My research engages with questions that are also debated outside academia, such as when democracies use military force, how parliaments are involved in security policy, how military assistance is justified and debated, and how comparative methods can inform policy analysis. I consider it part of my work to make research findings and methodological expertise available beyond academic publications. The page on policy impact and advisory work documents two forms this has taken. One is advisory and training work that draws on my research, including a masterclass on Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) for the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and a consulting role in a research project at the University of Pennsylvania funded by the National Institutes of Health. The other is the citation of my publications in government, parliamentary, and policy documents, among them reports and briefings by the research services of the German Bundestag, an expert group convened by the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), SIPRI, and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. These citations were identified through VU Amsterdam’s institutional license of the Overton Index (current as of September 2026).
The page on talks and media lists invited talks, video recordings, podcasts, and media interviews. My invited talks are about evenly divided between methods-related and substantive talks, and I value both. The methods talks deal with QCA, its application in international relations and multi-method research, and research transparency. The substantive talks address democracies and the use of force, parliamentary involvement in security policy, UN sanctions, and German foreign and security policy after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Venues have included universities in the Netherlands, Germany, and other European countries, the United States Military Academy at West Point, a NATO pre-summit panel in Amsterdam, the QCA Conference of the Americas, and roundtables at International Studies Association (ISA) conventions. The recordings include a talk on QCA for the ISA, a video interview on the Zeitenwende, and a podcast conversation on security cooperation and the war in Ukraine. I also gave an interview to the Spanish public broadcaster RTVE on German military support for Ukraine.