Henk te Velde, one of the founders of the Political History Research School, has resigned from the General Board of the RSPH. His significance for the development of the RSPH can hardly be overestimated. We particularly mention his efforts as an academic director of the school and his commitment to internationalization.

We are pleased to invite you to submit a paper abstract for the workshop ‘Legitimate spying? Challenging or supporting intelligence services in Europe’ at Utrecht University, The Netherlands, on 3-4 November 2025. Abstracts should be submitted before Monday 17 March 2025 to Eleni Braat (e.c.braat@uu.nl).

Published in French 1995 and translated into English in 1997, Bernard Manin’s Principles of Representative Government stands as one of the classic works on the question of political representation. Favorably reviewed as soon as it came out, the book has since enjoyed considerable success, both in academia and beyond. Bridging historical analysis and political theorising, Manin offered a lasting contribution, which still shapes discussions of election, representation, democracy or sortition to this day. This workshop is the occasion for a critical reappraisal of the core ideas of the book, as well as a study of its reception and its impact in debates on political representation.