General election: what does the research say?
Today is the general election in the Netherlands – although the polling stations have actually been open for two days already because of the coronavirus restrictions. Leiden researchers and students are involved in all manner of ways, and are analysing the campaigns and possible results.
How floating voters can influence the outcome of an election
Do you know who you’re going to vote for? Or are you a floating voter? Frans Jacobs is researching how people change their opinions if they meet people with different ones. ‘If we had postponed the election because of coronavirus, this would have had a huge impact on the result.’ (In Dutch)
Leiden scientists discuss elections in online session
During the online panel discussion ‘Het spel en de macht’ (the game and the power) on 9 March, six members of Leiden’s Centre for Dutch Politics and Governance (CNPB) discussed trends regarding the current and previous general elections. Will it be tense, this campaign? ‘Baudet probably still has a card up his sleeve.’
Four reasons why so many political parties are standing for election
More parties are standing in this national election than at any point since the Second World War. Simon Otjes, an assistant professor in Dutch Politics who conducts research into new political parties, explains why this is.
Pieter Burger on Nieuwsuur about Forum voor Democratie candidate and conspiracy theories
Pieter Burger, a journalism lecturer and factchecker at Nieuwscheckers, has discovered that a candidate on the Forum voor Democratie list has been spreading conspiracy theories. He spoke on Nieuwsuur about this chance find. (In Dutch)
Barkhuysen and Van Emmerik on the effects of human rights treaties and manifestos
In series of blogs on www.nederlandserechtsstaat.nl Tom Barkhuysen and Michiel van Emmerik have written about the effects of human rights (the ECHR in particular) and manifestos. (In Dutch)
Wimar Bolhuis on the CPB’s manifesto analysis
On Monday 1 March, the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) published its analysis of the manifestos of ten Dutch political parties. What are the main conclusions? And is there any point in such an analysis in these uncertain times? (In Dutch)
Zeineb Romdhane: Student and Minister for New Democracy
A shadow cabinet has just been formed. This one consists of students from all the Dutch universities. They want to show that progress cannot be made without academic research and teaching. Master’s student Zeineb Romdhane is Minister for New Democracy.
Student Neele Boelens: ‘I think it is important to get young people to vote’
Neele Boelens is a board member of DWARS, the youth branch of the GroenLinks party. She is also doing two degrees at Leiden University: Linguistics and Public Administration. A busy year, especially with the elections just around the corner.
New book by Wim Voermans on Dutch political & governance culture: past and present
Against the backdrop of a fragmented political landscape, the past decade has witnessed the greatest changes to the Netherlands since the Second World War. The labour market, the housing market, the energy market, the bank system, the pension system, the healthcare system, to name but a few, all underwent significant change. How was this possible with governments that could not rely on a fixed majority in parliament?
Henk te Velder in de Volkskrant on the polder model
Talk Dutch politics, you’re effectively talking about the polder model. In de Volkskrant Professor Henk te Velde gave his take on the desire for consensus. (In Dutch)