Grants for Interdisciplinary Research Projects and Outreach Activities

Housing has become one of the most pressing socio-economic challenges facing Europe. Rising housing costs, growing inequalities, financialisation, demographic change, and the green transition are transforming housing systems across the continent. At the same time, the European Union is playing an increasingly important role in shaping housing through financial regulation, competition law, investment programmes, climate policy, and other legal and policy instruments.

This research project examines how European integration is reshaping housing governance across national and local systems. Bringing together perspectives from law, political economy, urban studies, and public policy, it investigates how European legal and political institutions influence housing markets, public intervention, and access to affordable housing. Particular attention is devoted to the interaction between EU law, welfare systems, financial markets, and urban governance, as well as to the political and social conflicts emerging around housing across Europe.

The project aims to establish an interdisciplinary research agenda on the Europeanisation of housing and its implications for the future of housing governance in Europe.

The project explores how democracy and the rule of law can be rethought in an increasingly multipolar world. At a time when liberal democracy faces growing pressure and climate change poses global challenges, the researchers argue that European perspectives should be enriched through dialogue with ideas and experiences from around the world.

The collaboration brings together expertise from FASoS and LAW. By combining political and intellectual history, international relations, European constitutional theory, and environmental studies, the project aims to develop new ways of thinking about democracy and the rule of law that are better suited to today's global challenges.

As part of the project, the team will organise an interdisciplinary workshop bringing together international scholars from a range of disciplines and geographical backgrounds. The workshop will be complemented by outreach activities, including opinion articles, video recordings, and a podcast, to stimulate discussion among both academic and wider public audiences. The project will also lay the groundwork for future collaborative research and larger external funding applications.

The outreach event titled ‘Confronting Sexual Deepfakes: Risks, Rights, and Coordinated Responses’ will feature a thought-provoking discussion about the harms of sexual deepfakes and how this issue is being addressed within EU and Dutch contexts.

Being a rapidly emerging form of technology-facilitated sexual violence, sexual deepfakes raise complex questions concerning human dignity, privacy, and ethical use of digital technologies more broadly. They have become an acute problem because anyone can become a victim at any time, regardless of whether or not real nude images of them exist. Although the EU and certain Member States have recently taken measures to address their production and dissemination, the enforcement capacity severely lags behind, making it difficult to identify and sanction the companies and individuals violating the rules.

The event aims to enhance key stakeholders’ understanding of how we can work together to better address the growing issue of sexual deepfakes and to inform citizens about the existing EU and Dutch regulatory frameworks as well as their strengths and weaknesses.

(Info will follow soon)