In the Politics of Diversity group we study real-world questions on political representation and power, struggles for equality, backlash, oppression and policies. We focus on three dimensions of political inequalities: gender & sexuality, migration & race/ethnicity, and intersectionality.

Equality is the fundament of democracy. Yet, in most democracies – to paraphrase George Orwell’s Animal Farm – some citizens are still more equal than others. Inequalities are manyfold: they can be rooted in where people or their parents have been born, in their sex registered at birth, their intersectional identification, and so on. Anyone who does not belong or does not want to conform to the norm challenges existing power relations. That makes diversity highly political. With our analyses of diversity in politics we reveal deeply rooted mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion.

Liza Mügge

Amid growing political pressure, it is crucial to acknowledge and examine the complex realities of individual and collective identities and how they negotiate power structures.

Thijmen Hasselt
Junior Lecturer
Political Science Department, University of Amsterdam

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