“At PPLE, I serve as the Head of Studies for the Politics major and I teach the first year course Politics, Power and Governance, as well as the the politics major course Democracies and Democratisation.

As a teacher, I hope to help students rethink how we address today’s societal problems. It is all too easy to slip into the technocratic mindset in which we, as experts, set the problem and provide the solution, and just need ‘the people’ to listen and obey – which they don’t, of course. Time and time again, experts discover that problems that seemed well-structured in the laboratory, spiral out of control when their ‘rational’ solutions hit reality. As such, what we need to do is to think how we can address problems in a world that talks back and that nobody controls.

 As a researcher, I am interested in what authority means in such a complex world. If scientific, legal or democratic authority can no longer be taken for granted – if it is no longer capable of solving conflicts, but rather becomes the focus of controversy, what holds our society together?

 As Head of Studies, my core job is to guarantee the quality of the Politics Major – that the courses we offer are inspiring inquiries in contemporary political problems, and provide a solid foundation for succeeding steps in the student’s academic careers. 

As part of the PPLE community, I count myself very lucky to work with such gifted and eager students. The PPLE program is truly an exciting place to teach and, I would think, to study.”