This research investigates the role of peer relationships in promoting mental and sexual health among Men who have Sex with Men (MSM), a population disproportionately affected by stigma, minority stress, and social isolation. Drawing on mixed-methods research, it demonstrates that strong peer relationships provide emotional support and intimacy, reduce loneliness, and foster social norms that encourage HIV prevention practices. 

The study examines the impact of pandemic-related shifts from in-person to remote communication on social support and loneliness, the impact of physical distancing on experiences of intimacy, and explores how social norms at multiple levels shape PrEP uptake. Additionally, it evaluates Web-based Respondent Driven Sampling (WEB RDS) as a method for recruiting hidden populations, identifying challenges such as survey fatigue and digital etiquette norms. Findings underscore the importance of leveraging peer relationships and addressing normative barriers to improve health interventions and health outcomes for MSM.

Practical information

• Promovenda: Estrelle Thunnissen
• Promotors: Prof. dr. Edwin Wouters & prof. dr. Veerle Buffel
• Date: Wednesday 14 January 2026, 2 PM
• Location: Stadscampus, Promotiezaal Klooster van de Grauwzusters (Lange St-Annastraat 7, 2000 Antwerp)
• Language: English

The defence is followed by a reception; please confirm your attendance by January 12 by mailing ​estrelle.thunnissen@uantwerpen.be​.   

On Thursday 5 March 2026, Jan Depauw (Department of Sociology) cordially invites you to the public defence of his doctoral thesis 

It Takes a Village to Map Social Work's Impact. Redefining Impact Evaluation: From Attribution to Contribution — Integrating Context, Mechanisms, and Programme Theory through Co-productive and Reflexive Practice that Interweaves Scientific, Professional, and Experiential Knowledge

This doctoral thesis responds to the growing demand for impact evaluation in social work, a profession increasingly pressured to demonstrate effectiveness through measurable outcomes. Dominant frameworks, rooted in managerial logics, rely on linear models and standardised indicators. While such models enhance transparency and comparability, they fall short in capturing the complexity, relational dynamics, and contextual embeddedness of social work. This thesis, therefore, advances an evidence-informed, participatory, and reflexive approach that integrates scientific, professional, and experiential knowledge. The thesis makes contributions at three levels. Theoretically, it redefines impact as the social changes—intended and unintended, positive and negative—that emerge in and through social work practices, shaped by context, mechanisms, and relationships. This reconceptualisation shifts the focus from attribution to contribution, from narrow outcome measurement to multidimensional change, and explicitly links evaluation to the core values of social work, including human dignity, social justice, and empowerment. Methodologically, this vision is translated into concrete tools and approaches. The thesis develops and validates three psychometric instruments that render often invisible aspects visible: the Service User Psychological Empowerment Scale (SUPES), co-constructed with social workers and service users, and validated in Belgian Public Centres for Social Welfare; the Buddy Empowerment Scale (BEmS), a multidimensional and participatorily designed tool to assess empowerment in buddy-based social work; the Working Alliance in Mandated Child and Family Interventions Scale (WAMC-I), capturing the quality of professional-client relationships under judicial mandate. Together, these instruments show that empowerment and relational constructs can be measured with psychometric rigour when developed through participatory design. In addition, the study "Not Just Voice" demonstrates how participatory group methods, such as the Méthode d’Analyse en Groupe (MAG), not only reveal mechanisms of change but also strengthen stakeholders during the evaluation process. Epistemologically, the thesis positions social work as a knowledge-producing profession in its own right. By inductively distilling theory from practice and integrating multiple forms of knowledge (scientific, professional, and experiential), it transcends the view of social work as a merely applied field. This orientation culminates in the ACCUMI approach, which articulates six guiding principles for reflexive and participatory impact evaluation. Taken together, the studies demonstrate that impact evaluation in social work cannot be reduced to measuring predefined outcomes. Instead, it is a process of collective knowledge production that supports accountability, fosters organisational learning, and stimulates impact-oriented action. This collective ethos also explains the thesis’s title—It Takes a Village to Map Social Work’s Impact—which highlights that robust, meaningful evaluation depends on the combined contributions of academics, practitioners, and service users alike. By combining psychometric rigour, participatory methodology, and theory-building from practice, this thesis advances an approach to impact evaluation that is scientifically robust, practice-relevant, and empowering.

