As a political theorist I am contributing to the research programme of socialist republicanism. My main intellectual ambition is to develop a sense of how capitalist society works—politically, economically, ideologically, and socially—and to identify ways in which society could potentially move beyond capitalism.

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About me

Biographical note

Born in 1993, in the city of Utrecht in the centre of the Netherlands, I grew up to become a socialist at an early age. I could not acquiesce in the notion that liberal capitalism represented the final consummation of human social development. Being sceptical by disposition, the available alternatives on offer were similarly unsatisfactory. As a result of subsequent explorations, my research interests and findings converged on the subject of “socialist republicanism”, which to my mind is potentially capable of providing a sensible resolution to theoretical stagnation.

In 2007, aged fourteen, I joined ‘ROOD’, the youth wing of the Socialist Party of the Netherlands, but left a few years on. After a number of detours, I re-joined the ranks of the Socialist Party in 2016. In 2021, several members broke away (although not of their own accord) over disagreements related to the strategic and political orientation of the party and regrouped to form a smaller unity project, ‘De Socialisten’, which I subsequently joined.

I have attended various institutions of higher learning, acquiring a propaedeutic certificate and diplomas from the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, the Free University of Amsterdam, and the University of Amsterdam. In 2020, I graduated with honours from the University of Amsterdam in the field of political science, specialising in political theory.

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Curriculum vitae

As of 2024, I am again residing in the city of Utrecht, with my partner, Jona Duran.

About my researcH SCOPE

Research statement

It is my core belief that society should move beyond liberal capitalism to fully realise the creative and social potential dormant in humankind. Unfortunately, it is not a given that this is a viable option. These basic suppositions underpin my commitments in the area of research. My research interests derive directly from questions that arose during my political activity, which I had begun with the aim of helping in the promotion of social justice. By extension, I aspire to supply research and circulate theory that might assist social movements in obtaining a more symmetrical distribution of resources. I also refer to my statement of purpose and beliefs.

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Statement of purpose

As a political theorist I am contributing to the research programme of socialist republicanism. My main intellectual ambition is to develop a sense of how capitalist society works—politically, economically, ideologically, and socially—and to identify ways in which society could potentially move beyond capitalism. My research interests are therefore quite broad, triangulated somewhere between political economy, political theory, and political sociology.

In respect to political theory, my main focus lies with developing a systematic body of normative political thought that unifies civic republicanism and socialism. In terms of political and historical sociology, I am particularly interested in the social construction of class domination and hegemony both historically and currently, and therefore more broadly in questions of (class) structure and (class) agency. Lastly, in relation to political economy, I am interested in the interrelationship of macroeconomic and political developments, especially as they relate to the asymmetrical distribution of relative power among different social classes and class fractions. I am further interested in the institutional and political economies of socialism.

My ancillary research interests extend to the subjects of the microeconomics and macroeconomics of capitalism, development psychology and moral psychology, and theories on the nature and origins of fascism.

About my present and future research

Research statement

‘The Constitution of Socialism’. (Completed project). This monograph attempts to rehabilitate socialism by integrating republican features. By means of constitutional, institutional, and mechanism design, I test whether an attractive, ambitious, coherent, and feasible institutional outline is possible.

‘General Principles of Socialist Republicanism: A Theory of Self-Government, the Common Good, and Social Welfare’. (Ongoing project). This work attempts to develop more systematically a normative body of thought, related to republican socialism. This project involves formulating a set of principles to help outline a theoretical framework corresponding to the institutional framework proposed previously in ‘The Constitution of Socialism’. It should supply a coherent set of arguments in favour of a republican approach to socialism.

‘Praxis: An Essay on Social Reproduction & Counter-Hegemony’. (Future project). This monograph would offer a strategic orientation for counter-hegemony, based on a neo-Gramscian interpretation of Marxism applied to the issue of the social reproduction of class relations under capitalism.