Justus Uitermark winner of IMISCOE's Maria Ioannis Baganha Dissertation Award for Dynamic of Power in Dutch Integration
The IMISCOE Research Network functions not only as a framework for developing research on international migration, integration and social cohesion in Europe, but also provides training to PhD students working within these themes. Yearly IMISCOE awards the Maria Ioannis Baganha Dissertation Award to applicants with the best dissertation in the field of migration, integration and social cohesion in Europe. Justus Uitermark is the winner of this year’s award for his dissertation titled ‘Dynamics of Power in Dutch Integration’.
About the winning dissertation: Dynamics of Power in Dutch Integration
According to the IMISCOE Award Committee: “This dissertation is exceptional both in terms of conducted research and in terms of analysis. It analyses how and why power relations transformed in Dutch integration politics between 1980 and 2006. In answering these questions, the author displays a firm grasp of what power relations and change mean in theoretical terms. For this purpose, he mainly draws on Pierre Bourdieu’s field theory, but adds two dimensions: discourses and networks. The author combines a broad range of methodological approaches to analyse these various dimensions of power in Dutch integration politics. He uses both quantitative and qualitative techniques. First, to map power relations as displayed in the opinion pages of the most important Dutch newspapers. And, second, to describe the position of Moroccan, Turkish and Islamic associations within the governance structures of 2 local contexts, Amsterdam and Rotterdam. He gathers a vast range of empirical data, ranging from newspaper articles via interviews with key actors to subsidy allocations to associations in both cities of analysis. And, despite the complex research design, the text is written in a very accessible style.”
About Justus Uitermark
Dr. Uitermark currently works as an assistant professor in the sociology department at Erasmus University Rotterdam. A book based on his dissertation is to be published by Amsterdam University Press in 2012.
About the Maria Ioannis Baganha Dissertation Award
The late Maria Ioannis Baganha was a leading migration scholar
at the Centre for Social Studies (CES) at the University of
Coimbra. She was one of IMISCOE’s founding members and the chair of
its board of directors until she passed away in June 2009. To
commemorate her work in the field of migration studies and
particularly for the network, the IMISCOE Board of Directors
decided to dedicate the IMISCOE dissertation award to her. This
annual prize is awarded to what the IMISCOE Award Committee deems
the best dissertation in the field of migration, integration and
social cohesion in Europe. Interested applicants whose
dissertations were defended within the 24-month period before the
deadline for submission of 31 January 2012 are eligible to apply
for the prize.