Programme

Is democratic legitimacy at risk because of eroding social capital, growing political cynicism, and increasing intolerance? Are political debates and decision making shaped by hypes in public opinion, or is public opinion moulded by media effects and political spin doctors? Do voters base their party choice increasingly on the personalities of party leaders, or on the policies outlined in the election manifestos? Political commentators may think that they already know the answers to such questions, but the study of political behaviour and political communication often comes up with surprising answers on the basis of empirical research.

The track Political Behaviour and Communication focuses on topics such as political socialisation, political communication, political activism, voting behaviour, and political representation, using insights from theoretical perspectives such as political psychology. A variety of qualitative and quantitative research methods is used: from in-depth interviewing to experiments, and from content analysis to classic opinion surveys. There are no geographical boundaries in this track: depending on the research question the study compares patterns of political behaviour internationally or makes use of the rich collections of data on political behaviour in the Netherlands.

The study of political behaviour and political communication helps us understand why political actors, both ordinary voters and professional politicians, act as they do, it helps us interpret recent trends and their potential consequences for democratic politics. In this way it also provides a basis for evaluating both the current institutional framework for political behaviour and communication and the proposals for reform that are regularly made.

Information on courses and time-tables can be found in the e-Prospectus