Practical information

• Promovendus: Jan Depauw
• Promotors: Prof. dr. Peter Raeymaeckers & prof. dr. Kristel Driessens
• Date: Thursday 5 March 2026, 4:00 PM
• Location: Stadscampus, Promotiezaal van de Grauwzusters (Lange St-Annastraat 7, 2000 Antwerp) 
• Language: Dutch

The defence is followed by a reception; please confirm your attendance by February 26 by mailing Jan.Depauw@uantwerpen.be.  

• Naam: Thalia Van Wichelen
• Promotors: prof. dr. Alexander Dhoest (UAntwerpen) en prof. dr. Sander De Ridder (UAntwerpen)
• Titel van thesis: Beyond Rainbow Broadcasting: representation, production and reception of sexual and gender diversity in Flemish children’s media. 
• Datum: Woensdag 13 mei, 17u
• Locatie: Promotiezaal (Klooster van de Grauwzusters), Lange St-Annastraat 7, 2000 Antwerpen
• Taal: Nederlands

Abstract:

Contemporary children’s television has become increasingly diverse, with growing attention to sexual and gender diversity on screen. While the inclusion of LGBTQ characters reflects a broader commitment to diversity in media for young audiences, it unfolds within a landscape marked by ongoing societal debates about what children should know, see, and understand. Recent legislative actions, such as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill in the United States or restrictions on so-called ‘gay propaganda’ in parts of Europe, illustrate how expanding representation coexists with intensified contestation around childhood, media, and sexuality. This doctoral dissertation examines how sexual and gender diversity is represented, produced, and received within Flemish children’s fiction through six empirical studies. It combines both qualitative and quantitative methods to capture how different demographic groups (producers, parents, teachers, and children themselves) make sense of these storylines. Focusing on normative ideas about what is considered “appropriate” or “normal” for children, the dissertation shows how LGBTQ characters are often presented in ways that stay close to familiar norms, and how adults draw boundaries around what they consider suitable for young audiences. By bringing these perspectives together, it shows how ideas about childhood and sexuality shape, but also limit, what children are allowed to see. 

PhD defence Anna Diedkova 20/04/2026

On Monday 20 April 2026, Anna Diedkova (Department of Communication Studies) cordially invites you to the public defence of her doctoral thesis 

Multiple faces of political leaders: ideal president's personality in Russian politics

This project investigates personality qualities ascribed to the concept of an ideal political leader in Russia. We examine how politicians communicate about their personality and how citizens view the ideal president’s personality. This dissertation in the interdisciplinary field of political psychology addresses the gap between personality psychology and political communication by applying clinical theories to the study of impression management and voters' expectations. In addition, our emphasis lies on the investigation of a prototypical president in a unique environment, namely the authoritarian regime in the Russian Federation.

Firstly, we explore personality as instrumental for political success in Russia. We address this through a personality profiling study of the long-term incumbent Vladimir Putin compared with the opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The findings show that both politicians share a set of characteristics linked to political success. Yet, Navalny’s non-conforming profile becomes a liability under authoritarian repression, while Putin’s personality aligns with a system focused on control and stability.

Next, we examine how politicians communicate about their personality. We study which personality attributes presidential candidates highlight in their campaign messages. For this, we analyze media messages during presidential election campaigns in Russia (qualitative analysis) and in the U.S. (mixed methods). Analysis of Russian campaign communication reveals that candidates construct their personality by emphasizing strength, ambition, expertise, integrity, empathy, and loyalty. In U.S. campaigns, competence is universally prioritized, while emphasis on other traits varies across ideology, gender, and media format. Finally, we take the perspective of the public and investigate which personality qualities Russians consider relevant for holding presidential office. To address this objective, we combine qualitative and quantitative approaches through a series of in-depth (20) and structured (450) interviews. As a result, we not only catalogue the attributes voters find important but also map how they reason to arrive at their vision of an ideal political leader.

This dissertation demonstrates the utility of formal clinical and trait-based approaches for studying personality and self-presentation in politics. The research provides insight into the reasoning behind voter expectations. Finally, it further extends leadership research into non-democratic settings, examining how an authoritarian regime can utilize personality attributes to convey legitimacy and maintain stability.

