Femke E. Bakker is Senior Assistant Professor at the Institute of Political Science.

More information about Femke Bakker

Femke E. Bakker is Senior Assistant Professor Political Science. She studies politics and international relations from a political psychological perspective. Her main areas of interest include microfoundations of IR theory, democratic peace theory, political behaviour, political leadership, beliefs systems, liberal values and meditation. She teaches in the field of political psychology, international relations and research methods.

Currently, Bakker is working on two research projects. Can Lovingkindness Meditation Support Tolerant Political Behavior, supported by the Mind and Life Institute’s PEACE grant, studies the impact of meditation on political behavior. With dr. Niels van Willigen, Bakker investigates if and how the personal beliefs of political leaders can potentially influence (foreign) policy outcomes.

Bakker is also an associate researcher of the Laboratory of Comparative and Social Research (LCSR) and serves as book reviews editor for Acta Politica.

Dr. Bakker studied political science at Leiden University, obtaining her Research Master degree (cum laude) in 2012 and her PhD in 2018. Her PhD thesis, written under supervision of Prof. dr. Petr Kopecký, dr. Niels van Willigen and dr. Michael Meffert tested the microfoundations of democratic peace theory. Her dissertation was awarded with the ECPR Jean Blondel Prize and received an Honorable Mention by the ISPP.

› Curriculum vitae Femke Bakker

PhD supervision

Femke Bakker is available to supervise PhD students and invites PhD research proposals in the areas of:

• Microfoundations of International Relations
• Beliefs and (foreign policy) decision-making
• Democratic Peace Theory

See for more information on PhD positions:

› Institute of Political Science: PhD

Publications