We would like to introduce you to the members of our School and show the diversity of the themes that are studied within it. In every Newletter we give you a glimpse into one researchproject. This edition: PhD candidate Jelle Lammerts van Bueren (UU). Jelle is also a member of the PhD council.

My name is Jelle Lammerts van Bueren and since September 2024, I have been a PhD candidate within the political history section at Utrecht University, thanks to an NWO PhD in the Humanities grant. Before pursuing a PhD, I completed the research master’s program in contemporary history at Utrecht with an exchange at the Université Paris 1 – Panthéon-Sorbonne. I subsequently worked as a lecturer in Utrecht and also coordinated courses in the Utrecht Summer School. 

About the project 
I would definitively assign my project ‘Referendums in Postwar Western European Democracy’ the label of political history, as it discusses the place of a particular political tool within the postwar design of Western European democracies. This is the direct electoral tool of the referendum, where voters get to decide on policy directly instead of making a choice for representatives. From the 1970s onward, we see a gigantic rise in the number of referendums. However, in the historiography, there has not really been an identified reason for this. In the project, I want to find out both how and why the sudden increase in (the debate on) referendums took place and how and why this development differed per country. I will do so by focusing on referendum legacies, initiation, practices, and evaluation. I personally greatly look forward to both the archival research that comes with the project, as well as the potential of staying abroad and learning from established scholars in the field. Although it will also be a great challenge, the idea of writing a monograph out of the eventual thesis is an exciting one.   

About the RSPH 
Already as a master’s student, I took courses that were part of the Research School for Political History. These gave me a sense of what political history actually is and acquainted me with its theories, methods, and concepts. As a PhD candidate I once again feel like I benefit from the RSPH courses. Not only when it comes to clarifying my method and conceptual framework, but also in terms of the construction of a professional network. As a member of the PhD Council, I especially hope to contribute to this second element. Together with my colleagues, I greatly look forward to organizing both socially and professionally interesting events for all PhD candidates this year!