Jaap van Slageren

Dr. Jaap van Slageren is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning within the Faculty of Geosciences at Utrecht University. His academic career spans political geography, economic geography, and sociology, with a focus on understanding political behavior through interdisciplinary lenses. Previously, he served as a PostDoc researcher in the Sociology Department at the University of Amsterdam (2022-2023) and completed his PhD at Utrecht University's Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development (2018-2022).

Education:

• PhD in Innovation Studies, Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University (2022)
• Master in Sociology and Social Research (Research), Utrecht University (2018, With Honours)
• Master in Contemporary Social Problems (Academic), Utrecht University (2016, With Honours)
• Bachelor in Sociology, Utrecht University (2015)

Dr. van Slageren's research primarily investigates regional variation in political attitudes and voting behavior, with special emphasis on economic and cultural determinants of the populist radical right. His interdisciplinary approach integrates insights from sociology, political science, and geography to examine populism, democratic values, socio-cultural attitudes, and climate skepticism. He has established significant expertise in statistical programming using Stata and R, which supports his quantitative analysis of complex social phenomena. His work often addresses the Institutions for Open Societies theme at Utrecht University, particularly focusing on Bottom-up Initiatives for Societal Change, Fair Transitions, Futures of Democracy, and In-Equality.

His publication record reveals a clear trajectory from early work on the gig economy toward increasing focus on democratic values, political attitudes, and youth engagement. The most recent publications (2024-2025) predominantly examine democratic values in secondary education through longitudinal panel studies, while maintaining his interest in electoral geography and political behavior. His research bridges theoretical political science with practical policy concerns, particularly regarding democratic resilience and societal transitions.

Dr. van Slageren actively contributes to teaching methodology and academic skills, making quantitative approaches accessible to students. His involvement in the Adolescent Panel on Democratic Core Values demonstrates his commitment to understanding how political attitudes develop during formative educational years. While specific grant information isn't detailed in the available materials, his position as editor of multiple reports on democratic values suggests leadership in collaborative research projects examining political socialization in Dutch secondary education.