Blog

The EDGE Blog provides a virtual forum to discuss and dig into the takeaways of the EDGE Events, Seminars and Activities. It also opens a space to reflect, analyse and debate upon contemporary challenges to democratic governance linked to the main three EDGE research streams: Time & Sustainability, Gender & Diversity, and Contestation.

If you would like to send a contribution, please contact us at edge@vub.be

Posts

Monday 6 September

Do good fences make good neighbors? Voting across the divide in linguistically divided Brussels

In a deeply divided society, one would expect people to vote exclusively for politicians from their own ethnic or linguistic groups. But as it turns out, nothing could be further from the truth.

Tuesday 15 June

Transitioning from online to in-person academic conferences: which pandemic-induced experiences should we keep?

The pandemic has changed the format of academic conferences for the better: moving from on-site to online. With the hope of keeping what worked well during the pandemic, I reflect on my recent conference experiences.

Monday 3 May

Everyday sexism and racism in the ivory tower

I analysed the experiences of female early career researchers on the intersection of gender and ethnicity in their academic workplace. Here is a summary of the main research findings, involving five Belgian public universities.

Tuesday 23 March

The politics of ecological doom: on thriving in the ruins

The present moment is heavy with foreboding. Reading this probably made you think of several different things at once: the pandemic, climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution. In this post, I dig into one case of collapse and build up one possible concept that can help navigate the ruins: terrestrial politics.

Wednesday 24 February

Doing research on migration governance in post-dictatorship Gambia: reflections on my fieldwork

My fieldwork experience in The Gambia was a uniquely enriching experience and an opportunity to further learn and develop practical fieldwork skills.

Tuesday 12 January

Better late than never? A call for civil discourse in response to the riots at Capitol Hill

As I process the whirlwind of reactions following the riots at Capitol Hill last week, I would like to share my thoughts on three complex topics: President Trump’s divisive speech, the dismissal of media as fake news, the role of social media.

Wednesday 16 December

Writing a successful academic blog post: why and how you should do it!

In this post, I am going to share some resources and tips to write academic blog posts that I wished I had known about when I first started blogging.

Thursday 8 October

Online platforms as definers and judges of freedom of expression. How platforms are responding to the ‘disinfodemic’

We argue that through their content moderation practices, internet communication companies are acting as definers, judges and enforcers of freedom of expression on their services.

Monday 29 June

Power to the Connected? Exploring EU Member States’ Bargaining Success in Shaping Digital Policies

This blogpost offers a refined understanding of member states’ ability to successfully influence the outcome of digital policies in the Council of the EU by disentangling the role of coalitions and individual negotiators’ capacities

Wednesday 6 May

Between obedience and indignation: The affects of the corona-crisis

This blog post looks at the current crisis from the perspective of political affect. In particular, it attempts to situate the current affects of obedience against a broader background of contestation and the significantly “louder” affect of indignation.

Wednesday 1 April

Global-South Scholars in Global-North Universities: Positionality, Gender and Ethnicity in Academia

A discussion of what it means to be a researcher from the Global South in Western Academia, focusing on two themes: love and frustration, and auto-ethnographic writing.

Monday 9 March

How social prejudices format social theory. The case of 'amoral familism'

How do prejudices in the social sciences circulate and how are they perpetuated? The reception of the concept of amoral familism sheds light on this process.

Monday 3 February

A Feminist Reading of Rethinking Democracy

We are most certainly living in difficult democratic times, with populism on the up. Any lingering complacency over the health of liberal democracy is well disabused by the contributors to 'Rethinking Democracy'.

Monday 13 January

The Streets are calling! Transforming institutions to address long-term challenges to democracy.

Several protest waves hit the roads, streets and public squares in Europe and beyond in the last years. As diverse as these movements’ claims are, they all express a big sense of urgency.