Research and teaching areas

I am a historian (political history of European integration) at the European Studies Department of the University of Amsterdam.

The main focus of my PhD thesis was on Dutch perceptions of Europe and the effects thereof on the national political system in the Netherlands.  My main argument concerned the discussions about European integration from the 1940s to the 1960s within Dutch political parties. I argued that these were far more ideologically inspired than had been assumed in previous histories of the period. At the same time the future prospect of Europeanisation confirmed and strengthened Dutch national "consociational" politics (power sharing between elites from different social groups).

Over the last few years most of my research dealt with the connection between decolonisation processes and European integration. The research programme that PhD candidate Nuri Kurnaz and I are conducting, "Colonial exceptionalism or co-imperialism? Imperial powers and European unity," examines the political imagination from the 1920s to the 1970s about the future course of imperial relationships.

There is a strong connection between my research and my teaching. My chapter in the textbook The Unfinished History of European Integration (see list of publications below, 2018) originated from two of my lectures in a first-year course on the history and theory of European Integration.

I am one of the series editors of the book series European Studies, together with Dr Ewa Stanczyk, Dr Sudha Rajagopalan and Dr Marjet Brolsma https://brill.com/display/serial/YES.

I teach courses about European integration history, the history of the idea of Europe, modern imperialism and decolonisation, democracy in the European Union, "mental maps" of modern Europe.

Furthermore, I am one of the members of the Examination Board of the Faculty of Humanities and chair of the cluster European Studies and Religious Studies of the Examination Board https://student.uva.nl/en/topics/examinations-board.

Courses 2025-2026:

Imagining Europe: Ideologies and Power (Ma) https://studiegids.uva.nl/xmlpages/page/2025-2026/zoek-vak/vak/125064/

Europese integratie en democratie (Ba) https://studiegids.uva.nl/xmlpages/page/2025-2026/zoek-vak/vak/125423/

European Integration and Democracy (Ba) https://studiegids.uva.nl/xmlpages/page/2025-2026/zoek-vak/vak/125422/

Europe and the "Global South" in the 19th and 20th Century (Ba) https://studiegids.uva.nl/xmlpages/page/2025-2026/zoek-vak/vak/124930/

November 4, 2025: ACES/Spui25 debate

• "European Integration and Co-Imperialism: Towards a common approach to Europe’s colonial past." ACES/Spui25 debate with Hans Kundnani, Farid Boussaid, Márcia Gonçalves, Nuri Kurnaz & Robin de Bruin (moderator). Amsterdam, Spui25, November 4, 2025. https://spui25.nl/programma/european-integration-and-co-imperialism.

In review: journal articles, book chapters - academic, refereed

• "The soft power of a small country: Self-perceptions of the Netherlands as a model for Europe and the world." In The Global Politics of Exemplarity, edited by Dorothy Noyes & Tobias Wille, 263-83. Bristol: Bristol University Press, 2025. [book chapter, academic refereed]
• "Concepts of Europeanness and Europeanization in the Dutch East Indies, 1901-1942." In Concepts of Europe between Change and Continuity (European Studies, An Interdisciplinary Series in European Culture, History and Politics), edited by Katja Gorbahn & Marcus Otto. Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2025. [book chapter, academic refereed]
• "The Entangled Histories of European imperialism and European integration." In (textbook) Doing EU Studies Otherwise: Colonialism, Empire and Race, edited by Rosalba Icaza, Beste İşleyen, Jan Orbie & Siddharth Tripathi. London/New York: Routledge, 2025. [book chapter, academic]
• "The legacy of France and the Netherlands as rival imperial nation-states in the negotiations on the EC’s association policy." In Afterlives of Empire: How Imperial Legacies Shaped European Economic Integration, edited by Alexander Nützenadel & Heike Wieters. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [book chapter, academic refereed]

• Review article: Emmanuel Comte & Fernando Guirao eds. Discussing Pax Germanica: The Rise and Limits of German Hegemony in European Integration. London/New York: Routledge, 2025; Mathieu Segers. The Origins of European Integration: The Pre-History of Today’s European Union, 1937–1951. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023. Vierteljahreszeitschrift Integration.

