Public Lecture

Organizers:

Date:

November 4, 2025

Time:

7:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Fee:

Free Entrance

Location:

Maria Convent Chapel, University of Aruba

Public Lecture: Dutch attitudes towards the Kingdom: the results of the Dutch elections and an opinion survey among Dutch citizens

Description

In this public lecture, Professor Wouter Veenendaal will discuss the effects of the results of the Dutch elections of October 29 on the political relations within the Kingdom. The lecture will first situate Kingdom relations in historical perspective, paying attention to the changing attitudes of Dutch voters and politicians towards the Kingdom through time. Subsequently, the lecture will discuss the surprising results of an original opinion survey that Professor Veenendaal conducted among a representative sample of Dutch citizens earlier this year. The lecture will then discuss the political party programs of the various parties competing in the elections of October 29 and will discuss how the various alternatives for coalition governments could affect relations within the Kingdom. The lecture will conclude with a perspective on how the changing political landscape of the (European) Netherlands could affect Aruba and the other Caribbean islands in the Kingdom.

Speaker

Wouter Veenendaal is Professor by Special Appointment in Kingdom Affairs and Associate Professor of Comparative Politics at Leiden University, the Netherlands. His research examines the effects of population size on politics and democracy, with a specific focus on politics in small (island) states and territories. He has conducted research in small island settings around the world, including the six Caribbean islands that are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In the context of his Professor Chair, he studies the nature and quality of democratic representation on the Caribbean islands in the Kingdom, and at the broader Kingdom level.

Register Here