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
Theme Gender & Sexuality
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.
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...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Project Management Assistant MEN4DEM (2025–) Interests: Interpretative methods, collective action and counterculture, rhetorics and fact-free narratives. politics of the radical right
Er is steeds meer aandacht voor de omstandigheden waaronder politieke ambtsdragers, zoals burgemeesters, hun werk moeten doen. Anno 2023 zijn online en offline vormen van agressie en geweld hierbij helaas ook aan de orde van de dag. Dat doet de vraag oproepen wie, zeker uit ondervertegenwoordigde groepen, er met zoveel agressie en geweld nog burgemeester wil worden.
Opgevoed door een alleenstaande moeder had politicoloog Liza Mügge (43) al vroeg een rolmodel. Dat gebruikt ze in haar strijd voor meer vrouwen en minderheden in de politiek. 'We moeten al in de hoofdjes van vijfjarigen patronen doorbreken.' Liza Mügge: 'Sylvana Simons is symbolisch van groot belang' (Het Parool)
The EU-funded Push*Back*Lash project looks at the backlash against feminism and gender equality and its impact on democracy. Within the project dr. Liza Mügge is leading WP4: analyzing anti-gender equality strategies on Twitter to develop typologies of mobilization and counterstrategies. This analysis contributes to the creation of a toolkit for online actors in the field. For the Push*Back*Lash Cartoon Series: Let's Design Equality Together, the educational cartoon Digital Violence was created, which...