Publications: journal articles, book chapters - academic, refereed

• With Matthijs Lok, Marjet Brolsma, Stefan Couperus, & Rachel McElroy White. "Introduction: Antiliberal internationalism in the twentieth century." In Antiliberal Internationalism in the Twentieth Century: Beyond Left and Right?, edit idem, 1-22. London/New York: Routledge, 2025. [book chapter, academic refereed]
• "The construction of a Dutch Eurosceptic tradition by contemporary populist political parties." In Anti-Europeanism, Populism and European Integration in a Historical Perspective, 121-32, edited by Andrea Guiso & Daniele Pasquinucci. London/New York: Routledge, 2024. Doi: 10.4324/9781003372219-15 [book chapter, academic refereed, open access]
• "O Salazarismo português como exemplo para uma renovação de "Terceira Via" na Holanda, 1933-1946." In O Estado Novo de Salazar: Uma terceira via autoritária na era do fascismo, edited by António Costa Pinto, 105-23. Coimbra: Edições 70, 2022. ISBN: 9789724426143 [book chapter, academic refereed]
• "Portuguese Salazarism as an example for a Third Way "renewal" in the Netherlands, 1933-1946." In ​An Authoritarian Third Way in the Era of Fascism: Diffusion, Models and Interactions in Europe and Latin America, edited by António Costa Pinto, 76-90. London/New York: Routledge, 2022. Doi: 10.4324/9781003100119-5 [book chapter, academic refereed]
• "European union as a road to serfdom: The Alt-Right’s inversion of narratives on European integration." Journal of Contemporary European Studies 30, no. 1 (2022): 52-66. Doi: 10.1080/14782804.2021.1960489 [journal article, academic refereed, open access]
• With Marjet Brolsma & Matthijs Lok. "Introduction." In Eurocentrism in European History and Memory, edited by Marjet Brolsma, Matthijs Lok & Robin de Bruin, 11-21. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2019. Doi: 10.5117/9789463725521_ch01 [book chapter, academic refereed] [Reviewed by Elbrich Offringa. “Marjet BROLSMA, Robin DE BRUIN, Matthijs LOK (eds), Eurocentrism in European history and memory, Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam, 2019, 248 p. – ISBN-13: 978-9463725521 – 122,14.” Journal of European Integration History 26, no. 1 (2020): 178-81. Doi: 10.5771/0947-9511-2020-1-157; Gubman, Boris. “Eurocentrism Past and Present.” The European Legacy 27, no. 6 (2022): 628-31. Doi: 10.1080/10848770.2022.2058744.]
• "Indonesian Decolonisation and the Dutch Attitude Towards the Establishment of the EEC’s Association Policy, 1945-1963." Journal of European Integration History 23, no.2 (2017): 211-26. Doi: 10.5771/0947-9511-2017-2-211 [journal article, academic refereed, open access]
• ""Gelovige ambachtslieden, bezig met een nuchter handwerk": De Nederlandse identificatie met Europese integratie in de jaren vijftig." (With an abstract in English: ""Faithful artisans doing respectable work": The Dutch identification with the process of European integration in the 1950s.") Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis 130, no. 1 (2017): 47-64. Doi: 10.5117/TVGESCH2017.1.BRUI [journal article, academic refereed, open access]
• ""Europe" as a "Hothouse" for Dutch Domestic Politics, 1948-1967." In European Parties and the European Integration Process, 1945–1992, edited by Lucia Bonfreschi, Giovanni Orsina & Antonio Varsori, 337-48. Brussels, P.I.E. Peter Lang, 2015. Doi: 10.3726/978-3-0352-6558-3 [book chapter, academic refereed]
• "Projector or Projection Screen? The Portuguese Estado Novo and "Renewal" in the Netherlands (1933-1946)." In European Encounters: Intellectual Exchange and the Rethinking of Europe 1914-1945, edited by Carlos Reijnen & Marleen Rensen, 87-100. Amsterdam/New York: Rodopi, 2014. [book chapter, academic] [Reviewed by Dejan Lukić. “European encounters: Intellectual exchange and the rethinking of Europe 1914–1945.” European Review of History: Revue européenne d'histoire 22, no. 6 (2015): 999-1000, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13507486.2015.1074416; Rob Hartmans. “Het conservatieve Europa.” de Nederlandse Boekengids 2, no. 4 (2017): 40-1.]
• "Het nieuwe Europa: Hans Linthorst Homan, lid van de Hoge Autoriteit (1962-1967)." In De Nederlandse eurocommissarissen, edited by Gerrit Voerman, Bert van den Braak & Carla van Baalen, 65-92. Amsterdam, Boom, 2010. [book chapter, academic refereed] [Reviewed by Wim van Meurs. ETVT 29 (2010): 171-8; Annemarie van Heerikhuizen. “Spiegelruit aan diggelen.” Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis 124, no. 1 (2011): 151-2.]
• "The "Elastic" European Ideal in the Netherlands, 1948-1958: Images of a Future Integrated Europe and the Transformation of Dutch Politics." In Cultures Nationales et Identité Communautaire: un Défi pour l'Europe? / National Cultures and Common Identity. A Challenge for Europe?, edited by Marloes Beers & Jenny Raflik (dir./eds.), 207-16. Bruxelles/Brussels, P.I.E. Peter Lang, 2010. [book chapter, academic refereed]
• "Dr. Hans Max Hirschfeld, man zonder moreel kompas? Over de ontsporing van beeldvorming." (With an abstract in English: "Dr Hans Max Hirschfeld: A Man without a Moral Compass? On Divergent Perceptions.") BMGN - The Low Countries Historical Review 123, no. 3 (2008): 433-45. Doi: 10.18352/bmgn-lchr.6849 [journal article, academic refereed, open access] [Reply Meindert Fennema. “Hirschfeld als zondebok of heilige.” BMGN - The Low Countries Historical Review 123, no. 3 (2008): 446-52. Doi: 10.18352/bmgn-lchr.6850.]

