I strongly believe that the social, economic, and political equality of everyone is key for a militant democracy and to create a livable future for all.

Rebekka Kesberg
Postdoctoral Researcher

Research projects on gender & sexuality empirically and theoretically investigate the structural political underrepresentation of some groups, like women and trans people, and the overrepresentation of others (e.g. white men). They study exclusion based on sexism, heteronormativity, transphobia, homophobia, or anti-queer sentiments. Our studies on male overrepresentation reach beyond statistical investigations and examine masculinities in all their diversity.

Projects Gender & Sexuality

  • MEN4DEM will systematically advance our understanding of how masculinity is constructed and mobilized by the extreme right in Europe. Guided by our intersectional theoretical, methodological and normative framework and our mixed methods approach, the program will study how extremism is legitimized on online platforms and spills over into the political mainstream. This knowledge will inform...

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    Themes
    Project lead
    dr. L.M. Mügge
    Horizon Europe
    2025–
  • Politics is traditionally a man's world. Despite much progress in recent years, most politicians are still men. What knowledge we have about gender and inequality in politics is mainly based on counting women and men. In contrast,we do not well understand the underlying gendered norms about behavior that is considered inappropriate and appropriate: political masculinities.

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    Themes
    Project lead
    dr. L.M. Mügge
    VICI grant NWO
    2024–2029
  • Horizon Europe Push*Back*Lash project is a transdisciplinary project that takes intersectionality to heart and advances the theory and practice of feminism(s) through rigorous, comparative multimethod research in support of the quality of democratic governance in more inclusive European societies.

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    Themes
    Project lead
    dr. L.M. Mügge (WP4)
    Horizon Europe
    2023–2026
  • Gender is central to the selection of refugees for asylum. The objective of this study is to understand how gender equality conceptions affect priority categories in asylum policies within transnational policy processes. Focusing on German resettlement programmes for Syrian refugees, it follows the selection process from category making to category implementation.

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    Themes
    Project lead
    dr. L.M. Mügge
    Research Talent grant NWO
    2016–2020
  • Democratic societies view the representation of identifiable groups in parliament as a key means to give these groups political voice and to legitimize governance. While the parliamentary under-representation of both women and ethnic minorities has received considerable attention, much of this work has treated women and ethnic minorities as internally homogenous and conceptually separate groups.

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    Themes
    Project lead
    dr. L.M. Mügge
    VENI grant Dutch Research Council (NWO)
    2013–2017

Team Gender & Sexuality

  • Michael Hunklinger

    Postdoctoral Researcher (2022–2024)
    Interests: Politics of Diversity and Inequality, Democracy and Political Participation, LGBTIQ+/ Queer Politics

  • Dr. Liza Mügge

    Associate Professor
    Principal Investigator
    Political Science Department
    University of Amsterdam

    This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

  • Natalie Welfens

    PhD Candidate (2016–2021)
    Interests: Gender, intersectionality, migration, refugee governance, deservingness

  • Rebekka Kesberg

    Postdoctoral Researcher (2023–)
    Interests: Democratic governance, political violence, gender-based violence, backlash against gender equality, morality

  • Norah Schulten

    Postdoctoral Researcher (2024–)
    Interests: Online hate and backlash against gender equality, coping strategies, European politics

  • Margarita Zervoulakou

    Research Master Intern (2023)
    Interests: Citizen identities, discrimination and political participation, the growing influence of anti-gender equality movements

  • Brit Anlar

    Postdoctoral Researcher (2025–)
    Interests: Political representation, political party organizations, gender/gender roles, intersectionality, feminist institutionalism, mixed methods

  • Zahra Runderkamp

    PhD Candidate (2019–)
    Interests: Representation of women and ethnic minorities in politics and media in the Netherlands.

  • Melanie Ihuoma

    Junior Researcher (2024–)
    Interests: Gender, sexuality, intersectionality, race, class

  • Gino Wientjes

    Research Master Student (2023–2024)
    Interests: (Social) policy, gender and sexuality (sexual consent, sexual violence, LGBTIQ+ Politics), educational equity policies

  • Malin Holm

    Visiting scholar (2022–2023)
    Postdoctoral Researcher (Uppsala University) 
    Interests: Political communication, digital media, gender, intersectionality, feminist political theory

  • Emma Turiño González

    Visiting scholar (2023)
    PhD Candidate (University of Salamanca)

    Interests: Ideology, political representation, Latin America, gender studies

  • Raphaëlle de Coen

    Student Assistant (2024–)
    Interests: Politics of queer parenthood, trans* rights, TERF backlash

  • Fatimah Saadi

    Visiting scholar (2024)
    PhD Candidate (Universitat Pompeu Fabra)

    Interests: Intersectionality, feminist institutionalism, candidate selection, voter behavior, violence against women in politics, identity politics, political representation, sectarianism, power-sharing systems, and Middle Eastern politics.

  • Cato Koomen

    Student Assistant (2024–)
    Interests: Reproductive justice, bodily autonomy, academic freedom

  • Dorota Lepianka

    Project Manager MEN4DEM

  • Storm Brinkhuis

    Project Management Assistant MEN4DEM (2025–)
    Interests: Interpretative methods, collective action and counterculture, rhetorics and fact-free narratives. politics of the radical right

Outreach Gender & Sexuality

News & Media Gender & Sexuality