In a recent article in the Journal of European Studies, Nadège Boels and Vjosa Musliu examine how the European Union discursively responded to the 2020 protests in Belarus. #DemocraticFutures #EU #Belarus #PoliticalScience #DiscourseAnalysis #InternationalRelations

This article by Enduena Klajiqi examines feminist archival activism in Kosovo and how it challenges dominant post-war, male-centered historical narratives. brill.com/view/journal...

A new Special Issue by Vjosa Musliu and Gezim Krasniqi argues that treating Kosovo as a fixed “case study” in international relations has turned it into a black box defined mainly by ethnic conflict and external intervention. brill.com/view/journal...

New work by Jihane Sliti and Iman Lechkar. Their article in "Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power" examines Belgian media coverage of male converts in the context of “foreign fighters,” with a focus on processes of whitening and de-Othering. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

On altar boys and good-hearted guys: de-Othering and the whitening of male convert “foreign fighters” in Belgian newspapers

This article analyzes how Belgian Dutch and French-speaking newspapers (2013–2022) use emotional storytelling techniques to shape news stories about convert men to Islam in the conflict-zone Syria/...

tandfonline.com

Prof. Karen Celis in De Afspraak (16/1) over online geweld tegen vrouwelijke politici. Na de aankondiging dat Vlaams minister Melissa Depraetere op doktersadvies onmiddellijk met zwangerschapsverlof moest, werden sociale media overspoeld met negatieve en ronduit beledigende commentaren.

📢 New article by @ninojunius.bsky.social and Stefaan Walgrave on politicians and their social ties!

🌍 When was the last time you were trained by three top-notch EU projects simultaneously? 👉 Learn more: www.pledgeproject.eu/joint-worksh... 🎟 Register now via the link or QR code and be part of this collaborative discussion! #PolicyMaking #ResearchToPolicy #PLEDGE #PolicyInnovation

Very happy that my contribution in the @ejcs-journal.bsky.social and the full special issue on "Space Invaders Revisited" is now out in print! Honoured to be amongs amazing scholars, to revisit the amazing and still timely work by Nirmal Puwar! ➡️Read my piece here: doi.org/10.1177/1367...

🎉 We are delighted to announce the release of our @dfuturevub.bsky.social colleague Ebru Akgün's book, “Sürdürülebilir Tarım Hayali: Gül Yetiştiriciliğinin Sosyal Ekolojisi” (A Dream for Sustainable Agriculture: The Social Ecology of Rose Cultivation), published by Bağlam Yayınları.

@dfuturevub.bsky.social researcher @thomlegein.bsky.social was interviewed by @brusselstimes.com for an article on the Brussels regional government formation. www.brusselstimes.com/brussels/180...

500 days with no Brussels Government: 'I don't know why I even bothered voting'

The European capital's reputation for complexity is certainly getting worse, but the political deadlock is also felt on the ground.

brusselstimes.com

Congratulations to @marcozampieri.bsky.social for receiving a PhD Fellowship from @fwovlaanderen.bsky.social. We're over the moon to be able to continue to work with Marco and engage with his interesting, important and timely project.

Another festive week at @dfuturevub.bsky.social 🎉 Benjamin Blanckaert succesfully defended his dissertation "Holding Together or Falling Apart? Electoral Politics Across the Linguistic Divide in the Brussels-Capital Region."

About last night... 🎉 Congratulations Dr. @kamilbernaerts.bsky.social ! 🎓 📖 Dr. Bernaerts defended his dissertation on polarisation and its complex, dynamic relationship with democracy and institutions. Needless to say, it was fantastic! Find out more about Kamil's work via kamilbernaerts.com

New publication by DFuture’s Nino Junius et al.: “Why top politicians are pessimistic or optimistic about democracy and its evolution”. What makes political leaders lean one way - optimism or pessimism - and how does that shape democracy’s direction? Link: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Why top politicians are pessimistic or optimistic about democracy and its evolution

Amid widespread concerns about the crisis of democracy, scant scholarly attention has been given to the views of elite politicians who are at the helm of democracy and, for instance, have the abili...

tandfonline.com

Presented two papers at #ecpr25 in Thessaloniki: 1️⃣ Brussels youth & their perceptions of democracy: ecpr.eu/Events/Event... 2️⃣ Urban youth’s expectations of political representation (with prof. @elinesevers.bsky.social): ecpr.eu/Events/Event... Thanks to discussants & chairs for the feedback.

New publication in International Political Science Review! Together with Didier Caluwaerts, I found that the relationship between polarisation and violence was weaker in countries with a federal system and/or a rigid constitution. Important contribution regarding polarisation's impact on democracy.

DFUTURE@dfuturevub.bsky.social · last yr.

