iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

By combining discourse analysis with the concept of symbolic geography, the article offers a nuanced perspective on how external relations are shaped not only by policy, but also by underlying representations of identity and belonging. 🔗 Read more: lnkd.in/ewPSvryH

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

Their analysis shows that EU institutions - despite initial differences - ultimately converged on a narrative that positions Belarus as “Europe’s other,” simultaneously distancing it from Europe while justifying political responses such as sanctions.

lnkd.in

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

In a recent article in the Journal of European Studies, Nadège Boels and Vjosa Musliu examine how the European Union discursively responded to the 2020 protests in Belarus. #DemocraticFutures #EU #Belarus #PoliticalScience #DiscourseAnalysis #InternationalRelations

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Drawing on interviews and archival reviews, it shows how feminist archives resist women’s marginalization and contribute to the broader post-Yugoslav “archival turn.”

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

This article by Enduena Klajiqi examines feminist archival activism in Kosovo and how it challenges dominant post-war, male-centered historical narratives. brill.com/view/journal...

brill.com

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

It calls for shifting attention toward everyday social, cultural, and transnational dynamics to better capture Kosovo’s complexities, contradictions, and lived experiences.

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

A new Special Issue by Vjosa Musliu and Gezim Krasniqi argues that treating Kosovo as a fixed “case study” in international relations has turned it into a black box defined mainly by ethnic conflict and external intervention. brill.com/view/journal...

brill.com

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

New work by Jihane Sliti and Iman Lechkar. Their article in "Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power" examines Belgian media coverage of male converts in the context of “foreign fighters,” with a focus on processes of whitening and de-Othering. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

tandfonline.com

On altar boys and good-hearted guys: de-Othering and the whitening of male convert “foreign fighters” in Belgian newspapers

This article analyzes how Belgian Dutch and French-speaking newspapers (2013–2022) use emotional storytelling techniques to shape news stories about convert men to Islam in the conflict-zone Syria/...

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

Waar komt dit fenomeen vandaan en welk effect heeft het op politici en het publiek? Bekijk de aflevering via VRT MAX: www.vrt.be/vrtmax/a-z/d...

vrt.be

VRT MAX

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

Prof. Karen Celis in De Afspraak (16/1) over online geweld tegen vrouwelijke politici. Na de aankondiging dat Vlaams minister Melissa Depraetere op doktersadvies onmiddellijk met zwangerschapsverlof moest, werden sociale media overspoeld met negatieve en ronduit beledigende commentaren.

vrt.be

VRT MAX

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

"Populists and socialists are more likely than other politicians to come from lower-class families, and social democrats to have less educated parents. Yet both groups are almost just as likely to have highly educated and higher class friends and partners" 🔗 lnkd.in/ehQyXfUk

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

📢 New article by @ninojunius.bsky.social and Stefaan Walgrave on politicians and their social ties!

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PLEDGE Horizon project @pledge-project.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

🌍 When was the last time you were trained by three top-notch EU projects simultaneously? 👉 Learn more: www.pledgeproject.eu/joint-worksh... 🎟 Register now via the link or QR code and be part of this collaborative discussion! #PolicyMaking #ResearchToPolicy #PLEDGE #PolicyInnovation

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Hannah Oorts @hannahoorts.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Very happy that my contribution in the @ejcs-journal.bsky.social and the full special issue on "Space Invaders Revisited" is now out in print! Honoured to be amongs amazing scholars, to revisit the amazing and still timely work by Nirmal Puwar! ➡️Read my piece here: doi.org/10.1177/1367...

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

By situating these insights within broader debates on sustainability, rural transformation and social ecology, the book offers a critical yet dreamy on reimagining agriculture beyond capitalist growth paradigms.

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

She examines how processes of modernisation, neoliberalisation, urbanisation and climate change are reshaping rural livelihoods and means of rose cultivation, while also illuminating possibilities of resilience and ecological imagination.

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

🎯 Grounded in ethnographic research in Ağlasun, Turkey, the book focuses into the centuries-old practice of rose cultivation to explore the interwoven environmental, economic and social dimensions of agricultural life.

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

🎉 We are delighted to announce the release of our @dfuturevub.bsky.social colleague Ebru Akgün's book, “Sürdürülebilir Tarım Hayali: Gül Yetiştiriciliğinin Sosyal Ekolojisi” (A Dream for Sustainable Agriculture: The Social Ecology of Rose Cultivation), published by Bağlam Yayınları.

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

The piece raises the fundamental question: if everything else keeps running despite the lack of a regional government, what is the point of having one?

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

Meanwhile, non-profits and businesses are suffering: social organisations face delayed funding and a million-euro budget gap, and business groups have declared a “state of emergency” over the leadership vacuum.

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

It highlights how this political deadlock is being felt by citizens who say their votes now feel pointless, with one saying “I don’t even know why I bothered voting.”

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

The article laments that after 500 days since the June 2024 regional elections, the Brussels‑Capital Region still has no proper government due to failed coalition talks and parties refusing to negotiate with each other.

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 07/10/2025

Marco's project explores this through migrants’ lived experiences and Albania’s role as co-constructor of Europe’s borders. 🌍

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 07/10/2025

The EU’s migration policy is increasingly outsourced to the Western Balkans. Deals like the Italy–Albania Protocol and EU–Albania FRONTEX raise big questions: whose rights are at stake, and who shapes “EUrope”?

