Category: Politics

I am very interested in world politics. I study Political Science at the University of Amsterdam (UvA), so you can expect a lot of postings on current affairs. I’ll try to keep it international, but because I am Dutch, some will be about Dutch politics.

Opinion: Why Vettel deserves to be punished for Azerbaijan (more)

A lot has been said about the clash in Azerbaijan, and what I’m about to write might not be news to anyone. Nevertheless, I feel the need to voice my opinion on this subject, as it is currently still a hotly debated subject among fans and even the FIA higher-ups. But first, you need to know my biases, so you know where this is coming from. I am a Vettel fan. Have been since about 2005, when he became BMW Sauber’s test-driver and he had success in his first Formula...

Six Alternative ways to read the Dutch elections and their results

On March 15th, Rousseau would’ve said the Dutch experienced ‘true freedom’ as they went to the polling stations to cast their vote and elect a new parliament. This particular election generated a lot of foreign interest, after the Brexit-referendum and US presidential election were surprisingly decided in favor of populist rhetoric centered around fear-mongering and xenophobia. When the Dutch polls closed, and Ipsos posted its exit-poll (generated by asking voters outside selected polling stations what they had just voted), it became clear the ‘populist uprising’ had come to a halt. Around...

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The Information War: Putin’s efforts to destroy democracy by turning us into cannibals

Ever since Trump got elected in November, I wanted to write an elaborate essay on him, his politics, and (alleged) election fraud. However, since then, developments happened so fast, that anything I wrote would be dated the next day. I have bookmarked dozens of topics I want to address, making it hard for me to wrap my head around the sheer stupidity and maliciousness that is the, by now, inaugurated Trump administration. From Donald Trump’s Russian connection, to Rex Tillerson’s (former head of Exxon Mobil) Antarctic connection. From Tom Pryce’s insider-trading...

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The Death of the Market-Oriented Party/Candidate; why Clinton lost.

The morning of the ninth of november will forever be seen as a historical morning. On approximately 3AM EST, Donald J. Trump was declared the winner of the 2016 US presidential election while Clinton lost. A couple of weeks before the election it seemed as if the only one still confident of his win was Trump himself. Nearly every poll, including exit polls held on the day of election, resulted in giving Hillary Clinton an approximate 70% chance to win. Venerated polling companies, who make their living providing accurate predictions, were...

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Join the Debate: pick up your phone and forget the facts – they are too boring anyway.

With the United States general election coming up again, audiences are once again invited to join the conversation. To “use hash tag #TheDebate on Twitter”, or “vote on facebook”. To “follow the newest developments as they happen right from the source on this cool app, available for free on iOS and Android”, and “if you download it now, you can vote on who you think won the debate!” This increased participation is aimed at binding audiences and getting them involved with the program, but as recent research shows, is also...

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The Effects on Political Trust of Political News-Watching among Seniors

For my masters in Political Communication I got the assignment to write a research essay on political trust, combining elements from the course literature with statistical data taken from existing databases (such as PewResearch, World Value Survey or the European Social Survey). Since it was graded with an 8.7/10, I feel confident enough of sharing it online. You can find it below through Scribd – please keep in mind that uploading it kind of messed with the layout so it doesn’t 100% represent the final product. You can read through...