Practical information

• Promovenda: Anna Diedkova
• Promotors: Prof. dr. Christ'l De Landtsheer & prof. dr. Philippe De Vries
• Date: Monday 20 April 2026, 4:30 PM
• Location: Stadscampus, Promotiezaal Klooster van de Grauwzusters, Lange St-Annastraat 7, 2000 Antwerpen
• Language: English

The defence is followed by a reception; please confirm your attendance by April 12 by e-mail (anna.diedkova@uantwerpen.be).  

On Monday 15 June 2026, Christa Van Oostende cordially invites you to the public defence of her doctoral thesis.

Adult Learning and Education Participation in Belgium: Trade Unions' Actorship reviewed against the EU's Skills Agenda and its Domestic Implementation
​
In a world of rapid technological change, automation, and the shift towards greener industries, ensuring that workers can reskill and continuously update their skills has become a pressing policy concern. The European Union has responded with ambitious agendas promoting lifelong learning, especially for those people most at risk of being left behind, such as low-skilled workers or those in precarious employment. But how do these European ambitions translate into actual workplace practice? And who shapes that translation?

This dissertation focuses on trade unions as key actors in that process, examining how their actorship influences access to adult learning and education (ALE) in Belgium. Belgium is a particularly interesting case: its tradition of social dialogue gives trade unions a formal seat at the negotiating table, yet its complex federal structure and fragmented political landscape make coordinated learning policy a considerable challenge.

The central question is: how does trade union actorship affect encompassment of ALE-oriented collective bargaining? In other words, to what extent do trade unions help make lifelong learning more inclusive and broad-ranging through collective bargaining? Three sectors are examined (food manufacturing, construction, and transport and logistics), tracing how EU-level policy intentions filter down to sector and workplace agreements.

The research identifies five dimensions of trade union capability that together determine their effectiveness: whether they prioritise non-wage issues like learning; whether they advocate for workers beyond their core membership; how they are organised; what expertise they bring; and how embedded they are in governance structures.

The findings are sobering: whilst trade unions do keep adult learning on the agenda, their influence remains uneven and falls short of consistently delivering more inclusive or expansive learning opportunities. No single capability suffices: all five must work in concert to lead to encompassing ALE-oriented collective agreements.
The dissertation speaks to policymakers, trade union representatives, human resources professionals, and all those with a stake in promoting adults’ participation in lifelong learning and in safeguarding a skilled workforce in a rapidly changing labour market.
​

Practical information

• Promovenda: Christa Van Oostende
• Promotors: Prof. dr. Peter Bursens & prof. dr. Marcella Milana
• Date: Monday 15 June 2026, 10 AM
• Location: Stadscampus, Hof van Liere, F. de Tassiszaal (Prinsstraat 13, 2000 Antwerp) and/or online
• Language: English

The defence is followed by a lunch; please confirm your attendance (physical/online) by June 8 by e-mail (christa.vanoostende2@student.uantwerpen.be).

Op woensdag 24 juni 2026 nodigt Glen Molenberghs (Departement Opleidings- en Onderwijswetenschappen) je van harte uit op de openbare verdediging van zijn doctoraal proefschrift

Centrale toetsen doen werken. Gebruikersperspectieven op het aan de slag gaan met formele prestatiegegevens.

Prestatiegegevens uit centrale toetsen vormen een belangrijke bron voor geïnformeerde onderwijsverbetering. Zij stellen gebruikers in staat onderwijsprocessen en -uitkomsten, evenals leerprocessen en leerresultaten van leerlingen, systematisch te evalueren en te optimaliseren op basis van betrouwbare, valide en objectieve informatie. Met de invoering van de Vlaamse centrale toetsen beschikt ook het Vlaamse onderwijs over een systeem dat dergelijke gegevens genereert met het oog op de verbetering van (aspecten van) onderwijskwaliteit.

Het doen werken van een dergelijk systeem vereist echter de erkenning dat prestatiegegevens op zichzelf geen verbetering tot stand brengen. Zij verkrijgen pas ontwikkelingsgerichte waarde wanneer gebruikers deze gegevens interpreteren, bespreken en integreren in hun onderwijs- en leerprocessen. Vanuit dit uitgangspunt onderzoekt dit proefschrift voorwaarden, factoren en processen die cruciaal zijn voor het doen werken van ontwikkelingsgerichte systemen van centrale toetsen.

