Barbara Vis

Prof. Dr. Barbara Vis is a Professor of Politics & Governance at Utrecht University School of Governance (USG), specializing in political judgment, decision-making, and welfare state reform. She co-chairs USG's Public Governance group and directs the Research Master program in Public Administration and Organizational Science. Her research focuses on political elites' behavior under uncertainty, evidenced by her ERC Consolidator project 'RADIUNCE' (2023–2028). She previously led the NWO-funded 'HIGH-RISK POLITICS' project (2012–2017), exploring electoral risk-taking. Notable awards include the ERC Consolidator grant (2022), NWO VIDI (2011), and VENI grants (2008). Her work bridges political theory, methodology (QCA), and policy analysis, published in journals like the American Journal of Political Science and European Political Science Review. She collaborates internationally on projects addressing welfare reforms, democratic problem-solving, and governance in the digital age.

Research areas include Governing the Digital Society and Institutions for Open Societies (IOS). Recent projects include studying municipal councilors' representation (2022–2025) and analyzing elites' responses to radical uncertainty. Her books include Comparative Welfare State Politics (2014) and De Verzorgingsstaat (2016, co-authored with Kees van Kersbergen). She emphasizes methodological rigor, co-authoring transparency guidelines for QCA and advancing set-theoretic methods.

Her grants and leadership roles reflect a commitment to advancing both theoretical and applied political science. Current work explores how uncertainty shapes political decisions, with implications for democratic governance and policy design.