Igor Vidačak is Professor of European Union Politics at the Faculty of Political Science of the University of Zagreb, where he acts as Director of Master of European Studies programme and holder or the Jean Monnet Chair “Active European Democratic Citizenship for Resilient Society”. He is also the Director of Studies at the European Transformation and Integration Studies Department at the College of Europe in Tirana.
He obtained his PhD at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Political Science, and his MA from the College of Europe in Natolin. His research interest includes the transformation of governance and civil society in the EU accession process; EU enlargement; interest groups and lobbying in the EU; open and inclusive policymaking; participatory and deliberative democracy; better regulation. He is member of the research team of the Jean Monnet Network “Debating Europe” analysing the sources of contemporary EU-criticism and the character of the oft-cited gap between EU elites and citizens.
Recent publications
Vidačak, I. (2024). Unlocking Influence: Access and Lobbying Strategies of Croatian Interest Groups in the EU Policymaking. In “Crisis Era European Integration: Economic, Political and Social Lessons from Croatia”. London. Routledge, 38-55
Vidačak, I. (2023). The role of organised interests in shaping Croatia's negotiating positions in the Council of the EU. East European Politics, 39(2), 345-365.
Vidačak, I., & Šabić, S. Š. (2023). Mapping Best Practices on Transparency, Integrity, Accountability and Anti-corruption: Case Studies from Selected Parliaments: In-depth Analysis Requested by the European Parliament ING2 Special Committee. European Union.
Vidačak, I. (2022). Lobbying in the EU Transition Countries. In Handbuch Lobbyismus. Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden, 38-55.
Vidačak, I. (2022). Challenges of Developing Open Policymaking in the Western Balkans, in “Challenges and Barriers to the European Union Expansion to the Balkan Region”, ed. Ferreira Costa, Bruno, Hershey (PA): IGI Global, 297-314
Vidačak, I. (2021). The Effects of EU Conditionality on Patterns of Policy Engagement of Civil Society Organizations in Candidate Countries. Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 21(4), 571-592.
Vidačak, I., & Milošić, T. (2020). Measuring the Success of the Presidency of the Council of the EU-Austria and Croatia in Comparative Perspective. Croatian International Relations Review, 26(87), 32-63.