In his current research, Bert van den Brink is interested in the question of what it means to live a good life in a society in which the state is increasingly struggling to be perceived as a guardian of justice for all citizens. How do citizens, communities and organisations give meaning to their own actions and integrity under such circumstances? Are alternative forms of being governed conceivable? And in such a constantly contested world, what is the role of education and research in publicly funded universities?
About Bert van den Brink
Prof. Dr. Bert van den Brink (1964, Bussum) began his academic career at Radboud University Nijmegen, where he obtained a propaedeutic degree in Theology. He then obtained a master's degree in Philosophy from Utrecht University. In 1997, he completed his PhD at Utrecht University with his thesis “The Tragedy of Liberalism”. This study reflected on a tragic tension within political liberalism. That ideology seeks to transcend ideological conflict by providing a neutral and democratic framework for pluralism, but cannot help but provide that framework with a strong moral vision and impose it with state power. Within a pluralistic society, this leads to tensions in dealing with, for example, multiculturalism and religious orthodoxy. Van den Brink's later work on social relations of recognition and misrecognition, on agonistic democracy, and on political imagination integrates this focus on citizens' handling of irreconcilable tension in their political thinking and actions.
After obtaining his doctorate, Van den Brink worked as a postdoctoral researcher and research fellow at Tilburg University. In 2009, he was appointed professor of Political and Social Philosophy at Utrecht University. From 2016 to 2022, he was dean of University College Roosevelt in Middelburg. In addition to his appointment as professor, Bert van den Brink has also been appointed dean of the Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies.