Nick Sitter

Dr Nick Sitter (b. 1969) is Professor of Political Economy. He holds a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Government, on the development of competitive party systems in post-communist East Central Europe, and an M.Sc. and B.Sc. (econ) from the same institution.

He is also Professor of Public Policy at at the Central European University and a Research Associate at the LSE's Centre for Analysis of Risk and Regulation. Previous academic positions include lectureships at the American University, Florida State University and Reading University and a part-time teacher position at the LSE. Before completing his Ph.D. Nick Sitter worked as a political consultant in the oil and gas sector in London.

Research areas

Comparative European Politics Political parties, party strategy, Euroscepticism, populism, the rule of law and democratic backsliding.

European Integration European institutions, the Single Market, The EU and non-member states: Norway, the European Economic Area, Brexit.

Public Policy and Political Economy Public administration, the regulatroy state, competition law, the international political economy of energy.

Political Violence and Strategic Studies Natonalism, civil war, terrorism and counter-terrorism.

ACADEMIC DEGREES

• 1999 London School of Economics and Political Science Ph.D.
• 1991 London School of Economics Master of Science
• 1990 London School of Economics Bachelor

WORK EXPERIENCE

• 2009 - Present LSE Centre for Analysis of Risk and Regulation Research Associate
• 2008 - Present Central European University Professor
• 2005 - Present BI Norwegian Business School Professor
• 2000 - 2004 BI Norwegian Business School Associate Professor
• 1999 - 2000 Central European University Assistant Professor
• 1997 - 1999 American University, London Semester Programme Lecturer
• 1996 - 1997 Kingston University, Dep of History Lecturer
• 1993 - 1997 The London School of Economics and Political Science Part-time Teacher
• 1995 - 1996 University of Reading, Dep of International Relations Lecturer

POPULAR SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES

Sitter, Nick. 

Making coalition politics work in a harsh climate. British Politics Review 2010 ;Volume 5.(4) BI

SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES

Parker, Tom; Sitter, Nick. 

The Four Horsemen of Terrorism: It's Not Waves, It's Strains. Terrorism and Political Violence 2016 ;Volume 28.(2) p. 197-216 BI

Andersen, Svein S; Sitter, Nick. 

Managing Heterogeneity in the EU: Using Gas Market Liberalisation to Explore the Changing Mechanisms of Intergovernmental Governance. Journal of European Integration 2015 ;Volume 37.(3) p. 319-334 BI

Bakke, Elisabeth; Sitter, Nick. 

Where do parties go when they die? The fate of failed parties in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary 1992–2013. East European Politics 2015 ;Volume 31.(1) p. 1-22 BI UiO

Sitter, Nick; Goldthau, Andreas. 

Soft Power with a Hard Edge: EU Policy Tools and Energy Security. Review of International Political Economy 2015 ;Volume 22.(5) p. 941-965 BI

Goldthau, Andreas; Sitter, Nick. 

A liberal actor in a realist world? The Commission and the external dimension of the single market for energy. Journal of European Public Policy 2014 ;Volume 21.(10) p. 1452-1472 BI

Bakke, Elisabeth; Sitter, Nick. 

Why Do Parties Fail? Cleavages, Government Fatigue and Electoral Failure in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary 1992–2012. East European Politics 2013 ;Volume 29.(2) p. 208-225 BI UiO

Kissane, B.; Sitter, Nick. 

Ideas in Conflict: The Nationalism Literature and the Comparative Study of Civil War. Nationalism & Ethnic Politics 2013 ;Volume 19.(1) p. 38-57 BI

Sitter, Nick; Parker, Tom. 

Fighting Fire with Water: NGO and Counter-Terrorism Policy Tools. Global Policy 2013 ;Volume 5.(2) p. 159-168 BI

Andersen, Svein S; Anker, Elisabeth; Hanstad, Dag Vidar; Sitter, Nick. 

Fra motspiller til medspiller : EU og norsk profesjonell fotball 1995-2010. Norsk Statsvitenskapelig Tidsskrift 2012 ;Volume 28.(4) p. 213-240 BI NIH

Bale, Tim; Green-Pedersen, Christoffer; Krouwel, André; Luther, Kurt Richard; Sitter, Nick. 

