While there is evidence suggesting that an unfavorable socioeconomic status does foster voting in favor of populist parties, multiple previous studies agree that cultural or political concerns surpass the explanatory power of economic insecurity. Nonetheless, economic approaches of populist voting should not be discarded.

Next to the substantial investigation on which aspects of socioeconomic hardship increase support for populism, another objective of this thesis is to illustrate the method...

This book on Reflections on European Values is a Liber Amicorum honouring Loek Halman’s contribution to the European Values Study. For years, he has been a key figure in this longitudinal and cross-national research project on moral, social, and political values, dedicating his academic life to advancing the understanding of values in Europe. This Liber Amicorum is published at the occasion of Loek’s retirement after a long career at the Department of Sociology at Tilburg University. It b...

If every event in international politics is a turning point, one can only go and lie down, out of sheer dizziness. In reality, we have been living in the same multipolar world for more than three decades. Europeans are only now again getting used to how such a world of great powers works. In the process, the European Union has rediscovered the importance of geopolitics. Without geopolitical awareness, crafting good strategy is impossible. But not every problem is geopolitical, and strategy co...

Providing for National Security: A Comparative Analysis argues that the provision of national security has changed in the 21st century as a result of a variety of different pressures and threats. In this timely volume experts from both the academic and policy worlds present 13 different country case studies drawn from across the globe-including established and newer states, large and smaller states, those on the rise and those in apparent decline-to identify what these key players consider to...

In talking about Europe, it is common to emphasise the democratic, constitutional and peaceful values that unite Europeans. However, according to Dag Nikolaus Hasse, it is not that easy to find an essence of Europe.

In What is European? he shows that many traditional ideas about Europe are culturally one-sided and historically and geographically distorted, and calls for the discourse on Europe to be de-romanticised and de-colonised. This would better reflect Europe's eventful history and dive...

In recent years, more and more organisations have realised that diversity and inclusion in the workplace is both crucial and enormously beneficial. But how do you stop this realisation from remaining empty words and flashy statements, and turn awareness into action?

In 'The Inclusion Marathon', Kauthar Bouchallikht and Zoë Papaikonomou interview 41 practitioners and researchers about their knowledge and experience within the field of diversity, equity and inclusion in the Netherlands. These...

A smart and witty guide to all you want to know about human genetics.

Human genetics is not the playground of science alone. Genetics concerns all of us, for we all have DNA, genes, genomes, and chromosomes. Our genes determine partly our appearance and our behaviour, our talents and our health risks.

The authors of 'The Human Recipe' use humour to explain what we understand about human genetics. With anecdotes and topical examples, they demonstrate how genetics affects our everyday lives. Wh...

A pandemic, a war in Europe and a climate that is getting warmer and warmer; in recent years, Alexander De Croo has had little option but to be a crisis prime minister. Even so, he is more convinced than ever that tomorrow will be better than today.

Why the best is yet to come radically challenges the doom-laden thinking, nationalist tendencies and destructive negativism that characterise so much of modern politics.

Our country is bursting with talent. If we give our people freedom, confidenc...

The city is a complex object. Some researchers look at its shape, others at its people, animals, ecology, policy, infrastructures, buildings, history, art, or technical networks. Some researchers analyse processes of in- or exclusion, gentrification, or social mobility; others biological evolution, traffic flows, or spatial development. Many combine these topics or add still more topics beyond this list. Some projects cross the boundaries of research and practice and engage in action research...

Augusto Boal saw theatre as a mirror to the world, one that we can reach into to change our reality. This book, The Theatre of the Oppressed, is the foundation to 'Forum Theatre', a popular radical form practised across the world. Boal's techniques allowed the people to reclaim theatre, providing forums through which they could imagine and enact social and political change.

Rejecting the Aristotelian ethic, which he believed allowed the State to remain unchallenged, he broke down the wall bet...