Public Lecture by Wouter Veenendaal on Democracy

Everyone is welcome to attend a public guest lecture by Professor Wouter Veenendaal on democracy in small island societies that do not have full sovereignty. In the lecture, he compares the Danish and Dutch kingdoms.

What characterizes politics and democracy in small island societies, and how does democracy function in small island jurisdictions that do not have full sovereignty?

These two questions will be at the center of the public guest lecture by Wouter Veenendaal, who is a professor at Leiden University.

In the first part of the lecture, Wouter Veenendaal will discuss the distinctive features of politics in small island societies. This is based on his extensive research in small (island) states around the world, including Malta, the Seychelles, St. Kitts and Nevis, Vanuatu, and the Caribbean islands that are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

First, he will examine how and why politics in small island societies is often characterized by close relationships between citizens and politicians, which often leads to personalized forms of competition, polarization, clientelism, and concentration of power.

The second part of the lecture will place particular emphasis on democracy in non-sovereign territories, comparing the Faroe Islands and Greenland within the Danish Realm on the one hand, and Aruba, Curaçao, and St. Maarten within the Kingdom of the Netherlands on the other.

The lecture will conclude with geopolitical tensions in both the Arctic and the Caribbean, and the implications these tensions have for discussions about the political status of these non-sovereign territories.

About Wouter Veenendaal
Wouter Veenendaal is Professor of Kingdom Affairs at Leiden University in the Netherlands.

His research focuses on politics in small states and territories, with particular emphasis on the political relationships between the European part of the Netherlands and the six Caribbean islands.

Part of his research involves making comparisons with other self-governing territories and their position within larger states of which they are part.

The similarities and differences between the Dutch and Danish kingdoms are particularly interesting, as is the status of the self-governing territories within these kingdoms. In this context, Wouter Veenendaal will visit the Faroe Islands to conduct research and hold discussions with politicians and civil servants, as well as give a public guest lecture at the Department of History and Social Sciences at the University of the Faroe Islands.

The lecture will be held in English.

Everyone is warmly welcome!