About me
Thank you for taking the time to visit my personal website. I am a Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at the University of Melbourne specializing in comparative welfare policy and politics, political long-termism, democratic innovations, transnational governance and differentiation.
I am currently working on three research projects.
The first one, “Exploring Political Long-Termism” (funded by the Dutch Research Council), aims at understanding what motivates citizens to favour policies that might be costly in the near future but deliver benefits in the long run.
The second project, entitled “Rebuilding Governance and Resilience out of the Pandemic” (REGROUP), focuses on learning policy lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic, and I lead a Work Package in which we conduct a transnational, multi-level citizens' jury on citizens' attitudes towards pandemic governance. You can read more about this in my Methodological Brief, which elaborates on the multi-level deliberative design we seek to implement.
The third project focuses on patterns of welfare state opposition, with a particular focus on welfare Euroscepticism.
I am also co-Editor-in-Chief of Acta Politica.
I recently published work focusing on:
- How differentiation serves as a vehicle for the long-term sustainability and institutional robustness of the EU;
- How innovative task environments might stimulate citizens' political efficacy;
- How citizens think of and support welfare policies in the long term.
You can find more information about my current projects and publications below. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you’d like to discuss project ideas, collaborations, or even just for a casual chat.
Interests
- Comparative welfare policy and politics
- The politics of long-termism
- Transnational governance
- European integration
- Democratic innovations
Education
PhD in Political Science, 2014
University of Edinburgh (United Kingdom)
LL.M. in European Law, 2011
University of Kent (United Kingdom)
BA in Political Science, 2010
University of Namur (Belgium)
Experience
Assistant Professor in Politics and Society
University of Groningen
- Editor of Acta Politica (since 2021)
- Member of the Young Academy Groningen (since 2021)
- Coordinator of the university-wide Democracy and Governance Research Network (since 2021)
- Programme coordinator, BA European Languages and Cultures (since 2020)
- Programme committee member, BA European Languages and Cultures (2019-20)
- Affiliated to the Research Centre for the Study of Democratic Cultures and Politics
Assistant Professor in Public Administration
University of Canberra
- Director of the Master of Public Administration (2017-19)
- Affiliated to the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance & the Centre for Change Governance
Research Associate
University of Kent
- Coordinator of the NORFACE-funded ‘Welfare State Futures: Our Children’s Europe’ project, led by Prof. Peter Taylor-Gooby (https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/welfsoc/)
Teaching
Over the past ten years, I have been designing introductory and specialised courses on a wide range of topics and aimed at different audiences, from first-year undergraduate students to senior Australian and Indonesian public servants.
I am also a regular contributor to the University of Agder’s European Integration Summer School. I was invited to give guest lectures on comparative welfare policy, Euroscepticism and differentiation at several universities, including Auckland (New Zealand), Oslo (Norway), Minho (Portugal) and the Free University of Brussels (Belgium).
In my teaching, I always seek to promote the work of female and early-career colleagues. The following syllabus (which I developed for a BA2 research seminar on “Crises and Euroscepticism”) may be of interest to colleagues seeking to offer a gender-balanced reading list.
Most recent courses taught (reading lists can be sent on demand):
P&S 1: European (Dis)Integration (LEU053P05)
P&S 2: Applied Research Methods (LEU054P05)
P&S 5: Research Seminar: Differentiation and Transnational Governance (LEU051B05)
P&S 7: Theorizing European and Global Politics 2 (LEU115B05)
P&S LS 1: French Politics and Society (LEU064B05)
Master Seminar: Democratic Innovations (LYX017M10)
Research
Exploring the Politics of Long-Termism (Dutch Research Council)
REGROUP: Rebuilding Governance and Resilience out of the Pandemic (Horizon EU)
Featured Publications
The Routledge Handbook of Differentiation in the European Union
Attitudes, Aspirations and Welfare
The Routledge Handbook of Euroscepticism
After Austerity
Euroscepticism as a Transnational and Pan-European Phenomenon
Media
I regularly comment on contemporary political events, such as domestic and European elections. I worked with several media outlets such as the BBC, STV, The Scotsman, Heart Radio, Vers l’Avenir and Radio France Internationale. In 2016, I offered live comments and analyses on the Brexit referendum for the Belgian francophone television (RTBF). I also contributed to a BBC World Service radio broadcast entitled “Why do we need the State?” with Timothy Snyder and Adrian Wooldridge.
Here are some of my recent contributions to the public debate:
- Libération (France): “Aux Pays Bas, les sociaux-libéraux rebattent les cartes” (comment on the 2021 Dutch general election results)
- LN24 (Belgium): live contribution to a special broadcast on the 2021 Dutch general election (link)
- De Volkskrant (The Netherlands): “Frankrijk weer de straat op: wat kan Macron leren can Thatcher en Schröder?” (comment on the 2017 French protests)
- Sydney Morning Herald (Australia): “Emmanuel Macron heralds a new era, but can he run a country?”
I am available to provide comments (in English or French) related to my field of expertise (contemporary politics and elections, Euroscepticism, welfare policy, and democratic innovations).
Contact
- b.j.j.leruth@rug.nl
- Faculty of Arts, Oude Kijk in 't Jatstraat 26, 9712 EK Groningen
- DM Me