Borut Rončević is Professor of Sociology and Jean Monnet Chair at the Faculty of Information Studies in Novo mesto and the School of Advanced Social Studies in Nova Gorica. His main research interests are sociological theory, regional innovation systems and information society.Matevž Tomšič is a political sociologist and Professor at the School of Advanced Social Studies in Nova Gorica. His research interests include character of elites, quality of governance, political culture, and democratization. He has been engaged in several international research projects on these topics.