Publications: books

• With Matthijs Lok, Marjet Brolsma, Stefan Couperus, & Rachel McElroy White eds. Antiliberal Internationalism (20th C.): Beyond Left and Right? London/New York: Routledge, 2025.
• With Marjet Brolsma & Matthijs Lok, eds. Eurocentrism in European History and Memory. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2019, 248 pp. [edited volume, academic refereed] [Reviewed by Elbrich Offringa. “Marjet BROLSMA, Robin DE BRUIN, Matthijs LOK (eds), Eurocentrism in European history and memory, Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam, 2019, 248 p. – ISBN-13: 978-9463725521 – 122,14.” Journal of European Integration History 26, no. 1 (2020): 178-81. Doi: 10.5771/0947-9511-2020-1-157; Gubman, Boris. “Eurocentrism Past and Present.” The European Legacy 27, no. 6 (2022): 628-31. Doi: 10.1080/10848770.2022.2058744.]
• With Wim van Meurs, Carla Hoetink, Karin van Leeuwen, Carlos Reijnen & Liesbeth van de Grift. Die Unvollendete: Eine Geschichte der Europäischen Union. Translated by Gudrun Staedel-Schneider. Bonn: Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, 2018, 280 pp. [book, academic]
• With Wim van Meurs, Carla Hoetink, Karin van Leeuwen, Carlos Reijnen & Liesbeth van de Grift. Die Unvollendete: Eine Geschichte der Europäischen Union. Translated by Gudrun Staedel-Schneider. Bonn: Dietz Verlag, 2018, 280 pp. [book, academic] [Reviewed by Gunther Hartwig. “Politisches Buch: Die Unvollendete Europäische Union.” Südwest Presse, July 24, 2018; Albrecht Meier. “Die ewige Baustelle: Wim van Meurs und seine Autoren schauen ohne verklärenden Blick auf Europa.” Tagesspiegel, August 22, 2018; Wilfried Loth. “Verwirrung und Inventarisierung.” Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, October 8, 2018.]
• With Wim van Meurs, Carla Hoetink, Karin van Leeuwen, Carlos Reijnen & Liesbeth van de Grift. The Unfinished History of European Integration. Translated by John Eyck. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2018, 332 pp. Doi: 10.5117/978 9462988149 [book, academic] [Reviewed by Vladimir Bortun. “The Unfinished History of European Integration, by W. van Meurs, R. de Bruin, L. van de Grift, C. Hoetink, K. van Leeuwen and C. Reijnen (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2018, ISBN 9789462988149); iv+328pp., €25.00 pb.” Journal of Common Market Studies 57, no. 1 (2019): 175-6; Antonio Varsori. “W. Van Meurs, R. de Bruin, L. Van de Grift, C. Hoetink, K. Van Leeuwen, C. Reijnen, The Unfinished History of European Integration, Amsterdam, Amsterdam University Press, 2018.” Rivista italiana di storia internazionale 2, no. 1 (2019): 148-53. Doi: 10.30461/94654; Kiran Klaus Patel. “Widening and deepening? Recent advances in European integration history.” Neue Politische Literatur 64, no. 2 (2019): 327-57; Mark Gilbert. “Historicising European Integration History.” European Review of International Studies 8, no. 2 (2021): 221-40. Doi: 10.1163/21967415-08020006.]
• Elastisch Europa: De integratie van Europa en de Nederlandse politiek, 1947-1968. Amsterdam: Wereldbibliotheek, 2014, 327 pp. (With an abstract in English: "The Elastic European Ideal. European integration and Dutch politics, 1947-1968.") https://research.vu.nl/en/publications/elastisch-europa-de-integratie-van-europa-en-de-nederlandse-polit [Reviewed by Caroline de Gruyter. “Alles om Europa niet in de marge te laten verdwijnen.” NRC Handelsblad, May 9, 2014; Wim van Meurs. “Drie studies over Nederland en de Europese integratie.” In Het geld regeert: Jaarboek Parlementaire Geschiedenis 2014, edited by Carla van Baalen et al., 195-7. Amsterdam: Boom, 2014; “Vovo.” “Boekrecensie – Elastisch Europa: De integratie van Europa en de Nederlandse politiek, 1947-1968 van Robin de Bruin.” http://www.pa-academie.nl/boekrecensie-elastisch-europa-robin-de-bruin/, September 21, 2015; Vincent Lagendijk. “Robin de Bruin, Elastisch Europa: de integratie van Europa en de Nederlandse politiek.” Journal of European Integration History 22, no. 1 (2016): 187-9; Marnix Beyen. “Robin de Bruin, Elastisch Europa: De integratie van Europa en de Nederlandse politiek, 1947-1968.” BMGN – The Low Countries Historical Review 133 (2018): https://www.bmgn-lchr.nl/articles/10640/; Kiran Klaus Patel. “Widening and deepening? Recent advances in European integration history.” Neue Politische Literatur 64, no. 2 (2019): 327-57.]
• With Wim van Meurs, Carla Hoetink, Karin van Leeuwen, Carlos Reijnen & Liesbeth van de Grift. Europa in alle staten: Zestig jaar geschiedenis van de Europese integratie. Nijmegen: Vantilt, 2013. [book, academic] 3^rd Prize Pademia [Parliamentary Democracy in Europe] teaching award 2016. [Reviewed by Tomas Vanheste. “Is Europa echt zo ondemocratisch?” https://decorrespondent.nl/629/is-europa-echt-zo-ondemocratisch/29018286-bb3ce606, January 21, 2014; Mark Kranenburg. “Hoe lang blijven de burgers boos op Brussel? Lang, maar vergeefs.” NRC Handelsblad, January 31, 2014; Hans van der Heijde. “Europa is een debat.” Leeuwarder Courant/Dagblad van het Noorden, November 14, 2014; Kaat Teerlinck & Hendrik Vos, “Wim van Meurs (et al), Europa in alle staten: Zestig jaar geschiedenis van de Europese integratie (Nijmegen: Vantilt, 2013) 351 p. ISBN 978-94-6004-126-6.” Tijdschrift voor Sociale en Economische Geschiedenis 11, no. 3 (2014): 196-8; Anne-Isabelle Richard. “Europese integratie verklaard.” Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis 128, no. 1 (2015): 180-1; Steven Van Hecke. “Wim van Meurs e.a. (eds.), Europa in alle staten: Zestig jaar geschiedenis van de Europese integratie (Nijmegen: Vantilt, 2013).” BMGN – The Low Countries Historical Review 130 (2015): http://www.bmgn-lchr.nl/articles/10.18352/bmgn-lchr.10119/; Kiran Klaus Patel. “Widening and deepening? Recent advances in European integration history.” Neue Politische Literatur 64, no. 2 (2019): 327-57.]

