Maurits Meijers
Research Professor of Political Science
University of Antwerp
I study political lying, democratic erosion, populism, and party politics in comparative perspective. I am the Principal Investigator of the DEMO-LIES project — an ERC Starting Grant studying political lying accusations and their effects on democratic citizenship across Western democracies.
DEMO-LIES
Deception in Democracy: Political Lying Accusations and Their Effects on Democratic Citizenship
A large-scale comparative project studying political lying accusations and how citizens perceive political lies across 20 democracies. The project combines quantitative text analysis of parliamentary speech with survey experiments and cross-national public opinion data.
Research Interests
Political Lying & Deception
How political actors make lying accusations, and how citizens perceive and respond to political lies across 20 democracies.
Populism & Democracy
The relationship between populist attitudes, support for democracy, and populist parties in Western Europe, including elite and citizen responses to democratic erosion.
Party Politics & Representation
How parties reposition their policy positions and the reputational consequences for their credibility and electoral support.
European Integration
Public opinion on European integration, Euroscepticism, and the politicisation of EU politics.
Latest Updates
All updates →Co-organized the NWO Expert Meeting on Disinformation (Utrecht, with Sanne Kruikemeier and NWO).
Started as Research Professor of Political Science (Hoofddocent) at the University of Antwerp, leading the DEMO-LIES ERC project.
Awarded ERC Starting Grant for the DEMO-LIES project (€1.5M, 2025–2030).
Appointed Co-Editor-in-Chief of Politics of the Low Countries (with Audrey Vandeleene, ULB).