De verschillende studies tonen aan dat werken met centrale toetsen fundamenteel een sociaal en interpretatief proces is, waarin gegevens, gebruikers en context voortdurend op elkaar inwerken. De bevindingen onderstrepen het belang van de rapportering van prestatiegegevens via betekenisvolle en als valide ervaren normgerichte interpretatiekaders, de centrale rol van betekenisgevings- en attributieprocessen, de bereidheid van leraren en leerlingen om ermee aan de slag te gaan, evenals de invloed van contextuele en organisatorische voorwaarden die processen van informatiegebruik binnen scholen ondersteunen.

Implicaties voor beleid en praktijk maken duidelijk dat bijzondere aandacht dient uit te gaan naar de ontwikkeling van een schoolbeleid dat doelgericht informatiegebruik stimuleert, naar processen van collectieve betekenisgeving, en naar duidelijke professionele verwachtingen omtrent het gebruik van prestatiegegevens. Daarnaast is het essentieel dat feedbackrapporten voldoende interpretatieve aanknopingspunten bieden om gebruikers te ondersteunen bij het interpreteren en benutten van de gerapporteerde gegevens. Wanneer centrale toetsen zorgvuldig worden ontworpen en ingebed in ondersteunende professionele praktijken, kunnen zij reflectie, professionele dialoog en geïnformeerde besluitvorming bevorderen. Op die manier kunnen zij bijdragen aan onderwijsverbetering en aan het versterken van de leerprocessen en leerresultaten van alle leerlingen.

Praktische informatie

•  Promovendus: Glen Molenberghs
• Promotoren: Prof. dr. Jan Vanhoof & Prof. dr. Roos Van Gasse
• Datum: woensdag 24 juni 2026, 16u
• Plaats: Stadscampus UAntwerpen, Kapel van de Grauwzusters (Lange St-Annastraat 7, 2000 Antwerpen)
• Taal: Nederlands

 Na de verdediging volgt een receptie; graag je aanwezigheid bevestigen voor 12 juni 2026 per mail aan glen.molenberghs@uantwerpen.be.

On Tuesday 7 July 2026, Antje Kenis (Department of Training and Educational Sciences) cordially invites you to the public defence of her doctoral thesis 

Reaching All, Teaching Differently:Exploring Teachers' Approaches to Differentiated Instruction in Primary Education

In increasingly diverse educational settings, the call for teachers to provide instruction that responds to different learning needs has become more prominent than ever. Differentiated instruction (DI) has emerged as a key pedagogical approach for addressing this challenge. Building on a small but emerging body of person-oriented research that recognizes meaningful variation between teachers, the overarching aim of this dissertation is threefold: (1) to provide a comprehensive conceptualization and measurement of DI based on existing validated instruments, (2) to disentangle teachers’ approaches to DI, and (3) to deepen understanding of the contextual embeddedness of these approaches. The dissertation comprises four interrelated studies.

Study 1 develops and validates the Comprehensive Differentiated Instruction Questionnaire (CDIQ), a multidimensional instrument that captures teachers’ conceptions and practices of DI alongside school-level organisational conditions that support its implementation.

Study 2 adopts a person-oriented perspective to identify distinct profiles of teachers’ conceptions and practices of DI in primary mathematics education. The findings reveal substantial heterogeneity among teachers, demonstrating that DI is enacted through different constellations of beliefs, perceived constraints, and instructional practices, resulting in five distinct conception profiles and five distinct practice profiles. The findings further suggest that teachers’ conceptions are closely linked to how they enact DI in practice, while teacher characteristics, including teaching experience and gender, are also associated with profile membership.

Study 3 examines how variation in classroom composition relates to teachers’ practice profiles. The results indicate that greater linguistic diversity among students and larger class sizes are associated with a more constrained DI approach, characterized by a narrower range of practices and lower levels of engagement.

Study 4 investigates how school-level organisational conditions relate to teachers’ approaches to DI practices. The findings show that a shared school vision and strong school-internal cooperation for meeting students’ learning needs are associated with teacher profiles characterized by more extensive engagement in DI.