Publications: journal articles, book chapters - academic, non-refereed

• "Dutch Politics in the 1950s and the Myth of Inevitable Europeanization." In Globalisation, Europeanization and Other Transnational Phenomena: Description, Analyses and Generalizations, edited by Jolán Róka, 382-90. Budapest: Századvég Kiadó, 2011. [book chapter, academic]
• "Cees Hazenbosch en de "eeuwige beginselen van Gods woord": Antirevolutionaire beginselpolitiek en de integratie van Europa in de jaren vijftig." In Grenzeloos christelijk-sociaal: Internationale activiteiten van de Christelijk-Sociale Beweging, edited by G.J. Schutte et al., 52-62. Amsterdam/Utrecht: Aksant, 2009. [book chapter, academic] [Reviewed by Patrick Pasture. BMGN - The Low Countries Historical Review 126 (2011): http://www.bmgn-lchr.nl/index.php/bmgn/article/download/URN%3ANBN%3ANL%3AUI%3A10-1-108514/7420.]
• "Het politieke compromis als exportartikel: De PvdA en de Europese dimensie van het streven naar vernieuwing (1948-1954)." Nieuwste Tijd. Kwartaalschrift voor Eigentijdse Geschiedenis 4, no. 3 (2005/2006): 41-9. [journal article, academic]
• "Geobsedeerd door calorieën: Arie van der Zwans boek over Hirschfeld neigt naar karaktermoord." Biografie Bulletin 15, no. 2 (2005): 44-54, included in the Digital Library for Dutch Literature/digitale bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse letteren: http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/_bio001200501_01/_bio001200501_01_0029.php. [journal article, academic, open access] [Reply Arie van der Zwan.  “Hirschfeld.” Biografie Bulletin 15, no. 3 (2005): 86-90.]