If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them? Explaining Social Democratic Responses to the Challenge from the Populist Radical Right in Western Europe. Political Studies 2010 ;Volume 58.(3) p. 410-426 BI

Kissane, B.; Sitter, Nick. 

The marriage of state and nation in European constitutions. Nations and Nationalism 2010 ;Volume 16.(1) p. 49-67 BI

Welle-Strand, Anne; Kjøllesdal, Kristian; Sitter, Nick. 

Assessing Microfinance: The Bosnia and Herzegovina Case. Managing Global Transitions 2010 ;Volume 8.(2) p. 145-166 BI

Henderson, Karen; Sitter, Nick. 

Political Developments in the EU Member States. Journal of Common Market Studies 2008 ;Volume 46.(Annual Review) p. 183213- BI

Henderson, K.; Sitter, Nick. 

Political Developments in the EU Member States, 2006. Journal of Common Market Studies 2007 ;Volume 45.(September, Supplemen) p. 183-211 BI

Andersen, Svein S.; Sitter, Nick. 

Differentiated Integration: What Is It and How Much Can the EU Accommodate?. Journal of European Integration 2006 ;Volume 28.(4) p. 313-330 BI

Sitter, Nick. 

Norway's Storting Election of September 2005: Back to the Left?. West European Politics 2006 ;Volume 29.(3) p. 573-580 BI

Sitter, Nick; Henderson, K.. 

Political Developments in the EU Member States. Journal of Common Market Studies 2006 ;Volume 44. p. 171-198 BI

Sitter, Nick; Kissane, B.. 

Civil Wars, Party Politics and the Consolidation of Regimes in Twentieth Century Europ. Democratization 2005 ;Volume 12.(2) p. 183-201 BI

Batory, Agnes; Sitter, Nick. 

Cleavages, competition and coalition-building: Agrarian parties and the European question in Western and East Central Europe. European Journal of Political Research 2004 ;Volume 43.(4) p. 523-546 BI

Eliassen, Kjell A.; Sitter, Nick. 

Ever Closer Cooperation? The Limits of the ‘Norwegian Method’ of European Integration. Scandinavian Political Studies 2003 ;Volume 26.(2) p. 125-144 BI

Sitter, Nick. 

Euro-Scepticism as Party Strategy: Persistence and Change in Party-Based Opposition to European Integration. ? 2003 ;Volume 32.(3) p. 239-252 BI

Sitter, Nick. 

Cleavages, Party Strategy and Party System Change in Europe East and West. Perspectives on European Politics and Society 2002 ;Volume 3.(3) p. 425-451 BI

Sitter, Nick. 

When is a Party System? A System’s Perspective on the Development of Competitive Party Systems in East Central Europe. Central European political science review 2002 ;Volume 3.(7) p. 75-96 BI

Sitter, Nick. 

Beyond class vs nation? Cleavage structures and party competition in Central Europe. Central European political science review 2001 ;Volume 2.(3) p. 67-91 BI

Sitter, Nick. 

The politics of opposition and european integration in Scandinavia : is euro-scepticism a government-opposition dynamic?. West European Politics 2001 ;Volume 24.(4) p. 22-39 BI

CONFERENCE PAPERS

Sverdrup, Ulf; Sitter, Nick. 

The new geopolitics of energy - Can G20 close the governance gap?. T20 Summit Turkey, The Challenges of Global Governance and Macroeconomic Cooperation; 2015-02-10 - 2015-02-11 BI NUPI

Sitter, Nick; Goldthau, Andreas. 

A Liberal Actor in a Realist World?. IPSA XXII World Congress of Political Science; 2013-07-19 - 2013-07-24 BI

Sitter, Nick; Goldthau, Andreas. 

Soft Power with a Hard Edge: EU Policy Tools and Energy Security. 3RD GR:EEN ANNUAL CONFERENCE; 2013-09-20 - 2013-09-20 BI

Sitter, Nick; Goldthau, Andreas. 

Soft Power with a Hard Edge: European Union Energy Policy and the Near Abroad. FP7 GR:EEN Case Study Integrity Forum; 2013-04-11 - 2013-04-12 BI

Sitter, Nick; Parker, Tom. 

