Jan Pieter Beetz (he/him) is Assistant Professor in Political Theory and European Integration at the Utrecht University School of Governance (USG).
Jan Pieter is fascinated by the political authority of liberal democracies and the contemporary challenges to their legitimacy, in particular European integration and the rise of the administrative state. His philosophical research reflects and draws upon cutting-edge debates and insights in the human sciences, in particular EU-studies, political science and governance.
His research revolves primarily around three themes:
Jan Pieter was fortunate to be awarded several prizes and grants, such as the Unilever Research Prize, Exeter Ph.D. bursary and IOS seed money. He has published articles in leading journals, such as Journal of European Public Policy, Political Studies, European Law Journal and Journal of European Integration. Jan Pieter is currently co-chair of the administrative ethics research colloquium of the Netherlands Institute of Governance (NIG).
Here at Utrecht University, Jan Pieter is a core professor in the new BA Program Philosophy, Politics & Economics (PPE) and USG teacher in European politics and governance. In these roles, he teaches courses on power dynamics in modern governance, challenges to contemporary democracies, EU politics and governance, and interdisciplinary research methods in PPE. He also has the pleasure to supervise master theses in European governance. Jan Pieter has cemented his experiences in teaching philosophy, political science and public administration at several European universities with official teaching accreditations. He has recently been awarded several bursaries to both develop interdisciplinary PPE courses and evaluate their effectiveness.
Jan Pieter believes that a philosopher should contribute to public debates on ethical issues, therefore he actively seeks to engage with a broader public. He regularly writes columns in the civil servants’ magazine Publiek Denken, op-eds for national newspapers (NRC) and blog posts for various national and international outlets. He has organized public events, such as movie-with-discussion on EU immigration policy, as well as being invited to participate in public events, such as the Philosophical Café.
Jan Pieter studied public administration and philosophy at the Erasmus University Rotterdam and University of Sydney. He holds a Ph.D. in political theory from the University of Exeter. During his PhD, he was a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley and University of Amsterdam. Before joining Utrecht University in 2018, he held academic positions at Leiden University (public administration), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (ACCESS EUROPE postdoctoral scholar), Radboud University Nijmegen (political science and theory), and Leiden University (philosophy).
Photograph by Ivar Pel