Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR)

Luc Fransen appointed professor of Transnational Governance - AISSR Luc Fransen appointed Professor of Transnational Governance at the UvA. He researches cross-border collaboration on environment, human rights, and economic development.

☀️ Almost summer break, but we’ve got great news: Luc Fransen is appointed Professor of Transnational Governance at the UvA.

He'll focus on how civil society, business & governments shape global governance, from labour rights to climate policy.

🌍 Congrats, Luc!

aissr.uva.nl/shared/facul...

🎉 Congrats to Dr. Sofia Wickberg (Political Science) on receiving a prestigious NWO VENI grant!

Her project, 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 ‘𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗚𝗮𝗽' 𝗶𝗻 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗶-𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲, explores why digital anti-corruption tools often fall short of their promises 👇

🔗 aissr.uva.nl/shared/uva/e...

Turning low-grade waste into high-value sustainable materials - HIMS The Catalysis Engineering group at the Van ‘t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences (HIMS) led by associate professor Shiju Raveendran is part of the newly established ABEL consortium that aims to con...

♻️ Turning low-grade waste into high-value materials. Congrats to Joyeeta Gupta & the ABEL consortium with the €6.7M Dutch Research Agenda (NWA) grant for driving circular bioeconomy forward 🌱👏

hims.uva.nl/content/news...

🎉 Congrats to AISSR & @uva-fmg.bsky.social political scientist Ursula Daxecker & the DeMoCraft team with a €6.6M grant via NWA–ORC! 🙌

With @christianburgers.bsky.social, @shjjacobs.bsky.social (@ascor.bsky.social) @theresakuhn.bsky.social (@uvahumanities.bsky.social)

🔗 aissr.uva.nl/shared/uva/e...

YouTube video by Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research AISSR - How it started

📀 We recently found a dusty DVD in the AISSR office: a 15-year-old intro video from our founding days.

A nostalgic glimpse of our researchers, early work, piled desks, and projects. And how far we’ve come. Here’s to what’s next! 🥂

#15yrs

youtu.be/LAnWAiZoXCc?...

Funding from NWO SSH Open Competition for 11 UvA research projects Eleven UvA researchers and their teams can start promising projects thanks to allocations within SSH Open Competition M 2025 of the Dutch Research Council. The projects will cover a diverse range of topic -such as social media, health and the labour market- with plenty of room for experimentation and innovation. The projects last for a maximum of five years.

👏 Congrats to cultural sociologist Olga Sezneva on receiving the €400K Dutch Research Council grant for her Contested Objects, Connected Histories (COCH) project on memory, conflict & heritage in the Polish-German borderlands 💐

www.uva.nl/en/content/n...

The new Gilded Age: For billionaire weddings, discretion is out and consumption is in The displays of wealth and power at the recent weddings of billionaires, like Bezos-Sánchez's nuptials, are a callback to the Gilded Age.

Sociologist Ashley Mears weighs in on Jeff Bezos’ wedding in @businessinsider.com: “More money in the system = more elaborate ways of showing status.” A new Gilded Age of conspicuous consumption? 💸

www.businessinsider.com/billionaire-...

Research article entitled "Politics without Presence? The Symbolic Representation of Trans People in Germany and the Netherlands" by Anne Louise Schotel and Liza Mügge. Abstract begins: Historically, trans people have been excluded from politics. Despite political under representation, trans interests increasingly appear on the political agenda in the Netherlands and Germany. In 2021, trans women were elected to the Dutch and German parliaments for the first time. However, increased trans visibility is accompanied by backlash and transphobia. The political representation of trans people does not follow a familiar pattern from elected descriptive representatives to increased substantive representation of interests. What mechanisms shape the political representation of trans people? We argue that symbolic representation shapes possibilities for descriptive and substantive representation of trans people.

🏆 Winner of this year's Best Article Prize 🏆

@alschotel.bsky.social & @lizamugge.bsky.social use of qualitative text analysis paired with in-depth interviews bring out critical insights into trans symbolic representation in 🇩🇪 & 🇳🇱 parliaments.

Available 🌟 #OpenAccess 🌟
buff.ly/4aKHQv9

The climate and ecological crisis - what is to be done? - Centre for Sustainable Development Studies Lunch lecture with Professor Adam Aron on June 27: why personal change isn’t enough and how collective action can tackle the climate crisis.

🗣️ What does real climate action look like?

Join UC Diego Prof Adam Aron (@swaziadam.bsky.social) tomorrow, for a talk on collective action, climate justice & the power of local movements

📅 27 June
🕐 13:00-14:00
🔗 csds.uva.nl/content/even...