Fighting Fire with Water: NGO and Counter-Terrorism Policy Tools. FP7 GR:EEN Case Study Integrity Forum on European Public Policy and Governance; 2012-09-18 - 2012-09-19 BI

Sitter, Nick. 

The Limits of the EU Regulatory State: Power, Politics and Pragmatism in European Gas Markets. EUSA Eleventh Biennial International Conference 2009; 2009-04-23 - 2009-04-25 BI

CHAPTERS

Sitter, Nick; Andersen, Svein S; Goldthau, Andreas. 

An Odd Pro-Market Trio: Germany, the UK and Norway. I: Energy Union: Europe's New Liberal Mercantilism?. Palgrave Macmillan 2017 ISBN 978-1-137-59105-0. p. 185-200 BI

Sitter, Nick; Andersen, Svein S; Goldthau, Andreas. 

Conclusion: Liberal Mercantilism?. I: Energy Union: Europe's New Liberal Mercantilism?. Palgrave Macmillan 2017 ISBN 978-1-137-59105-0. p. 237-241 BI

Sitter, Nick; Andersen, Svein S; Goldthau, Andreas. 

From Low to High Politics? The EU’s Regulatory and Economic Power. I: Energy Union: Europe's New Liberal Mercantilism?. Palgrave Macmillan 2017 ISBN 978-1-137-59105-0. BI

Sitter, Nick; Van Hulten, Michiel. 

Something for Everyone: Political Fragmentation and Policy Accommodation in the European Parliament. I: Energy Union: Europe's New Liberal Mercantilism?. Palgrave Macmillan 2017 ISBN 978-1-137-59105-0. p. 223-236 BI

Andersen, Svein S; Goldthau, Andreas; Sitter, Nick. 

The EU Regulatory State, Commission Leadership and External Energy Governance. I: EU Leadership in Energy and Environmental Governance: Global and Local Challenges and Responses. Palgrave Macmillan 2016 ISBN 9781137502759. BI

Andersen, Svein S; Sitter, Nick. 

Projecting the Regulatory State beyond the EU: Gas Markets and Energy Security. I: The European Union's Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective: Evaluating and generating hypotheses on 'actorness and power'. Routledge 2016 ISBN 9781138776708. BI

Sitter, Nick. 

EUs konkurranserett og -politikk. I: Moderne Forretningsjus III. Fagbokforlaget 2016 ISBN 9788245020465. p. 323-334 BI

Sitter, Nick. 

Terrorisme og demorkati. I: Demokrati - historien og ideene. Dreyer Forlag A/S 2015 ISBN 9788282651219. p. 590-603 BI

Sitter, Nick. 

What does EU Energy Policy Mean for the Climate. I: Science based activism. Festschrift to Jørgen Randers. Fagbokforlaget 2015 ISBN 978-82-450-1866-0. p. 143-156 BI

Sitter, Nick. 

The European Union, Energy Security and the Ukrainian October 2012 Election: Just another BRIC in the Wall?. I: Ukraine at Crossroads: Prospects of Ukraine's Relations with the European Union and Hungary. Budapest/Uzhgorod: Lira 2013 ISBN 978-617-596-097-4. p. 20--25 BI

Sitter, Nick. 

Ungarn. I: Politikk i Europa: Partier, regjeringsmakt, styreform (2. utgave). Universitetsforlaget 2013 ISBN 9788215022208. p. 341-354 BI

Sitter, Nick. 

Høyreekstremisme i Ungarn – demokrati i krise?. I: Høyreeksstremisme: Ideer og bevegelser i Europa. Dreyer Forlag A/S 2012 ISBN 9788282650564. p. 285-319 BI

Sitter, Nick. 

The awkward subject? : the study of European Union politics in the UK and Ireland. I: Analyzing European Union Politics. Societa Editrice Il Mulino 2012 ISBN 978-88-15-14718-9. p. 505-544 BI

Sitter, Nick. 

The Nordic Countries: The Causes and Consequences of Variable Geometry. I: European Disunion: Between Sovereignty and Solidarity. Palgrave Macmillan 2012 ISBN 9781403995117. p. 267-283 BI

Sitter, Nick. 

