Joost van den Akker, lecturer in European Studies at Zuyd University of Applied Sciences and PhD candidate at the Law in Europe research group at the University of Twente (UT), will receive a Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) ‘PhD Scholarship for Teachers’ from Minister Bussemaker on Wednesday 25 March. Thirty one of the 100 proposals submitted were awarded one of these scholarships.
Joost van den Akker is studying the conditions under which governments are able to make referendums on European integration work for them. “There have been more than 50 EU-related referendums in 26 countries during the last 40 years. The issues concerned include EU accession, the introduction of the euro and the approval of EU treaties. However, we know little of governments’ roles in these referendums,” says Mr Van den Akker. “How did these referendums come about and how did governments act and tackle matters in the case of and during referendum campaigns? Under what circumstances did their respective approaches lead to the desired result? After all, no comparative research has ever been carried out on government actions in EU-related referendums.”
This research is taking place at the UT’s Institute for Innovation and Governance Studies (IGS) under the supervision of Prof. Kees Aarts and Dr Henk van der Kolk, who is affiliated with the Chair of Political Science at the UT, and Eric van de Luijtgaarden, who is lector at Zuyd University of Applied Sciences.
Relevant topic for education and society
Given that this research examines how EU referendums and their public campaigns are organized and the circumstances under which they are successful, it will be particularly valuable for the European Studies degree programme at Zuyd University of Applied Sciences. Referendums are currently playing an increasingly dominant role in the European integration process and Joost van den Akker is already incorporating the skills and knowledge involved in the subjects he teaches.
Master Public Administration and European Studies
The Master Public Administration and European Studies at the University of Twente offers a challenging preparation for a career in the public sector or in follow-up research as a PhD student.