Together, these findings demonstrate that DI is best understood not as a single pedagogical approach, but as a phenomenon characterized by meaningful variation in both teachers’ conceptions and practices. Moreover, these conceptions and practices are neither solely the result of individual pedagogical choices nor purely context-driven. Rather, they emerge from the dynamic interplay between teacher-, classroom-, and school-level factors. By integrating measurement development, person-oriented research, and contextual analysis, this dissertation provides a comprehensive and context-sensitive understanding of DI and offers new directions for supporting its implementation in primary education.

Practical information

• Promovenda: Antje Kenis
• Promotors: Prof. dr. Peter Van Petegem & Prof. dr. Sven De Maeyer
• Date: Tuesday 7 July 2026, 2 PM
• Location: Stadscampus, Promotiezaal Klooster van de Grauwzusters, Lange St-Annastraat 7, 2000 Antwerpen
• Language: Dutch

The defence is followed by a reception; please confirm your attendance by June 25 by e-mail (antje.kenis@uantwerpen.be). 

On Thursday 17 September 2026, Priscilla Hau (Department of Communication Studies) cordially invites you to the public defence of her doctoral thesis 

Understanding Political Communication in a Hybrid Media System: Media Practices of the Radical Right in Flanders

On Monday 14 September 2026, Rylan Verlooy (Department of Communication Studies) cordially invites you to the public defence of their doctoral thesis 

WTF? Anti-Gender Mobilization and Trans Lives in an "LGTBQ-friendly" Context. 

Practical information:
- Promovendus: Maisarah Wizan (Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy)
- Promotor: Prof. dr. Sarah Marchal
- Date: Monday 14 September 2026, 2.30pm
- Location: Stadscampus, Building R, Room S.R.219 (Rodestraat 14, 2000 Antwerpen)
- Language: English

The defence is followed by a short reception. Please confirm your attendance via the online registration form before 2 September 2026.
Should there be any questions, please feel free to contact Maisarah Wizan via email (nurmaisarah.bintemohammadwizan@uantwerpen.be).
Abstract:
There has been growing concern over whether earnings have become less stable over time. These concerns have been fuelled by the deregulation and flexibilisation of labour markets, the increasing frequency and interconnectedness of financial crises, and questions surrounding the adequacy of welfare states. In response, an emerging body of literature has focused on measuring earnings and income volatility and examining the potentially adverse consequences associated with it.
This research provides the first comprehensive analysis of long-term trends in earnings volatility in Belgium, a country known for its compressed wage distribution and yet, features a high degree of labour market segmentation. Overall, the findings of this research reveal a more dynamic picture of inequality where women, lower-educated individuals, and individuals with a migration background are disproportionately exposed to earnings instability. This research underscores the importance of continued monitoring of these trends, calling for policy interventions aimed at addressing the structural inequalities that hinder labour market inclusivity.

Personalia
- Name: Chiara Russo
- Promotor: Wouter Van Dooren
- Title of the dissertation: A whisper in the wind or a lighthouse? Knowledge exchange practices in crisis governance
- Date: 18th September, 2026
- Start time: 16:00
- Place: Promotiezaal, Klooster van de Grauwzusters, Lange Sint-Annastraat 7
2000 Antwerpen
- Reception: yes
- Contact information: chiara.russo@uantwerpen.be
- Confirm before: September 10th via https://forms.gle/omwmUCHq2YL4atne6 
Abstract
Knowledge can be a lighthouse, especially in highly uncertain times where we do not know how to make sense of a societal problem, or we struggle to understand what the problem is. This was the case with expert knowledge during the COVID-19 crisis, where expert knowledge from scientific disciplines such as epidemiology was strongly informing the decision-making of policymakers at different levels of government, thus being a lighthouse in the midst of uncertainty. Politicians were quoting statistics received from their scientific advisory committees on live television or let scientists take a leading role in informing the citizens about containment measures.
The example of the role played by expert knowledge during the COVID-19 crisis shows the power of knowledge and the direct impact it can have on policymaking in times of crisis. At the same time, COVID-19 has also been a prime illustration of the predominance of expert knowledge from scientific disciplines, often at the expense of e.g. social sciences or other knowledge types altogether – who remained for a long time just a whisper in the wind. In this thesis, I explore and analyze the knowledge exchanges that took place during the COVID-19 pandemic among expert, political, and lifeworld knowledge. This research brings to the surface conditions for such exchange to take place, its impact on policymaking, the logics behind the institutional design of knowledge structures, and the role played by the lifeworld knowledge possessed by citizens.

