Upcoming Events
Here you can find all of the events from the Government and Law research group. Events include a list of the seminars, research presentations, workshops, and conferences run by our research group.
If you are interested in joining one of our upcoming events, please first send an email to Courtney Marsh-Rosseel.
21 April - Lunchtime Seminar with Dr. Lidia Bonifati
We will be having a special lunchtime seminar with Dr. Lidia Bonifati. Dr. Bonifati is currently a researcher (fixed-term) in comparative public law at the Department of Legal Studies of the University of Bologna, as well as an voluntary member of the Research Group on Government and Law at the University of Antwerp. During this seminar, she will discuss her recently published book.
Her book Asymmetries, Courts, and Comparative Constitutional Law (Brill 2025) explores constitutional asymmetries in divided multi-tiered systems as a dynamic constitutional model to accommodate ethnocultural diversity through a comparative analysis of 12 constitutional systems from both the Global North and the Global South. It offers a unique integrated analysis of asymmetries as designed by the constitutional orders and interpreted by courts. The book contributes to the comparative constitutional scholarship on asymmetric federalism, providing for not only a qualitative but also a quantitative assessment of asymmetries. It combines traditional doctrinal and case-law analysis with emerging methodological approaches to legal research, such as empirical legal studies and decolonial comparative law.
8 May - Researchers Present
The first of its kind seminar: Researchers Present, featuring our student researchers and Rebecca Ricifari, a former PhD who returns to us through the STRATEGO visiting researchers programme! During the seminar, four Government and Law affiliated researchers will discuss their research in progress:
- Charlotte Peltzer (supervisor Dirk Vanheule, LLM 1st year)
- Charlotte Constales (supervisor Stéphanie De Somer, master in de rechten 2nd year)
- Kseniia Rykacheva (supervisor Dirk Vanheule, LLM 2nd year)
- Rebecca Ricifari (supervisor Johan Meeusen, postdoc)
During this time, the researchers will discuss their research in progress and reflect on ongoing questions/challenges thus far. We are especially excited to welcome our student researchers during this seminar to present their master’s thesis research.
16 June - LinkedIn Training for Researchers
From our research students through to our most senior ZAP, we would love to see everyone for this three-hour session. There will be something to learn for every level of LinkedIn user competence.
A brief overview of what you can expect is below:
LinkedIn is increasingly important for researchers who want to share their work, build their professional network, and increase the visibility of their research. In this interactive training session, Margot Bloemen (Social Media Manager at the University of Antwerp) will introduce the basics of using LinkedIn strategically in an academic context.
The session will cover how LinkedIn works, how the algorithm decides what people see, and how researchers can optimise their profiles so their expertise is easier to find. We will also discuss practical tips for sharing research in an accessible way, creating engaging posts, and building thought leadership within your field.
As this will be an in person event, participants are encouraged to bring their laptops and log into their LinkedIn profile, as the session will include practical tips and small exercises to improve profiles during the workshop.
11 September - Annual Research Group Day
Save the date! Our annual research group day will be on 11 September this year. More details will follow, but you can look forward to another interesting day of policy discussions and an afternoon of fun!
2 October - Annual PhD Event
Judicial Governance in the EU and Beyond: Institutional Design, Cooperation, and (Dis)trust. Call for abstracts now open - full details can be found here.