A magyar pártszerkezet 2010-ban: polarizáltabb, kevésbé plurális” [The Hungarian Party System in 2010]. I: Ùj képlet: A 2010-es választások Magyarországon. Budapest: Demokracia Kutatasok Magyar Kozpontja Alapitvany 2011 ISBN 9789638737687. p. 43-57 BI

Sitter, Nick. 

Absolute power? Hungary twenty years after the fall of communism. I: 20 Years since the Fall of the Berlin Wall. Transitions, State Break-Up and Democratic Politics in Central Europe and Germany. Intersentia 2011 ISBN 978-3-8305-1975-1. p. 249-268 BI

Andersen, Svein S.; Sitter, Nick. 

The European Union gas market : differentiated integration and fuzzy liberalization. I: Political economy of energy in Europe: forces of integration and fragmentation. Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag 2009 ISBN 978-3-8305-1635-4. p. 63-84 BI

Sitter, Nick. 

To structure political conflict : the institutionalization of referendums on European integration in the Nordic countries. I: Referendums and representative democracy : responsiveness, accountability and deliberation. Routledge 2009 ISBN 978-0-415-48103-8. p. 77-97 BI

Sitter, Nick. 

The European Question and the Norwegian Party System since 1961: The freezing of a modern cleavage or contingent opposition?. I: P. Taggart & A. Szczerbiak (eds), Opposing Europe? The Comparative Party Politics of Euroscepticism. Oxford University Press 2008 BI

Sitter, Nick. 

Ungarn. I: Elisabeth Bakke, Einar Berntzen og Knut Heidar (red), Politikk i Europa: Partier, regjeringsmakt, styreform. Universitetsforlaget 2008 p. 19- BI

Sitter, Nick; Batory, Agnes. 

Protectionism, Populism or Participation? Agrarian Party Strategy and the Contestation of European Union Membership. I: P. Taggart & A. Szczerbiak (eds), Opposing Europe? The Comparative Party Politics of Euroscepticism. Oxford University Press 2008 BI

Cincera, Patrizia; Sitter, Nick. 

EU competition policy and the transition to a more competitive communications industry. I: K. A. Eliassen & J. From, The Privatization of European Telecommunications. Ashgate 2007 BI

Sitter, Nick. 

Gel du débat partisan ou opposition ponctuelle? La question européenne en Norvège. I: D. Reynié (ed.), L'opinion européenne 2006. : Fondation Robert Schuman 2006 BI

Sitter, Nick; Bakke, Elisabeth. 

Østutvidelsen - Sentral-Europa, Baltikum og EU. I: E. Bakke (ed.), Sentral-Europa og Baltikum etter 1989. Det Norske Samlaget 2006 BI

Sitter, Nick; Batory, Agnes. 

Europe and the Hungarian Elections of April 2006. I: EPERN Election Briefings. : Sussex European Institute/The Royal Institute of International Affairs 2006 BI

Sitter, Nick; Sørensen, Rune J.. 

Fiscal Federealism and Political Competition in the enlarged European Union: the Old Man's Burden?. I: Europe's Nascent State: Public Policy in the European Union, Essays in Honour of Kjell A. Eliassen , J. From & N. Sitter (eds). Gyldendal Akademisk 2006 BI

Sitter, Nick. 

European Organisations: From Negotiated Design to Overlapping Competencies and Quasi-Membership. I: M. P. van der Hoek (ed.), Handbook on Public Policy and Administration in the EU. Marcel Dekker 2005 BI

Sitter, Nick. 

The Norwegian General Election of 12 September 2005. I: Sussex European Institute EPERN Election Briefings. : Sussex European Institute 2005 BI

Sitter, Nick; Eliassen, Kjell A.. 

The Quiet European: Norway?s Quasi-Membership of the European Union. I: P.Magnette (ed.): La Grande Europe. : Institut d'études européennes, Université de Bruxelles 2004 BI

Eliassen, Kjell A.; Sitter, Nick; Monsen, Catherine Børve. 