Publications: articles, book reviews - professional (selection)

• With Janneke Holman, Lucas Roorda and Naomi Woltring. "Opinie: Handelsverdrag Ceta helpt planeet noch mensen, maar vooral bedrijven." de Volkskrant, July 8, 2022. [Reply Ruud Koole. “PvdA-senaatsfractie: Ceta is goed voor een krachtig Europa en duurzame handel.” de Volkskrant, July 11, 2022.]
• "EVRM was ook een product van het kolonialistische Europa." NRC Handelsblad, June 15, 2022. [Reply Erik Jurgens. “Niks kolonialisme.” NRC Handelsblad, June 18, 2022.]
• "Is Nederland eurosceptisch? Enthousiasme voor en weerstand tegen Europa vanaf de jaren vijftig." Kleio - Tijdschrift van de Vereniging van docenten geschiedenis en staatsinrichting in Nederland 61, no. 6 (2020): 27-31.
• With Claske Vos. "Syllabus European Integration: Part of our campus spotlight on the University of Amsterdam." EuropeNow 31, no. 1 (2020):  https://www.europenowjournal.org/2020/01/15/11555/. (5 pages) [journal article, professional, open access]
• With Jamal Shahin. "Een balans van vijf jaar Commissie-Juncker." De Hofvijver 8, no. 11 (2018): https://www.montesquieu-instituut.nl/9353000/1/j9vvj72dlowskug/vku8fc6uvuqp?pk_campaign=hofv-1812&pk_kwd=vku8fc6uvuqp. (3 pages) [journal article, professional, open access]
• "Alt-right Claims that would put the Soviets to shame: The alleged conspiracies of conservative reformers like count Coudenhove-Kalergi and the Bilderberg Group." EuroVisie - A Publication of the Study Association for European Studies 13, no. 2 (2017/2018): 28-31. [journal article, professional, open access]
• "De EU als Barbapapa." Waterstof: Bubbels voor progressief Nederland, no. 72, October 2014: http://www.waterlandstichting.nl/?p=artikelen&s=bekijken&id=1971. (2 pages) [journal article, professional, open access]
• "Met een geladen pistool naar Brussel." Jong in Europa, April 28, 2014: http://jongineuropa.wordpress.com/. (1 page) [webcontent, professional, open access]
• "De weg naar "Europa" van de "netwerker" Wim Beyen." In De waan van de dag: Jaarboek Parlementaire Geschiedenis 2006, edited by C.C. van Baalen et al., 188-9. Amsterdam, Boom, 2006. [Review of: W.H. Weenink. Bankier van de wereld, bouwer van Europa: Johan Willem Beyen 1897-1976. Amsterdam: Prometheus, 2005.] [book review, professional]
• Review of: "A. van der Zwan. H.M. Hirschfeld, in de ban van de macht: Biografie. Amsterdam: J.M. Meulenhoff, 2004." BMGN - The Low Countries Historical Review 121, no. 1 (2006): 169-70. [book review, professional, open access]
• Review of: "George Harinck, Roel Kuiper and Peter Bak (eds.), De Antirevolutionaire Partij 1829-1980, Hilversum, Verloren, 2001." Revue Belge de Philologie et d'Histoire / Belgisch Tijdschrift voor Filologie en Geschiedenis 83, no. 2 (2005): 511-5. [book review, professional, open access]
• "Eerste proefschrift programma De Natiestaat: Conservatieven in de negentiende eeuw." De Laatste Tijd: Nieuwsbrief van het Nederlands Centrum voor Contemporaine Geschiedenis, no. 3, February 2001. [Review of: Ronald van Raak. In naam van het volmaakte: Conservatisme in Nederland in de negentiende eeuw van Gerrit Jan Mulder tot Jan Heemskerk Azn. Amsterdam: Wereldbibliotheek, 2001.] [book review, professional]

Lectures & conference papers (selection)

