Projects
The spending behaviour of the European political parties (2004-2016) KU Leuven
In his State of the Union speech in 2017, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker announced new funding rules for European political parties and foundations. This dissertation focuses on this revision of the regulatory framework, which was completed in 2018. The main objective is to explain this change of the rules, both regarding timing and content.
After a general introduction in the first chapter of the dissertation, ...
The determinants of voters' accuracy in postioning parties on policy issues University of Antwerp
Populism as radical opportunism: Case studies in strategic image-building by right-wing populist parties in Europe KU Leuven
This dissertation examines how right-wing populist parties in Europe use image-building strategies (such as exceptionalism, underdogism, challengerism, and crisis discourse) to distinguish themselves from other parties, in order to capitalize on perceived policy convergence. It posits that populism is, at its core, a form of “radical opportunism” more so than a political movement with an underlying ideology. This explains why populism is so ...
The impact of radical right populist parties on European integration Ghent University
This project aims to study under which conditions and how radical right populist parties (RRPPs) affect European integration. Do RRPPs always oppose European integration or does this depend on the policy domain at hand? The research question will be answered through a multi-method research design combining QCA with process-tracing. This approach should allow to assess whether RRPPs hinder efficient policymaking.
Surviving in a challenging political and policy context? A comparative analysis of Belgian, Dutch and French political party think tanks KU Leuven
Political party think tanks (also known as study centres, scientific institutes or research foundations) are considered to be the brains of political parties. Despite their crucial role in various political systems, there is little academic research on their functions. Currently, political party think tanks are under pressure, both from the party politics side (such as electoral decline of traditional parties) and from recent trends in the ...
Political participation of adolescents. The Belgian political panel survey 2006-2008. KU Leuven
The activation of political gender stereotypes: an experimental test of the effect of the information environment on the use of political gender stereotypes in Flanders. Ghent University
The position of women in politics has captured the attention of
scholars for decades. Also today, women continue to face difficulties
when penetrating this male-dominated domain. Gender stereotypes
are one of the factors impeding women’s entrance in politics. By
investigating the conditions under which political gender stereotypes
are activated in voters’ minds, this project moves beyond a
description of ...