Ethno-racial (In)equality in Belgium and Germany: Understanding Policy Frames
Laura Westerveen is a PhD candidate at the Institute for European Studies (IES) since October 2015. She is also a member of the Political Science Department of the VUB and of the RHEA Centre of Expertise on Gender, Diversity and Intersectionality.
Laura will publicly defend her Thesis in an online event on Friday October 9, 2020 at 10am. TO JOIN THE DEFENSE, please send an email to Jessie Callebaut (events.organiser@ies.be). You will then receive an email with all the necessary information.
Meanwhile, here's a short interview to get to know a bit her work.
- Tile of the Thesis:
Ethno-racial (In)equality in Belgium and Germany: Understanding Policy Frames (short summary here)
- Date and location of public defense:
Friday 9 October from 10.00 to 12.00, at the VUB Promotiezaal. There will be online streaming.
- Can you summarize your thesis in a few words?
"My thesis explores the framing of inequalities along ethno-racial lines in policy discourses. In particular, it identifies different types of ‘policy frames’ surrounding these inequalities in Belgian and German education and employment policies. It also aims to explain these"
- What is the main academic or societal contribution of your thesis?
"It mainly contributes to the literature on European politics and policymaking as regards migrants, minorities and the inequalities they face. It does so by arguing for a move beyond migrant integration studies towards the study of ethno-racial (in)equality. As a theoretical contribution, it proposes a two-dimensional typology for conceptualizing ‘ethno-racial (in)equality policy frames’ and an integrated framework for explaining these policy frames. As an empirical contribution, it identifies and explains prevailing trends in Belgian and German policy discourses"
- Could you share with us any funny anecdote related to your PhD-experience?
"It might not be that funny, but when I moved to Brussels to start my PhD trajectory I never expected to begin and end the writing process of my thesis while in lockdown (of different kinds)"