• Contribution as discussant paper Hanna Eklund, "European Colonial History and Contemporary EU Law: Constructive Critique," interdisciplinary ACES funded workshop Constitutional Transformation and Mobility between the European Center and Periphery, organised by Maciej Krogel. UvA, February 11, 2025.
• "From Exemplary Empires to Exemplary "Guide Countries" within the European Communities: Universal Exceptionalism in Europe," keynote lecture Global EUrope on trial, conference organised by EuroStorie Centre of Excellence (organisation Floris van Doorn, Miika Tervonen, Pamela Slotte, Tuuli Talvinko, Vera Lampila), Helsinki, November 26-27, 2024.
• "The Saint-Simonism of High Officials as a Medicine against Political Passions" (Panel "Depolarisation, (Il)legitimacy and Democracy"), Council for European Studies: Radical Europe: Violence, Emancipation and Reaction, Université Lyon 2/Sciences Po, Lyon 3-5 July 2024.
• "From Exemplary Colonial Empires to Exemplary Soft Powers within the EC: Universal Exceptionalism in Europe," Afterlives of Empire: How Imperial Legacies Shaped European Economic Integration. German Historical Institute, London, 12-14 June 2024 (organisation Alexander Nützenadel & Heike Wieters).
• "Co-imperialism or colonial exceptionalism: To what extent was modern imperialism considered a truly European project in the 1930s?," Changing concepts of "Europe" since the 18th century: Between the national, the transnational, and the global, Aarhus University 2-4 March, 2023 (organisation Katja Gorbahn & Marcus Otto).
• "Support for a general notion is not the same as support for a detailed blueprint," contribution as discussant in panel on "Internationalism" (comment on papers by Elisa Marcobelli, Jacopo Perazzoli & Brian Shaev) at the conference Historical Blendings: An Entangled History of Social Democracy and Liberalism in Europe, Leiden University 2-3 September 2022 (organisation Anne Heyer, Jacopo Perazzoli & Brian Shaev).
• "Portuguese Salazarism as an Example for a Third Way "Renewal" in the Netherlands, 1933-1946." (Panel "Looking for a Third Authoritarian Way in the Era of Fascism," with António Costa Pinto, Federico Finchelstein, Carlos Espinosa and Constantin Iordachi.) Historical Fascism as a Global System: Alliances, Interactions, and Entanglements: Fourth (online) Convention of the International Association for Comparative Fascist Studies (COMFAS), Central European University PU, Vienna 3-5 December 2021.
• "L'unità europea nella cultura e nelle proposte dei Paesi Bassi (Self-perceptions of the Netherlands as a model for Europe)," invited lecture at interdisciplinary conference Il contributo olandese e tedesco ai progetti di unità europea tra Ottocento e primi decenni del Novecento, una riflessione interdisciplinare tra storia e pensiero politico, organised by Francesco Gui & Paolo Armellini, with contributions by Robin de Bruin, Markus Krienke, Roberto Valle & Giulia Vassallo, Sapienza Università di Roma 28 October 2020.
• "The soft power of a small country: Self-perceptions of the Netherlands as a model for Europe," invited paper at interdisciplinary conference Exemplarity: Performance, Influence, and Friction in Political Innovation, Mershon Center for International Security Studies, Ohio State University 27-29 February 2020 (organisation Dorothy Noyes & Tobias Wille).
• "Inversion of hegemonic narratives," contribution as discussant in panel on "The European order after Nazism" (comment on papers by Jelena Subotic & Sebastian Schindler) at the interdisciplinary conference Exemplarity: Performance, Influence, and Friction in Political Innovation, Mershon Center for International Security Studies, Ohio State University 27-29 February 2020 (organisation Dorothy Noyes & Tobias Wille).
• "Alt-Right theories about the alleged "cultural Marxist" agenda of the European political elites," international conference Counter-narratives to Regional Cooperation: Contesting European union, University of Duisburg-Essen 13-14 May 2019 (organisation Wolfram Kaiser & Richard McMahon, in cooperation with the Käte Hamburger Kolleg/Centre for Global Cooperation Research, University of Duisburg-Essen).
• "Fear, nostalgia and federalism," contribution as discussant in the panel on "Hope" at the workshop The Affective Glue of European Integration. The role of transnational political, religious, and economic networks and their shared emotional vocabulary in shaping European integration (1930-’57), Utrecht University 8-9 April 2019 (organisation Trineke Palm, Clemens van den Berg & Jorrit Steehouder).
• "Resolved to share a peaceful future based on common values," invited lecture Europe as a values community. Strengthening the social democratic movement, with Frank VandenBroucke, Paul Tang, Klara Boonstra, Robin de Bruin, Erik Borgman, Henk van Houtum, Marjanne de Haan, Shivant Jhagroe & Jan Vos, ILRS Conference, Utrecht 27-29 September 2018.
• "The Elastic Europe: the historical backgrounds of European multilateralism," invited keynote lecture Do we need international organisations? Current threats and challenges to multilateralism, with Robin de Bruin, Stefanie Schmahl & Loukas Tsoukalis, Council of Europe, Strasbourg 7-8 June 2018.
• "Dutch high official Hans Max Hirschfeld (1899-1961) and the convenient marriage between colonialism and Saint-Simonian technocracy," Government by Expertise: Technocrats and Technocracy in Western Europe, 1914-1973. International conference of the Amsterdam Centre for Contemporary European Studies (ACCESS Europe) in cooperation with the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Amsterdam 13-15 September 2017 (conveners Camilo Erlichman & Peter Romijn).
