Welcome

Welcome to the website of the Belgian Vereniging voor Politieke Wetenschappen (Political Science Association). The VPW is the Dutch-speaking political science association of Belgium. It welcomes all people interested in political science. Belgium also has a Francophone Political Science Association (ABSP) with whom we actively collaborate.

The VPW organizes two important yearly events. Together with the Nederlandse Kring voor de Wetenschap der Politiek (NKWP; Dutch political science association in NL), we organize the Annual Political Science Workshops of the Low Countries, also known as the Politicologenetmaal (24 hours political sciences). The 22nd edition took place on June 1-2, 2023 in Leuven. The date and location of the 23rd edition will soon be communicated. Besides the Politicologenetmaal, we also yearly organize The State of the Federation conference with our French-speaking colleagues of the ABSP. The 11th edition of this conference took place on the 22nd of December in Brussels. The date and location of the 12th edition will also soon be communicated.

The VPW moreover publishes, together with the ABSP, the journal Politics of the Low Countries. That is the political science review of the Low Countries. We are moreover involved with Acta Politica, the scientific journal that is published by the colleagues from the Dutch NKWP.

Members of the VPW can subscribe to Politics of the Low Countries (former journal Res Publica) at a reduced price and can also subscribe at a lower price to Acta Politica. Members can also enjoy significant discounts for participation in our events and for our journals. More information can be found in the menu “Become a member”. 

The VPW board consists of Peter Van Aelst (UAntwerpen, chair), Dirk de Bièvre (UAntwerpen, treasurer), Eline Severs (VUB, representative Politics of the Low Countries), Nicolas Bouteca (UGent), Karen Boven (UAntwerpen, secretary), Ine Goovaerts (UAntwerpen, social media manager), Ferdi de Ville (UGent), Marleen Brans (KU Leuven), Dimokritos Kavadias (VUB), Lore Baeten (UGent), Benjamin Blankaert (VUB), Joke Matthieu (UAntwerpen), Amélie Godefroidt (KU Leuven).