May we introduce ourselves?
Political scientists at Ghent University are part of the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences and work across four dynamic research groups. Our research spans topics such as political parties, participation, representation, federalism, local politics, sustainable development, and International and European Studies. Below is an overview of our four research groups:
- GASPAR: This group examines political parties, representation, participation, and federalism, both individually and in combination. GASPAR conducts research in Belgium and internationally, across all policy levels, using both quantitative (surveys, experiments) and qualitative (interviews, QCA) methods.
- Centre for Sustainable Development (CDO): Established in 1995, CDO advances the scientific understanding and practical application of sustainability, from global to local scales. Research focuses on sustainability transitions, future scenarios, controversies, discourses, socio-technical imaginaries, sustainability education, circular economy, and sustainable cities.
- GIES (Ghent Institute for International Studies): GIES research covers political economy, climate-energy-environment, development, geopolitics and strategy, (inter)regionalism, and governance, with the EU serving as a transversal focus. GIES supports around twenty-five PhD and postdoc projects and encourages interdisciplinary collaboration with colleagues from European law, history, and economics.
- Centre for Local Politics (CLP): CLP focuses on research, education, and services related to local politics. From a political science perspective, the centre studies local leadership, council functioning, decision-making, intermunicipal cooperation, regionalization, and Europeanization at the local level. CLP also offers an integrated curriculum on local politics and provides expertise and scientific services for stakeholders in local government.
Curious to learn more about us? Explore the four research groups and the work of our political scientists here.
The 2026 Politicologenetmaal will be hosted by Ghent University. The conference is organized in collaboration with the Flemish Vereniging voor Politieke Wetenschappen (VPW) and the Dutch Nederlandse Kring voor de Wetenschap der Politiek (NKPW).