• "The creation of the European Common Market, the "Eurafrican relaunch" and the development of Dutch West New Guinea, 1956-1962," Origins, implementation and funding of European policies from the Schuman Plan to Maastricht. International conference of the European Union Liaison Committee of Historians in cooperation with the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon 8 May 2017 (organisation Alice Cunha).
• "Dutch desires for a neocorporatist "Europe", 1950-1957," Capitalism, Crises and European Integration from 1945 to the present. First HEIRS-RICHIE Conference, European University Institute Florence 26-28 May 2016 (organisation Aurélie Andry, Haakon Ikonomou, Emmanuel Mourlon-Druol & Quentin Jouan).
• "Dutch politicians and the growing sense of European decline in an ever closer and more connected world, 1945-1965," From Empires to Empire? European Integration in Global Context, 1950s to 1990s, Freie Universität Berlin 7-9 April 2016 (organisation Wolfram Kaiser & Kiran Patel).
• "Mediator and example. The Netherlands’ self-perceived role as a guide country in postwar Western Europe," Recasting the History of Dutch Foreign Relations, 1814-2000, University of Amsterdam 17 March 2016 (organisation Ruud van Dijk, Samuël Kruizinga, Vincent Kuitenbrouwer & Rimko van der Maar).
• "Elastisch Europa. De integratie van Europa en de Nederlandse politiek," Beeldvorming over Europa. Een paneldiscussie over het ideaalbeeld van destijds en de huidige realiteit, met Patrick Bijsmans, Robin de Bruin, Benjamin Dürr, Godelieve van Heteren, Hans Vollaard & Wim de Wagt,  Huis van Europa, The Hague 16 November 2015.
• "Mediator and example. The Low Countries’ self-perceived role as a guide country in postwar Western Europe" (panel "Mobilizing Culture after War in Twentieth-Century Europe"), Council for European Studies: Contradictions: Envisioning European Futures, Sciences Po, Paris 8-10 July 2015.
• "Standbeeld of tijdsbeeld? Contextualisering in biografieën van "Europeanen"," Levend Europa. Europa vanuit biografisch perspectief. Afscheidssymposium dr. Anneke Ribberink, VU University, Amsterdam 17 December 2014.
• "Europe as a "Greater Holland". European Integration and Dutch politics in the 1950s and 1960s," ACCESS EUROPE. European Identity and Culture lecture series, no. 2, with comments by discussants Meindert Fennema & Virginie Mamadouh, Amsterdam 8 October 2014.
• "De Europese Unie, bemoeizuchtige superstaat of neoliberaal project?," (panel "NU! Populisme in de Europese verkiezingen, met: Carlos Reijnen, Sarah de Lange & Robin de Bruin"), Illustere school - Spui 25, Amsterdam 15 May 2014.
• "Elastisch Europa," Broodje kennis - Spui 25, Amsterdam 13 May 2014.
• "Postwar Ideological Convergence in Dutch Politics as a Form of Europeanization" (panel "European Integration as a Cause for Consensus or Conflict in Domestic Politics, 1950-2010"), Council for European Studies: Crisis and Contingency: States of (In)stability, Amsterdam 25-27 June 2013.
• "Salazar’s Estado Novo as an Example for Socio-Economic and Political "Renewal" in the Netherlands, 1933-1941," Crisis and Mobilization since 1789. Second Conference of the International Scholars’ Network History of Societies and Socialisms (Hosas), International Institute of Social History Amsterdam 22-24 February 2013.
• ""Europe" as a Hothouse for Dutch Domestic Politics, 1946-1968," European Political Cultures and Parties and the European Integration Process, 1945-1992, IMT Institute for Advanced Studies Lucca / University of Padua 10-12 November 2011.
• "Dutch Politics in the 1950s and the Myth of Inevitable Europeanization," Globalization, Europeanization and Other Transnational Phenomena, Budapest College of Communication and Business 6-7 May 2011.
• "The "Elastic" European Ideal. "Europe" as a Cause for Change in Dutch Domestic Politics, 1948-1963," Die Geschichte der Europäischen Union: Neue Forschungsansätze jenseits der Diplomatiegeschichte (Graduiertenkolleg Wolfram Kaiser, University of Portsmouth), Amsterdam Institute for German Studies 25 March 2011.
• "Projector or Projection Screen? The Portuguese Estado Novo as an Example for Ideas on "Renewal" in the Netherlands, 1933-1946," European Encounters. Intellectual Exchange and the Rethinking of Europe (1918-1945), University of Amsterdam 27 & 28 January 2011.
• "Transfer of Corporatism? Corporatism and "Renewal" in the Netherlands, 1939-1946," European Social Science and History Conference 2010, Ghent 13-17 April 2010.
• "The "Elastic" European Ideal. Images in Dutch Politics of a Future Federal Europe, 1948-1958," Colloque RICHIE IV: Cultures Nationales et Identité Communautaire: un Défi pour l'Union européenne,  University of Cergy-Pontoise / University of Paris 1: Panthéon-Sorbonne 11-13 December 2008. [See: Marie Julie Chenard and Marloes Beers, “4th RICHIE Conference: “National Cultures and European Common Identity. A Challenge for the European Union” (11-13 December 2008),” Journal of European Integration History, Vol. 15, 2009, pp. 181-185.]
• "Ideas of Europe in the Dutch Protestant Antirevolutionaire Partij and the Dutch Labour Party during the late 1940s and 1950s," European Identity and the Second World War, University of Amsterdam 10-11 December 2007.
• "Europe and the Recovery of Justice: Post-War Dutch Political Visions," European Social Science and History Conference 2006, Amsterdam 22-25 March 2006.
• "Overheidsdirigisme en Europese integratie," Onderzoekspresentatie stuurgroep NWO-project De Natiestaat, Netherlands Institute of War Documentation, 14 June 2002.