Hosted by our Centre for Sustainable Development Studies

Opinie: De politiek hanteert een veel te beperkte definitie van dakloosheid Een meerderheid van alle daklozen in Nederland verblijft niet in de maatschappelijke opvang, maar slapen bij vrienden op de bank of in illegale huisvestingen. Ook zij zouden dus recht moeten hebben op...

Vandaag betogen Jan de Vries en ik in de Volkskrant dat effectief dakloosheidsbeleid dakloosheid in al haar vormen moet erkennen. Dat betekent ook urgentiestatus voor al deze groepen, zodat de problemen niet hoeven op te stapelen

Hierover debatteert de TK vandaag

www.volkskrant.nl/columns-opin...

D66-migratieplan roept gemengde reacties op: “Radicale koerswijziging” - Ey! Daily Experts en belangenorganisaties reageren verdeeld op het voorstel van D66-leider Rob Jetten om het Nederlandse asielbeleid om te gooien naar een ‘Canadees model’. Critici spreken van een ‘egoïstisch’ ...

'Het idee om mensen buiten Europa asiel te laten aanvragen is lovenswaardig als het gaat om veiligheid. Maar het is lastig om het goed en menswaardig uit te voeren', zegt @saskiabonjour.bsky.social over het nieuwe @d66.nl migratieplan. 'Goedbedoeld, maar problematisch'.

🔗 eydaily.nl/politiek/d66...

Westen kijkt weg van oorlog in Gaza, waarschuwen deskundigen: 'Palestijnen betalen de prijs' De oorlog tussen Israël en Iran komt voor premier Netanyahu op een strategisch moment. Het kan de aandacht afleiden van die andere oorlog in het Midden-Oosten. De afgelopen maanden kwam internationaal...

Erella Grassiani ziet de toekomst somber in nu er oorlog is tussen Israël en Iran. "De Gazanen zullen zien hoe snel de blik van de wereld kan verschuiven naar een ander onderwerp. De weinige aandacht die er voor Gaza was, is nu verschoven naar Iran," zegt ze tegen @rtl.nl

www.rtl.nl/nieuws/buite...

Modified bodies, material selves: beauty ideals in post-reform Shanghai Published in Asian Anthropology (Vol. 24, No. 2, 2025)

Did you know that Asian Anthropology publishes book reviews?

In our latest issue, Ke Ma (@aissr.bsky.social) reviews 'Modified Bodies, Material Selves' by Julie E. Starr — on beauty, identity & the body in post-reform Shanghai.

🔗 doi.org/10.1080/1683...

#BookReview #Beauty #China #Anthropology

ERC Advanced Grants for six UvA researchers The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded prestigious Advanced Grants to UvA academics particle physicist Gianfranco Bertone, astronomer Carsten Dominik, political scientist Marieke de Goede, lo...

👏 Congratulations to @mdgoede.bsky.social, Professor of Politics of Security Cultures, on her €2.5M @erc.europa.eu Advanced Grant for her research 'Colonial Financial Infrastructures', exploring colonial roots of modern finance 💰

🔗 Read more: www.uva.nl/en/content/n...

How criminal leaders gain political legitimacy How criminal leaders in Jamaica and global figures like Trump and Putin gain legitimacy: leadership within and beyond the law, explored by Rivke Jaffe.

👑 What do King Willem-Alexander & Queen Máxima have in common with violent criminal leaders in Jamaica?

In her new book The Rule of Dons, Prof Rivke Jaffe explores how local criminal leaders in Kingston - 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘴 - come to be seen as legitimate political figures.

🔗 www.uva.nl/en/shared-co...

👩‍🎓 Wednesday 18 June at 14:00, @zahrarunderkamp.bsky.social defends her thesis 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀. 𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗗𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀.

Supervised by @lizamugge.bsky.social, Daphne v/der Pas & @tomwgvdmeer.bsky.social

🎥 Join or watch live: www.uva.nl/en/content/e...

Burgers als contractpartners In participatieve processen onderhandelen bewoners met beleidsmakers over de toekomst van hun buurt. In de afgelopen decennia gebeurde dit steeds vaker in co-creatiesessies, waarin burgers een gelijkw...

📚 Vanavond om 20u presenteert Michiel Stapper zijn nieuwe boek *Contracting with Citizens* in SPUI25.

Hoe veranderen burgers de stad wanneer ze als gelijkwaardige contractpartners onderhandelen over de toekomst van hun buurt? 🤝

Aanmelden of livestream 👇 spui25.nl/programma/bu...

👩‍🎓 Tomorrow at 11:00, PhD candidate Shivani Kaul (Anthropology) defends the thesis 'A Tendrel Logic. Growing Humans Otherwise During the Golden 1000 Days in Bhutan'. Supervised by @tinahonjo.bsky.social & @eyatesd.bsky.social.

🍀 Good luck, Shivani!

