parliament: The Role of Party Characteristics and Competition (pdf). Political Studies, 59(2): 368-388.

Articles without peer review

• Wouters, R., Hooghe, M., De Smedt, J., & Walgrave, S. (2011). Rood en groen op het scherm: de vakbonden in het Vlaamse tv-nieuws (pdf). De Gids op Maatschappelijk Gebied: Blad met Mening (m/v), 102(6), 36-40.

Various (reports, unpublished manuscripts,...)

• Van Assche, T. (2011). Bart De Wever’s Leiderschapsprofiel (pdf).

Working papers

• Van Assche, T. (2011). When Do New Issues Appear? Punctuations in the Belgian Executive Agenda (pdf).

Peer-reviewed articles

• Van Aelst, P., Sehata, A., & Van Dalen, A. (2010). Members of parliament: Equal competitors for media attention? An analysis of personal contacts between MPs and political journalists in five European countries (pdf). Political communication, 27(3), 310-325.
• Vliegenthart, R., & Walgrave, S. (2010). When the media matter for politics: Partisan moderators of the mass media's agenda-setting influence on parliament in Belgium (pdf). Party Politics, 17(3): 321-342.
• Walgrave, S., & Vliegenthart, R. (2010). Why are policy agendas punctuated? Friction and cascading in parliament and mass media in Belgium (pdf). Journal of European Public Policy, 17(8), 1147-1170.

Working papers

• Walgrave, S., Van Aelst, P., & Bennett, L. (2010). Beyond agenda-setting. Towards a broader theory of agenda interactions between political actors and the mass media (pdf). In APSA Annual Meeting, Washington.

Peer-reviewed articles

• Walgrave, S. & Nuytemans, M. (2009). Party manifesto change: friction or smooth adaptation? A comparative analysis in 25 countries (1945-1998) (pdf). American Journal of Political Science, 53 (1): 190-206.
• Jones, B. D., Baumgartner, F. R., Breunig, C., Wlezien, C., Soroka, S., Foucault, M., François, A., Green-Pedersen, C., Koski, C., John, P., Mortensen, P. B., Varone, F. & Walgrave, S. (2009). A General Empirical Law of Public Budgets: A Comparative Analysis (pdf). American Journal of Political Science, 53 (4): 855-873.
• Baumgartner, F. R., Breunig, C., Green-Pedersen, C., Jones, B. D., Mortensen, P.B., Nuytemans, M.  & Walgrave, S. (2009). Punctuated Equilibrium in Comparative Perspective (pdf). American Journal of Political Science, 53 (3): 603-620.

Working papers

• Van Assche, T. (2009). Herman Van Rompuy: Calm Resolve in the European Union (pdf). 

Peer-reviewed articles

• Walgrave, S. & Varone, F. (2008). Punctuated Equilibrium and agenda-setting: bringing parties back in. Policy change after the Dutroux crisis in Belgium (pdf). Governance, 21 (3): 365-395.

Peer-reviewed articles

• Jagers, J. & Walgrave, S. (2007). Populism as a political communication style. An empirical study of political parties' discourse in Belgium (pdf). European Journal of Political Research, 46 (3): 319-345.

Articles without peer review

• Lefevere, J. (2007). Beleidsbeelden in het DHL-dossier (pdf). PSW Paper, 4.

PhDs

• Jagers, J. (2006). De stem van het volk! Populisme als concept getest bij Vlaamse politieke partijen (pdf). Universiteit Antwerpen.

Peer-reviewed articles

• Walgrave, S., Varone, F. & Dumont, P. (2006). Policy with or without parties? A comparative analysis of policy priorities and policy change in Belgium (1991-2000) (pdf). Journal of European Public Policy, 13 (7): 1039-1052.

Articles without peer review

• Walgrave, S. & Nuytemans, M. (2006). Wetgeving in België: wereldvreemd en/of rigide? De Belgische wetgevingsagenda in vergelijkend perspectief (1991-2000). Tijdschrift voor wetgeving, 199-218.
• De Swert, K., Walgrave, S., Caals, T. & Suetens, M. (2006). Ministeriële kabinetten en particratie. Carrièrepatronen van Belgische kabinetsmedewerkers (1970-1999). Burger, Bestuur en Beleid, 3 (2).

Articles without peer review

• Walgrave, S., Caals, T., Suetens, M. & De Swert, K. (2004). Ministerial cabinets and partitocracy. A career pattern study of ministerial cabinet members in Belgium (pdf). PSW Papers.

Peer-reviewed articles

• Suetens, M. & Walgrave, S. (2001). Belgian Politics Without Ministerial Cabinets? On the possibilities and limitations of a new political culture (pdf). Acta Politica, 36 (2): 180-205.

Articles without peer review

• Suetens, M. & Walgrave, S. (2001). Copernicus en de afschaffing van de kabinetten: de weg naar een beter bestuur? Streven, 66: 347-350.

Peer-reviewed articles

• Suetens, M. & Walgrave, S. (1999). Leven en werk van de cabinettard. Wie zijn de mannen achter de minister en wat doen ze? (pdf) Res Publica, 41: 499-528.

Peer-reviewed articles

• Van Aelst, P. & Walgrave, S. (1998). Voorbij de verzuiling? Kontich twaalf jaar later: een replicatie-onderzoek naar organisatienetwerken en politieke partijen, 19: 55-88.

Articles without peer review

• Walgrave,  S. (1996). Het 'Coppieters'-project: tussen droom en daad (pdf). Vlaanderen Morgen, 15: 31-42.