Four researchers at Radboud University will receive a Starting Grant from the European Research Council (ERC). They will receive a grant of up to 1.5 million euros, which will allow them the opportunity to form their own research groups and expand on their research.
ERC Starting Grants are awarded annually to talented young scientists with more than two but less than seven years of experience since completion of their PhD. Maurits Meijers is an assistant professor of Political Science and he will be doing research into lies in politics.
DEMO-LIES
In today’s age of ‘misinformation’, politicians are frequently accused of bending the truth to their advantage. As citizens rely on accurate and accessible information to meaningfully engage with politics, political lying violates the contract between citizens and their elected representatives. Political lying accusations therefore have the potential to erode citizens’ trust in and commitment to representative democracy as a system of governance.
While political lying accusations may be as old as politics itself, we know little about when accusations of political lying take root, how accusations of political deception are perceived by citizens, and what their effects are on citizens’ democratic citizenship. This project will shed light on the issue of political lying accusations and its implications for democratic citizenship. By addressing these critical knowledge gaps, this project will provide invaluable insights into the dynamics of political deception and its consequences for democratic citizenship.
We warmly congratulate Maurits on his grant!