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 07/10/2025

Congratulations to @marcozampieri.bsky.social for receiving a PhD Fellowship from @fwovlaanderen.bsky.social. We're over the moon to be able to continue to work with Marco and engage with his interesting, important and timely project.

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

The research group will miss Benjamin's presence. We are grateful for our time together and proud of the person he has become. And even though we wish him all the best, we are also slightly envious of his future colleagues. Congratulations, Dr. Benjamin Blanckaert! 👨‍🎓

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

Congratulations to promotors Silvia Erzeel and Didier Caluwaerts, and many thanks to jury chair @elinesevers.bsky.social

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

Benjamin gave a very engaging and accessible presentation, sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm with a captivated audience. The Q&A with the jury members @dkavadia.bsky.social, @emilievh.bsky.social, @robindevroe.bsky.social, Joost Vaesen and Min Reuchamps was spirited and insightful.

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

Another festive week at @dfuturevub.bsky.social 🎉 Benjamin Blanckaert succesfully defended his dissertation "Holding Together or Falling Apart? Electoral Politics Across the Linguistic Divide in the Brussels-Capital Region."

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

About last night... 🎉 Congratulations Dr. @kamilbernaerts.bsky.social ! 🎓 📖 Dr. Bernaerts defended his dissertation on polarisation and its complex, dynamic relationship with democracy and institutions. Needless to say, it was fantastic! Find out more about Kamil's work via kamilbernaerts.com

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

New publication by DFuture’s Nino Junius et al.: “Why top politicians are pessimistic or optimistic about democracy and its evolution”. What makes political leaders lean one way - optimism or pessimism - and how does that shape democracy’s direction? Link: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

tandfonline.com

Why top politicians are pessimistic or optimistic about democracy and its evolution

Amid widespread concerns about the crisis of democracy, scant scholarly attention has been given to the views of elite politicians who are at the helm of democracy and, for instance, have the abili...

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Kevin Meyvaert @kevinmeyvaert.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

Presented two papers at #ecpr25 in Thessaloniki: 1️⃣ Brussels youth & their perceptions of democracy: ecpr.eu/Events/Event... 2️⃣ Urban youth’s expectations of political representation (with prof. @elinesevers.bsky.social): ecpr.eu/Events/Event... Thanks to discussants & chairs for the feedback.

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Kamil Bernaerts @kamilbernaerts.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

New publication in International Political Science Review! Together with Didier Caluwaerts, I found that the relationship between polarisation and violence was weaker in countries with a federal system and/or a rigid constitution. Important contribution regarding polarisation's impact on democracy.

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

New article by DFuture colleagues @kamilbernaerts.bsky.social & Didier Caluwaerts in International Political Science Review: Fight or unite? Consensus institutions, polarization, and political violence in 113 democracies (1900–2023). 🔗 journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

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Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

Analysing JD Vance’s speech at the Munich Security Conference earlier this year, Yunus describes how US foreign policy under Trump depicts Europe as being led by a corrupt elite which refuses to listen to its conservative people. This, he argues, further legitimises Europe’s own right-wing populists

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

She analyses how politicians (re)imagine, (re)mobilise and (re)construct national symbols in the aftermath of disasters across three countries. #VUB #UAntwerpen #DFUTURE #DiscourseNet #DiscourseStudies

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

Her work is titled “(Re)imagining, (re)mobilising, (re)constructing nationalisms: A comparative analysis of politician discourse during the post-disaster scenes of Belgium, Turkey and United States."

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

Our colleague, Ebru Akgün, from VUB @dfuturevub.bsky.social and @uantwerpen.be, presented her doctoral research at the 6th DiscourseNet Congress, held at @ulbruxelles.bsky.social (ULB) from 7-10 July.

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 18/06/2025

🚨 Reminder 🚨 🎉 Call for 2 postdoctoral research mandates (1 year) at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) 🎉 🎯 Deadline: 20/6/2025

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

🚨 Call for 2 postdocs! The EDGE team at VUB is hiring! We’re looking for researchers to rethink democracy in Europe: climate, representation & inequality 🔍🌍 Start: Fall 2025 Location: Brussels 🇧🇪 Deadline: 20 June Info & how to apply 👉 tinyurl.com/zpw3p6z7

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Laura Luciani @drlauluciani.bsky.social · 27/05/2025

Had a packed week at #EUIA25: presented my work on EU (in)security in post-2020 Armenia (coming soon @jcms-eu.bsky.social -stay tuned!) & discussed brilliant papers by @dfuturevub.bsky.social colleagues. We also stood in solidarity with Gaza & against academic complicity in the ongoing genocide.

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Politics of the Low Countries @plc-journal.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

😇 Want to get inspiration? Our latest PhD summary by Daan Vermassen is available #openaccess plc-journal.eu/article/view... and the review by Karen Celis plc-journal.eu/article/view... @dfuturevub.bsky.social

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 26/05/2025

Marie Curie Call for Postdoctoral Fellowship is still open: ‼️ DEADLINE 31/05 ‼️

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DFUTURE @dfuturevub.bsky.social · 24/05/2025

🎉 Big congrats to DFuture’s Nino Junius & David Talukder — both awarded a FWO Postdoc Fellowship! 🧠🎓 🗣️ Nino: Can political parties foster inclusive, reflective deliberation? 🗳️ David: What happens when citizens feel underrepresented in democracy? We’re proud of this inspiring future research!

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