Name: Erasmus Häggblom

Promotors: Prof. Dr. Wouter Van Dooren

Dr. Bjorn Kleizen

Title of the dissertation: Experiencing performance: How engagement with public sector performance affects citizens’ trust in government and voice behaviour

Date and start time: 17.09.2026, 10:00

Location: Stadscampus, building R, S.R.002, Rodestraat 14, 2000 Antwerpen

Reception: yes

Contact information: erasmus.haeggblom@uantwerpen.be

Confirm before: 11.09.2026

In democratic societies, citizens are both the end users and the indirect stewards of public policy, meaning that citizens’ ability to hold governments to account and express their voice is key for both citizens and policymakers. In addition, governments have a need for a baseline level of trust from their citizens to govern effectively. However, there is concern over declines in both citizens’ trust and voice behaviour, in addition to an inherent difficulty in simultaneously striving for citizens being willing to trust the government and prepared to express their voice. One avenue which offers some potential is engagement. If citizens can be prompted to engage with public sector performance, they can consider government trustworthiness and express their views as critical evaluators, forging a key link in a democratic chain of accountability. However, the effects of citizen engagement with public sector performance remain largely unexplored, as does the potential of engagement in reconciling the tension between trust and voice.

This thesis examines the effects of citizen engagement with public sector performance on trust in government and voice behaviour using a mix of two behavioural experiments and secondary analyses of survey and qualitative interview data. The thesis extends conceptualisations of affective, behavioural and cognitive engagement from education sciences to citizen engagement with public sector performance and examines whether different forms of engagement have different effects on trust and voice. The thesis finds that engaged citizens critically evaluate public sector performance. However, rather than reconciling the tension between trust and voice, the results indicate that engagement with public sector performance leads citizens to generally view public performance more negatively, resulting in lower trust and higher voice. This effect is broadly consistent across different forms of engagement, with more consistent results for trust in government than for voice behaviour. The thesis indicates that although encouraging citizens to engage with public sector performance can be expected to empower them to raise their voice, this can be expected to occur at the cost of a decrease in their trust in government.

• Naam & voornaam : Simon Demuynck
• Promotor(s) : Wouter Van Dooren
• Titel van de thesis: The Financialization of European Social Care: A Public Governance Perspective
• Datum, startuur & plaats van de verdediging : 19 oktober 16:30 - S.B003
• Receptie: ik voorzie nadien een drankje en hapje in Spoor 8 voor wie wil
• Contactinformatie: aanwezigheid bevestigen via https://forms.gle/HT78M9zpAYNiXTzK6 
• Bevestigen voor 5 oktober
• Abstract:
The financial industry is increasingly present in our lives. From a mainstream economics perspective, the rise of finance is closely associated with the modernization of our economies and the creation of long-term growth. At the same time, a growing body of research describes how the industry gained a structural power over the rest of society that is not always socially or economically beneficial. This dissertation is concerned with one domain where such process of financialization
has arrived: the provision of social care in Europe. Over the last few years, studies have shown how financial firms are reshaping the markets for childcare, elderly care, and disability care across European welfare states. Yet, a comprehensive view on the scale and spread of the phenomenon is still missing, and a public governance perspective on its causes and consequences remains underdeveloped. This dissertation first maps the involvement of these types of financial actors in childcare and long-term care across Europe, and secondly uses an in-depth case study of the Flemish elderly care sector to assess what the role of policymakers has been in bringing about this kind of financialization of public services, what its repercussions are for the ability to effectively govern these services, and how it impacts the quality of care that the residents experience. It shows that social care has become a market with convoluted webs of financial industry firms around facilities, that public governance mechanisms have fueled that transition, and it reveals the
difficulties this can create for public oversight, control, and quality of care.

