The European Commission has awarded dr. Ryan Kopaitich of Erasmus School of Philosophy a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship in the Career Restart Panel, for his research project on ‘Articulations of Desire: Populism and the Future of Democracy’. The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions are part of the prestigious EU Horizon2020 grant scheme to encourage the mobility of researchers across (inter)national borders. The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions are allocated into different types of fellowships. For the Career Restart Panel an amount is awarded of 263.358 euros for a three-year research project to be executed at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
Hub Zwart, Dean of Erasmus School of Philosophy, reacts: “The awarding of a Marie Sklodowska Curie Fellowship provides a great opportunity for the researcher, but also for our school. The proposed research project is a timely one and confirms the relevancy of philosophy in addressing the considerable challenges democracies are facing today.”
Adhemare de Rijk, Funding Manager Research, reacts: “I have collaborated pleasantly with Ryan for quite some time now and I am very happy to see this well-deserved recognition of his talents by the EU. This research project will enable Ryan to reinforce his academic position and enlighten us on the limitations of democracy from a philosophical point of view. We welcome him in Rotterdam”.
Ryan Kopaitich will join Erasmus School of Philosophy in spring 2021. In 2018 he obtained his PhD from the University of Bern, Switzerland. His dissertation focused on the intersection of meaning and collectivity. Ryan Kopaitich’ s research interests are on political desire, shedding light on the structures and limits of institutional democracy. Previously Ryan Kopaitich worked at the Center for Global Studies at the University of Bern and was a scientific associate of the University of Basel, Switzerland.
The aim of Ryan Kopaitich’ s research project is to argue for a coherent concept of political desire as a necessary step toward understanding the limitations of democratic institutions. As democracies around the world react to unprecedented challenges, distrust of the various national and supranational institutions presiding over North American and European democracy has risen sharply. The uncertain future of democratic institutions is magnified by populist resurgences that challenge existing norms and defy conventional political wisdom. A mounting concern to philosophers and political scientists alike, populism has been identified as a significant result – and sometimes source – of political turmoil. The proposed research project will provide insights and understanding of precisely how and why these movements arise and gain traction from a broader philosophical position.
The research project will be supervised by dr. Sjoerd van Tuinen, associate professor at Erasmus School of Philosophy.