New article by DFuture colleagues @kamilbernaerts.bsky.social & Didier Caluwaerts in International Political Science Review: Fight or unite? Consensus institutions, polarization, and political violence in 113 democracies (1900–2023). 🔗 journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

New article by DFuture colleagues @kamilbernaerts.bsky.social & Didier Caluwaerts in International Political Science Review: Fight or unite? Consensus institutions, polarization, and political violence in 113 democracies (1900–2023). 🔗 journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

journals.sagepub.com

✨ Just out: “Ideas vs Interests: Explaining Party Elites’ Support for Party Democratic Innovations” by @thomlegein.bsky.social, David Talukder, Rangoni & @emilievh.bsky.social. 🗞️ Dive into the article: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Ideas vs. interests: explaining party elites’ support for party democratic innovations

Over recent decades, political parties have experimented with organisational reforms aimed at enhancing more inclusive, direct models. More recently, one emerging model involves Party Democratic In...

tandfonline.com

Political science blog @ecprtheloop.bsky.social published a piece by @yunuspoblome.bsky.social, intern at @dfuturevub.bsky.social and the REDIRECT Horizon Europe project 👏🚀 theloop.ecpr.eu/jd-vances-in...

JD Vance’s international right-wing populism

Right-wing populism has gone beyond the nation state. Analysing JD Vance’s speech at the Munich Security Conference earlier this year, Yunus Poblome describes how US foreign policy under Trump depicts...

theloop.ecpr.eu

Our colleague, Ebru Akgün, from VUB @dfuturevub.bsky.social and @uantwerpen.be, presented her doctoral research at the 6th DiscourseNet Congress, held at @ulbruxelles.bsky.social (ULB) from 7-10 July.

🚨 Reminder 🚨 🎉 Call for 2 postdoctoral research mandates (1 year) at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) 🎉 🎯 Deadline: 20/6/2025

DFUTURE@dfuturevub.bsky.social · last yr.

🚨 Call for 2 postdocs! The EDGE team at VUB is hiring! We’re looking for researchers to rethink democracy in Europe: climate, representation & inequality 🔍🌍 Start: Fall 2025 Location: Brussels 🇧🇪 Deadline: 20 June Info & how to apply 👉 tinyurl.com/zpw3p6z7

🌍 Hoe kan ecologisme méér mensen bereiken dan vandaag? Nieuw stuk in SAMPOL van onze collega Ebru Akgün en @evaplatteau.bsky.social (Vlaams Parlement): over ecologie, klasse en inclusie. 👉 www.sampol.be/2025/06/hoe-... #ecologisme #sampol #dfuture

Hoe het ecologisme meer mensen kan aanspreken

Groene partijen staan vandaag vooral in de verdediging. Het is tijd om het klimaatverhaal te herschrijven, zodat meer mensen de noodzakelijke klimaattransitie steunen.

sampol.be

🚨 Call for 2 postdocs! The EDGE team at VUB is hiring! We’re looking for researchers to rethink democracy in Europe: climate, representation & inequality 🔍🌍 Start: Fall 2025 Location: Brussels 🇧🇪 Deadline: 20 June Info & how to apply 👉 tinyurl.com/zpw3p6z7

Had a packed week at #EUIA25: presented my work on EU (in)security in post-2020 Armenia (coming soon @jcms-eu.bsky.social -stay tuned!) & discussed brilliant papers by @dfuturevub.bsky.social colleagues. We also stood in solidarity with Gaza & against academic complicity in the ongoing genocide.

😇 Want to get inspiration? Our latest PhD summary by Daan Vermassen is available #openaccess plc-journal.eu/article/view... and the review by Karen Celis plc-journal.eu/article/view... @dfuturevub.bsky.social

1/ My recently published article @ifjpglobal.bsky.social studies how feminist activists in #Armenia negotiate the European Union's interventions to combat domestic violence amidst competing pressures. A thread👇 tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... @giesugent.bsky.social @dfuturevub.bsky.social

European values, Eurasian family, or neither? A contrapuntal reading of the European Union’s agenda to combat domestic violence in Armenia

This article studies how feminist activists in Armenia negotiate the agenda of the European Union (EU) to combat domestic violence in a contested geopolitical environment. Drawing on post-socialist...

tandfonline.com

Marie Curie Call for Postdoctoral Fellowship is still open: ‼️ DEADLINE 31/05 ‼️

DFUTURE@dfuturevub.bsky.social · last yr.

🚨 Call for Postdocs! 🚨 VUB’s Democratic Futures Research Centre is looking for candidates for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships 2025! Want to boost your research career in Brussels with top training & international mobility? 1/4

🎉 Big congrats to DFuture’s Nino Junius & David Talukder — both awarded a FWO Postdoc Fellowship! 🧠🎓 🗣️ Nino: Can political parties foster inclusive, reflective deliberation? 🗳️ David: What happens when citizens feel underrepresented in democracy? We’re proud of this inspiring future research!

🗳️ What’s next for democracy? 📍 June 05 in Brussels → Join the BRIAS Public Forum on Democratic Governance – Challenges & Innovations. 👥 Free, open to all, packed with sharp minds & bold ideas. 🔗 brias.be/en/brias-pub...

Take a look at this literature review by Kevin Meyvaert @dfuturevub.bsky.social "A Lower Voting Age in the Low Countries? Potential Effects of Voting Age at 16 for the Low Countries". Now available in #OpenAccess in Politics of the Low Countries (Vol. 6 No. 2) at: plc-journal.eu/article/view...