The Governance of Telecommunications in the European Union. I: M. Campanella & S. Eijffinger (eds.): EU Economic Governance and Globalization. London: Edward Elgar 2003 BI

Sitter, Nick. 

Cleavages, Party Strategy and Party System Change in Europe East and West. I: P. Lewis & P. Webb (eds.): Pan-European Perspective on Political Parties. : Brill 2003 BI

Sitter, Nick. 

Ungarn – stabilisering gjennom konkurranse. I: E. Bakke (red): Politisk utvikling i Sentral-Europa og Baltikum siden 1989. Det Norske Samlaget 2002 BI

Andersen, Svein S.; Eliassen, Kjell A.; Sitter, Nick. 

Formal processes : EU institutions and actors. I: Making policy in Europe/Svein Andersen og Kjell Eliassen (eds.). London: Sage 2001 BI

Sitter, Nick; Eyre, Sebastian. 

From PTT to NRA: Towards a New Regulatory Regime in Europe. I: European Telecommunications Liberalisation. London: Routledge(Routledge Studies in the European Economy) 1999 BI

MEDIA CONTRIBUTIONS

Sitter, Nick. 

Faren over. Foreløpig. (Valget i Storbritannia). Dagens næringsliv 2015 BI

Sitter, Nick; Lodge, Martin. 

Backsliding as new transboundary crisis for the European Union. Risk and Regulation 2015 ;Volume Winter. p. 30-31 BI

Sitter, Nick; Parker, Tom. 

Se opp for terror-fellen. Forskning.no : nettavis med nyheter fra norsk og internasjonal forskning 2015 BI

Kissane, B.; Sitter, Nick. 

National identity and constitutionalism in Europe: Introduction. Nations and Nationalism 2010 ;Volume 16.(1) p. 1-5 BI

BOOKS

Sitter, Nick. 

Terrorismens Historie: Attentat og terrorbekjempelse fra Bakunin til IS. Dreyer Forlag A/S 2017 (ISBN 9788282651790) 389 p. BI

Sitter, Nick; Andersen, Svein S; Goldthau, Andreas. 

Energy Union: Europe's New Liberal Mercantilism?. Palgrave Macmillan 2017 (ISBN 978-1-137-59105-0) 274 p. BI

Sitter, Nick; Goldthau, Andreas. 

A Liberal Actor in a Realist World: The European Union Regulatory State and the Global Political Economy of Energy. Oxford University Press 2015 (ISBN 978-0-19-871959-5) 192 p. BI

Eliassen, Kjell A.; Sitter, Nick. 

Understanding Public Management. Sage Publications 2008 (ISBN 9781412908580) BI

Sitter, Nick; From, Johan. 

Europe's Nascent State: Public Policy in the European Union, Essays in Honour of Kjell A. Eliassen. Gyldendal Akademisk 2006 BI

RESEARCH REPORTS

Sitter, Nick. 

The Study of European Union Politics in the UK and Ireland. Budapest: Centre for European Union Research, CEU 2011 20 p. BI

Sitter, Nick. 

Europe and the Norwegian General Election of 14 September 2009”, EPERN Election Briefings, No.48, Sussex European Institute/The Royal Institute of International Affairs. London: The Royal Institute of International Affairs 2009 9 p. BI

Sitter, Nick. 

Free to Choose? Party Politics and the Road to European Referendums in the Nordic Countries. : BI Norwegian School of Management 2006 (3) BI

Sitter, Nick; Kissane, B.. 

The Comparative Study of Civil War: Toward a Dynamic Model. : BI Norwegian School of Management 2006 (1) BI

Sitter, Nick; Eliassen, Kjell A.. 

Norges deltakelse i Schengen Samarbeidet: vurderinger og anbefalinger. Sandvika: Handelshøyskolen BI 2003 (3) BI

Eliassen, Kjell A.; Monsen, Catherine Børve; Sitter, Nick. 

From Sector Regulation to Competition? The Changing Governance of Telecommunications in the European Union. Sandvika: Handelshøyskolen BI 2002 (1) BI

Sitter, Nick. 

Opposing Europe: Euro-Scepticism, Opposition and Party Competition. University of Sussex: Opposing Europe Research Network Working Paper 2002 BI