🎥 Watch live here: www.uva.nl/en/content/e...

🏡 Housing inequality among young people is shaped by income and class.

Tomorrow at 11:00, Amber Howard defends her PhD thesis 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗱𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀. Supervised by Richard Ronald, Rebecca Bentley & @codyhochstenbach.bsky.social

Watch live 👇 www.uva.nl/en/content/e...

Impact Awards IXA for UvA professors Joyeeta Gupta and Tessa Roseboom UvA professors Joyeeta Gupta and Tessa Roseboom will receive an Impact Award 2025 for their meaningful contributions to society. The Impact Awards are an initiative of IXA (Innovation Exchange Amsterd...

👏 Big congrats to Joyeeta Gupta for winning the 2025 Impact Award from Innovation Exchange Amsterdam (IXA)!

💐 A well-earned honor for her global leadership in #climatejustice and #sustainability — even recognized by the UN 🌐

www.uva.nl/en/content/n...

The desire for an ‘intimate state’ Dutch social policy is characterized by the desire for an ‘intimate state’ – a close, human and effective welfare state that works together on an equal footing with responsible, involved citizens. In ...

📣 On 6 June, Prof. @anouk-amsterdam.bsky.social gives her inaugural lecture 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 ‘𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲’, reflecting on the power and politics of care, state-citizen relations, and the evolving fabric of social policy in the Netherlands.

🕟 16:30
📍 Aula Amsterdam
🎥 www.uva.nl/en/content/e...

We had the great honor of hosting Amin Ghaziani @aminghaziani.bsky.social at the Amsterdam Center for Gender & Sexuality this week. We learned about his amazing research on club nights & the book Long Live Queer Nightlife: How the Closing of Gay Bars Sparked a Revolution @aissr.bsky.social

🤖 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗔𝗜 𝗵𝘆𝗽𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹–𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁?

Watch last week’s highlights from the insightful AISSR Lecture '𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗵𝘆𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗜: 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲' by Futures-Anthropologist Roanne van Voorst & Political Scientist @dmugge.bsky.social

📺 Full lecture here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0DT...

The Closure Epidemic. How disruptions affect queer nightlife - ARC-GS Discover how queer nightlife is evolving beyond bar closures in Amin Ghaziani’s talk on club nights, joy, and urban sexualities.

🕺🏽The Closure Epidemic: Why are gay bars disappearing? What comes next?

Join our Amsterdam Research Centre for Gender and Sexuality this Friday for @aminghaziani.bsky.social’s talk on queer nightlife’s joyful, mobile reinvention 👇

23 May | 15:30 – 17:00

🔗 arcgs.uva.nl/content/even...

🔋 Worlds of Lithium is Cristobal Bonelli's anthropological study of the shift from fossil fuel transport to electric vehicles powered by lithium-ion batteries. After 5 yrs, he concludes with a conference (12–13 June) on energy, ecologies, and uneven transitions 👇

worldsoflithium.eu/news/https-w...

👩‍🎓 Tomorrow at 16:00, PhD Mira Burmeister Rudolph defends her dissertation 'A Transnational Social Contract. How a Plurality of Actors Shape the Rights of Indian Low-wage Labor Emigrants along the India-Gulf Cooperation Council Migration Corridor'.

Good luck, Mira! 🍀

🎥 www.uva.nl/en/content/e...

👩‍🎓 Tomorrow at 10AM, PhD candidate @ebrukurtozman.bsky.social defends the thesis 'Pathways of Entrepreneurial Urban Governance: Spatial Dynamics and Community Politics in Istanbul’s Regeneration'. Supervised by @tunatasankok.bsky.social.

🍀 Good luck, Ebru!

🎥 Watch live: www.uva.nl/en/content/e...

Culture & Inequality Podcast How does culture feed into inequality? And the other way around? In Culture and Inequality, cultural sociologists from universities across the world explore these topics in-depth from various perspect...

🎧 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 & 𝗜𝗻𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸! 🎙️

Smart, accessible talk for students and curious minds.

This episode, cultural sociologist Kobe de Keere talks about beauty, status & blockchain with @uva.nl prof Ashley Mears & @rachelodwyer.bsky.social

pod.link/1533967764/e...

Pushing and Pulling: The Static and Dynamic Effects of Political Distrust on Support for Representative Democracy and its Rivals - Political Behavior Distrust is widely argued to stimulate support for political and institutional change. Yet, there is little agreement among scholars whether distrust pulls people towards rivaling decision-making mode...

New publication with @lisajanssen.bsky.social in PolBeh:
Political distrust pushes people away from the status quo, representative democracy. But distrusters are mostly critical citizens: Rather than technocracy or authoritarianism they pull towards direct democracy
link.springer.com/article/10.1...