P.R. Reef (Paul) MA

Paul Reef works as PhD Candidate and lecturer in political and international history at the History Department of the Radboud University in Nijmegen. His dissertation explores the emergence and transnationalization of public protest against hosting the Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup and how international sport organizations and organizers have responded to protest. On this topic he has published in Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis (2020), Nog meer wereldgeschiedenis van Nederland (2022), and the Routledge Handbook of Mega Sporting Events and Human Rights (2023). In 2023 he was awarded the Hermesdorf Talent Award for his media appearances on sport politics and his role in the public debate on human rights and international sporting events.

His main research interests are the dynamics between sport and politics, popular politics and protest movements, international organizations, and European integration during the 20th and 21st centuries. Together with colleagues, he has written a handbook on the history of European integration for students: The Unfinished History of European Integration. Second, Revised Edition (Amsterdam: AUP, 2024). In addition, Paul has a keen interest in the history and politics of (South) Eastern Europe and Russia.

Before working on his dissertation, Paul wrote his master’s thesis on how the European Community sought to bridge the gap with ‘the man in the street’ via information campaigns and consumer policy during the 1970s. During his studies, Paul also did a research internship on the League of Nations at Aarhus Universitet (2018), did research on the internationalization of Russian academia on behalf of the Netherlands Institute in St. Petersburg (2017-2018), and conducted field research on North Macedonian memory culture (2016-2017).