De financiële sector neemt een steeds prominentere plaats in ons leven in. Vanuit een mainstream economisch perspectief wordt de opmars van de financiële sector nauw verbonden met de modernisering van onze economieën en met economische groei. Tegelijk beschrijft een groeiend aantal studies hoe de sector een structurele macht over de rest van de samenleving heeft verworven die niet altijd maatschappelijk of economisch gunstig uitpakt. Dit proefschrift richt zich op één domein waar financialisering zijn intrede heeft gedaan: de welzijns- en zorgsector. De voorbije jaren hebben studies aangetoond hoe financiële spelers de markten voor kinderopvang, ouderenzorg en zorg voor personen met een handicap in Europese welvaartsstaten hertekenen. Toch ontbreekt nog een alomvattend beeld van de omvang en verspreiding van dit fenomeen, en blijft een bestuurskundig perspectief op de oorzaken en gevolgen ervan onderbelicht. Dit proefschrift brengt eerst in kaart in welke mate zulke financiële actoren betrokken zijn bij kinderopvang, ouderenzorg, en zorg voor personen met een beperking in Europa. Vervolgens onderzoekt het, aan de hand van een diepgaande casestudy van de Vlaamse ouderenzorg, welke rol beleidsmakers hebben gespeeld in deze financialisering van publieke dienstverlening, welke gevolgen ze heeft voor het vermogen om deze diensten doeltreffend aan te sturen, en hoe ze de zorgkwaliteit beïnvloedt zoals bewoners die ervaren. Het onderzoek toont aan dat zorg een markt is geworden waarin voorzieningen omringd worden door complexe netwerken van financiële ondernemingen, dat publieke sturingsmechanismen die overgang mee in de hand hebben gewerkt, en dat dit moeilijkheden kan opleveren voor publiek toezicht, controle en zorgkwaliteit.

Before Boko Haram became internationally known as a violent insurgency, Mohammed Yusuf and his Yusufiyya had developed a powerful socio-political critique of Nigerian society and politics. This dissertation refers to this as the ‘boko critique’: a popular critique that rejected boko, broadly associated with Western-style education and the secular political order, while also condemning corruption, inequality, injustice, and the failures of political leadership. The term Yusufiyya is used particularly in relation to Yusuf and this socio-political critique, whereas Boko Haram refers to the broader movement, founded by Yusuf in 2002. This broader movement comprised different sections that related to the popular ‘boko critique’ in different ways, including tendencies towards armed jihad that were already present before 2009. This distinction makes it possible to ask a question that is often overshadowed by the post-2009 insurgency: why did the ‘boko critique’ resonate among parts of the Muslim population of Northern Nigeria?
The dissertation examines the development and public resonance of this critique within the changing local and global context of Northern Nigeria. It develops a glocal perspective to understand how global ideas and conflicts interacted with local histories, identities, and grievances. Particular attention is given to the period following Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999 and to the increasingly polarized Christian-Muslim ethno-religious conflict field in which the movement developed. In 2009, Mohammed Yusuf was killed in police custody following a violent confrontation and large-scale state repression of the movement. Under Abubakar Shekau, Boko Haram subsequently developed into an increasingly violent jihadist insurgency. The analysis extends into the post-2009 period up to 2013, by which time severe state repression, followed by the escalation of violence under Shekau, had fundamentally transformed the conflict. This evolution progressively narrowed the scope for political mediation of the grievances articulated through the socio-political ‘boko critique’ and contributed to increasingly divergent interpretations of that critique across different sections of the broader movement.
The dissertation identifies three interconnected root-cause mechanisms that contributed to the conditions in which the ‘boko critique’ could resonate: negative stereotyping, hostile segregationism, and faith-based electoral politics. These mechanisms developed through the different ways in which both Muslim and Christian actors contributed to an increasingly polarized ethno-religious conflict field, in which political grievances and faith-based identities became mutually reinforcing. The dissertation engages with two prominent schools of thought on Boko Haram’s root causes: one primarily emphasizing socio-economic and political grievances, and another giving greater explanatory weight to faith-based ideology and dynamics. It gives preference to the political root-cause approach because it provides a broader and more comprehensive basis for explaining the public resonance of the socio-political ‘boko critique.' The dissertation therefore argues that understanding this public resonance requires a multi-ethnic and multi-faith-based perspective capable of analyzing how political and faith-based root causes became intertwined within Nigeria’s contested ethno-religious conflict field. Finally, it examines the failure of peace politics to address these interconnected root causes and argues for a people-centered approach to mediation that engages more directly with the grievances and conflict dynamics experienced within affected communities.

