How are Dutch political institutions responding to the pressure of rising populism, increased electoral volatility and the fragmentation of the party system? In this course, you will examine how Dutch institutions such as the government, parliament, political parties and the electoral system function in a dynamic political environment. This course examines how politics really works in The Hague and compares this with proposals for renewing, deepening and strengthening representative democracy and the rule of law.

Research a (sub)topic in the field of Dutch politics and apply the theoretical insights and methodological skills you have acquired during the programme. Under the individual supervision of a specialised lecturer, you will work on setting up and conducting your thesis research. Will your master's thesis lead to a scientific publication?

Read seminal Political Science texts and familiarise yourself with the—often opposing—views of leading scholars. Discover how their ideas and approaches have inspired other researchers and discuss these with your fellow students and lecturer.

Develop compelling research questions, devise sound schemes for conducting the research necessary to answer those questions, and, ultimately, follow through with the research itself.

... covering a broad range of themes such as governance challenges, international justice, security, the European Union, environmental and climate politics and political psychology.

The selection of electives changes yearly. Details can be found in the Prospectus for each programme.

The programme offers opportunities for internships between the beginning of January and the end of March. This can be followed by the Internship Research Project Seminar. In this seminar, you will write your thesis based on the research you conducted during your internship.

The internship coordinator of the programme facilitates this, but you are responsible for finding a suitable internship position. The internship organisation must give you the opportunity to conduct research into the organisation and its activities.

You must discuss the internship with the internship coordinator in advance. Each year, a limited number of students are given permission to do a research internship. A number of criteria apply, the most important of which is the academic content of the internship.

2 semesters, 4 blocks

• The academic year runs from September to July and is divided into two semesters.
• Each semester has two blocks, so there are four blocks in total.
• Each block has 8 weeks.
• There are no holidays within a semester.

Breaks

• After the first semester, during the month of January, there is a ‘Winter break’, during which there are no programme activities.
• The same goes for the ‘Summer break’, which is after the second semester, from July to September.

Programme structure of the MSc Political Science specialisations

• International Politics

• Nationalism, Ethnic Conflict and Development

• Dutch Politics

• Democracy and Representation

• Political Theory: Legitimacy and Justice

starting in September (the first semester of the academic year)

Programme structure of the MSc Political Science specialisations

• International Politics

• Nationalism, Ethnic Conflict and Development

• Dutch Politics

• Democracy and Representation

• Political Theory: Legitimacy and Justice

starting in February (the second semester of the academic year)

Online methodology catch-up course, for September starters.

Online methodology catch-up course, for February starters.