Politics and Culture in Europe
Contact: Prof. Hylke Dijkstra (Director) and Dr. Toon van Overbeke (Academic Secretary)
Founded in 2003, Politics and Culture in Europe (PCE) is an interdisciplinary research programme at Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences of Maastricht University. It brings together 50 political scientists, historians and philosophers. The process of European integration since 1945 and questions of European democracy, governance, and foreign policy are central to the PCE research agenda. PCE researchers study the European Union and Europeanisation, yet they also contribute to debates on multilateralism and the global order, and take an interest in transnational history. Methodologically rigorous, the emphasis of PCE is on fundamental research with societal relevance.
Research clusters




European Policy and Governance
The cluster European Policy and Governance concentrates on the contemporary events, developments and debates related to the European public policy process.
For more information about this cluster, please visit the research clusters webpage.
Europe and the Crisis of Rule-Based Global Order
The cluster Europe and the Crisis of Rule-Based Global Order examines the ability of the EU to promote rules-based order in the European neighbourhood and global governance.
For more information about this cluster, please visit the research clusters webpage.
Democracy in Europe: Past and Present
The cluster Democracy in Europe: Past and Present focuses on the evolution, the dynamics, the institutional forms, and the contested nature of democracy across time and space.
For more information about this cluster, please visit the research clusters webpage.
Political attitudes and behaviour in Europe
The cluster Political attitudes and behaviour in Europe focuses on topics such as political attitudes, political behaviour, representation, responsiveness, policy preferences, legitimacy, citizenship, and emotions in politics.
For more information about this cluster, please visit the research clusters webpage.
PCE works in four research clusters:
- European Policy and Governance
- Europe and the Crisis of Rule-Based Global Order
- Democracy in Europe: Past and Present
- Political attitudes and behaviour in Europe
PCE research in the picture

Mariëlle Wijermars about Russian propaganda
In an interview for UMagazine, Mariëlle Wijermars speaks about Russia's invasion of Ukraine and growing far-right sentiment.

Hylke Dijkstra about a world after Biden
Hylke Dijkstra talks in an interview with Studio Europa Maastricht about tensions in Eastern Europe, and how the EU should respond.

Sophie Vanhoonacker about the shifting world order
Sophie Vanhoonacker reflects on the shifting world order. Is Europe becoming a world power?

Karin van Leeuwen interviewed in run-up to Conference on the Future of Europe
In an interview with Studio Europa Maastricht, Karin van Leeuwen reflects on 'who calls the shots' in Europe.

Christine Neuhold about the upcoming Dutch elections and the power of national parliaments
In an interview with Studio Europa Maastricht, Christine Neuhold talks about the relationship between the Dutch parliament and the EU.

Mariëlle Wijermars about the media in Russia and Belarus
In the new series ‘Digital technology: a double-edged sword’, Mariëlle Wijermars reflects on the role of social media in distorting our access to information.

Esther Versluis about our (in)tolerance for uncertainty
Esther Versluis talks in an interview by Studio Europa about our (in)tolerance for uncertainty. She explains her research into ‘wicked problems’, problems for which there is no clear solution, of which the current corona crisis is an example.
News
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Anna Harris has been awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant of €2 million for her project ‘The Upcycled Clinic: A global ethnography of material creativity in contemporary medicine’. The project addresses the escalating issue of clinical waste.
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Five FASoS researchers have been awarded Horizon Europe grants for leading projects in the European security domain. A combined total of nearly €700,000 goes to Maastricht. The overall worth of each project amounts to €3 million.
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Marielle Wijermars and Christian Herff will receive this year's KNAW Early Career Award. The Award is intended for researchers in the Netherlands who are at the beginning of their careers and who have innovative, original ideas.
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A stop to migration? Setting aside the nitrogen regulations? Radically countering internationalisation in higher education? Politicians regularly make great pronouncements. To what extent are these promises realistic? Dr Karin van Leeuwen, lecturer of European Political History at the Faculty of...
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The €30,000 grant will help Elissaveta and the teacher’s team behind the learning line 'Politics and Governance in the EU' within the European Studies BA and MA programmes to update and enlarge the existing courses with additional knowledge on the institutional responses of the EU to the numerous...
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For her Jean Monnet Module "EUDemocracy: Engaging Young Citizens", Christine Arnold has received funding from the European Commission.