• Promovendus: Thierry Limpens
• Promotor: Prof. dr. Tom Sauer
• Date: Wednesday 21 October 2026, 4 PM
• Location: Stadscampus, Building M (De Meerminne), Room S.M.104 (Sint-Jacobstraat 2, 2000 Antwerp) and/or online (link will be sent upon registration)
• Language: English

The defence is followed by a reception; please confirm your attendance before October 18 by e-mail (thierry.limpens@uantwerpen.be). 

Promovendus: Artemis Tsoulou-Malakoudi
Promotor: Prof. dr. Stefaan Walgrave (UAntwerpen), dr. Patrick van Erkel (Universiteit van Amsterdam)
Date: Monday 5 October 2026, 6 PM
Location: Stadscampus, aula S.C.002 (Prinsstraat 13, 2000 Antwerp)
Language: English

A Tale of Hearts and Minds: Understanding party identity and affective polarization through citizens’ perceptions of non-political differentness or similarity

PhD abstract:
Why do citizens who disagree politically come to see one another as different kinds of people, and how do these perceptions relate to social cohesion?

Research increasingly finds that political disagreement is not only about policies and ideology, and how citizens perceive one another beyond these explicitly political differences also matters for whether and how they relate to each other.

This dissertation introduces Perceptions of (Non-Political) Differentness or Similarity (PODS) to study these perceptions in Belgium, drawing on original survey and panel data from Flanders and Wallonia. It shows that citizens form impressions of what supporters of other parties are like as people, including whether they resemble or differ from themselves in personality, values, socio-economic position, and lifestyle. Across four empirical chapters, the dissertation finds that these perceptions are closely connected to party identity and associated with partisan dislike and social distance, above and beyond perceptions of political differentness. It also finds that interparty contact is associated with lower affective polarization through lower perceptions of non-political, rather than political, differentness.

Together, these findings show that partisan divides are rooted not only in disagreement over issues, but also in perceptions that political opponents differ in who they are as people. By establishing PODS as a distinct type of partisan perception and examining them in a multi-party context, this dissertation extends research on affective polarization beyond the two-party systems that have dominated the field.

Politicians are constantly confronted with signals about what citizens want. Opinion polls, protests, petitions, emails, social media, and conversations with constituents all compete for their attention. Yet not every signal is taken equally seriously. Some voices influence what politicians think and do, while others are discounted or ignored. What determines which signals matter?
This dissertation argues that an important part of the answer lies in how politicians evaluate the public opinion signals they encounter. Rather than responding mechanically to what citizens say, politicians make judgments about whose opinions are worth listening to and how much political weight they should carry.
Drawing on surveys, interviews, and experiments with politicians across several democracies, the dissertation identifies six recurring criteria behind these judgments: representativeness, intensity, substantiation, authenticity, deservingness, and utility. Together, these form what I call the RISADU scoreboard. Politicians ask, for example, whether an opinion reflects a broader constituency, whether people care strongly about an issue, whether their arguments are well founded, whether their concerns appear genuine, and whether particular groups deserve special consideration. These evaluations depend not only on what citizens say, but also on who says it and how the message reaches politicians. Personal contact is often treated differently from mass emails or social media, signals from a politician’s own voters can receive additional weight, and opinions that align with politicians’ existing views are often evaluated more favorably.
Most importantly, these judgments have consequences. Signals that politicians consider more valuable are also more likely to affect their opinions, perceptions, and intended political actions. Political responsiveness, therefore, is not simply about whether politicians listen to public opinion. It is also about how they decide whom and what to listen to. Understanding these evaluations can therefore help to explain why some voices make their way into political decision-making while others struggle to be heard.

• Promovendus: Bart Maes
• Promotors: Prof. dr. Stefaan Walgrave & Prof. dr. Julie Sevenans
• Date: Friday 16 October 2026, 4:30 PM
• Location: Stadscampus, aula S.B.004 (Prinsstraat 13, 2000 Antwerp) 
• Language: English

The defence is followed by a reception; please confirm your attendance before October 8th by using the online registration form.