Willem de Koster

Willem de Koster is a Full Professor at Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, specializing in Governance and Pluralism. His research examines how social groups interpret social issues and how these interpretations influence actions and responses to information and urban environments.

Research interests focus on cultural conflict, political attitudes, voting behavior, populism, and health behaviors. His interdisciplinary approach combines quantitative and qualitative methods including survey experiments, implicit association tests, and in-depth interviews.

Recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on social stratification, political attitudes, and experimental methods. Key patterns include examinations of educational inequalities in climate skepticism, legitimacy of health interventions, and EU attitudes using population-based experiments.

Awards and Honors:

• BJS Prize 2022
• Best PhD Supervisor Award
• NWO VENI, VIDI and Conflict & Security Grants
• EUR Fellowship

As PhD supervisor and co-founder of the Politics & Society master specialization, he advises graduate students and develops curriculum for the Research Master in Sociology of Culture, Media and the Arts.