Iveta Kažoka
PROVIDUS’ director and senior policy analyst in the areas of good governance and citizen participation. Her expertise is regularly requested by parliamentary committees and working groups of the Latvian government when they are elaborating new policies, for instance, regulation of political parties or citizen participation in decision-making.
In addition to developing policy studies (e.g. on channels for participatory decision making in the EU) and analytical articles, Iveta has organised and facilitated public discussions, and developed innovative formats for debate on challenging issues. She has also helped to create interactive voter education tools such as gudrasgalvas.lv (a communication network between Latvian MPs, ministers and MEPs and citizens) and a voting advice application "Try on a Party!". She is generally recognized in Latvia as an opinion leader in her sphere of expertise.
Iveta has a Master’s degree in Law from University of Latvia, as well as an inter-university degree on EU affairs. She has been a guest lecturer for several universities, teaching Public Law, Public Administration Law and Legal Philosophy. Before joining PROVIDUS, Iveta worked for the Ministry of Justice in Latvia.
The list of recent projects (both in Latvian and in English) can be found here.
The list of recent publications - articles, research reports and policy papers (both in Latvian and in English) - can be found here.
Safeguarding democracies in the digital age
Iveta Kazoka's prepared remarks prepared for the roundtable discussion on democracy in digital age Read
How can European Affairs Committees be strengthened?
A book chapter on European Affairs Committees written by two Providus' researchers is published in 'Deliberative Democracy in the EU: Countering Populism with Participation and Debate'. The book is part of the Towards a Citizens’ Union (2CU) project co-funded by the EU’s Erasmus+ Programme. It is the product of collaboration with 20 renowned think tanks from the European Policy Institutes Network (EPIN). This third and final volume follows the first two in the series, Direct Democracy in the EU: The Myth of a Citizens’ Union, and Representative Democracy in the EU: Recovering Legitimacy. Read
Representative Democracy in the EU: Recovering Legitimacy
Representative democracy is beset by a crisis of legitimacy across the world, but in Europe this crisis is compounded by the inadequacy of national governments to address citizens’ frustrations and to achieve transnational unity on common issues. How representative are national parliaments in their decision-making on EU matters?
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Report: What affected voters' decisions in the 6 October 2018 parliamentary elections?
Report "What affected voters' decisions in the 6 October 2018 parliamentary elections?" - presented on 14th of December during the conference "Protecting the integrity of elections". Read
Summary Conclusions from Public Policy Forum on Political Parties
We are publishing a summary of ideas expressed at the public policy forum "Political Parties: Welcome to the 21st Century". Read
Corruption coverage in Latvian media: Four case studies
What does Latvia’s media landscape look like in the European context? And how does corruption coverage differ in Latvia? Providus is publishing a new report covering four case studies on corruption involving journalists in Latvia. Read
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European Union, a challenge of confused identity
Last autumn Eurobarometer opinion survey registered a sharp drop in people's trust in the European Union. Trust in EU decreased in every single member state and in countries that aspire to join the EU. Reasons for plunging confidence might seem obvious - inability to manage the refugee crisis. Nevertheless, I'd argue that there is a deeper reason: a case of confused EU identity. European public takes EU for more than it (already) is and, therefore, misattributes responsibility for problems in Europe. Read
Narratives of evil: Localized understandings of corruption
This report has been produced within the framework of ANTICORRP reseach initiative. Read
Human Assisted Content Analysis of the print press coverage of corruption in Latvia
Latvia Human Assisted Content Analysis (HACA) report is an elaboration of the main findings that have emerged from a comparative study of news media representation of corruption in 7 European Union member states – France, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia, United Kingdom. Read
Handbook on citizen initiatives promoting lobbying transparency, lobbying integrity and equality of access
This handbook has been created by Transparency International Latvia for civil society organisations that aim to improve the lobbying environment either in their respective countries, or in international institutions, or even globally. Read
Latvia's 10 years in the European Union: public opinion and decision making practices
The study evaluates the participation of officials and citizens, including their own assessment. Read
Opportunities for the organized civil society to influence EU decision-making via national positions 4
Have we succeeded in becoming shapers of EU policy and not just passive recipients of acquis communautaire? Read
Baseline study on EU New Member States’ Level of Integration and Engagement in EU Decision-Making
The purpose of this study is to present short baseline conclusions on EU New Member States’ (NMS) level of integration and engagement in EU decision-making. Read
Inclusion Unaffordable? The Uncertain Fate of Integration Policies in Europe
Raksti, kas tapuši pēc konferences ‘Inclusion Unaffordable? The Uncertain fate of Integration Policies in Europe'. Read
Devil in the detail of government restructuring plan
If implemented, the new government restructuring plan could significantly reduce transparency and civic participation in government decision-making. Read