‘Knowledge utilisation’ (selection)

• Editorial work
• Series editor of European Studies, An Interdisciplinary Series in European Culture, History and Politics (Publisher: Brill, Leiden/Boston), with Marjet Brolsma, Sudha Rajagopalan and Ewa Stanczyk. March 2022-present.
• Advisory board (comitato scientifico) on-line journal EuroStudium (Rivista on-line EuroStudium). September 2020 - January 2022.
• Debates
• Bruin, R.J. de (2024, 16 April). Spui 25, Amsterdam: European Populism and the Looming EP Elections: public Roundtable on the European Parliamentary Elections ACES. With Sarah de Lange, Brian Burgoon and Robin de Bruin. https://spui25.nl/programma/european-populism-and-the-looming-european-parliamentary-elections.
• Bruin, R.J. de (2021, February 26). Community Conversation (European Cultural Foundation): In Europe Schools, with "In Europe Schools" project lead Odette Toeset (VPRO), project manager Eugenie Khatschatrian (EuroClio) and historian Robin de Bruin (Amsterdam School for Regional, Transnational and European Studies).
• Bruin, R.J. de (2019, August 23). Groningen: Historicidagen Koninklijk Nederlands Historisch Genootschap 22-24 August 2019. "Inclusief Europa? Europese samenwerking in MO/HO/WO-geschiedeniscurricula," round-table organised by Carla Hoetink & Karin van Leeuwen, group sessions led by Marc van Berkel, Robin de Bruin, Koos Sikkema & Koen van Zon.
• Bruin, R.J. de (2017, October 16). Amsterdam, De Rode Hoed: De baas in Europa? Meepraten over onze gezamenlijke toekomst, derde conferentie van de Banning Vereniging in de serie Democratisch Nederland? Over de stand van onze democratie, met Amma Assante, Robin de Bruin, René Cuperus, Christie Miedema & Paul Tang.
• Bruin, R.J. de (2014, May 14). Inleiding. Amsterdam, Historisch café: Europa elastisch? Discussie met Robin de Bruin & Jieskje Hollander.
• Bruin, R.J. de (2014, May 1). De Europese politieke gehaktmolen. Amsterdam, Europese identiteit - Discussieavond JD Internationaal, met Robin de Bruin, Jieskje Hollander & Ben Crum.
• Bruin, R.J. de (2010, June 6). Inleiding. Amsterdam, Historisch café: Europa: hoe het begon. Debat met André Szász, Luuk van Middelaar & Robin de Bruin .
• (Guest) lectures
• Bruin, R.J. de (2022, March 8). The "original sin" behind today’s EU’s democratic deficit. Committee on Foreign Affairs II chaired by Mariam Imerlishvili at the 95th International Session of the European Youth Parliament, Novi Sad 5-13 March 2022.
• Bruin, R.J. de (2018, June 14). Eurafrique/Eurafrica. The EU’s Contested Neighbourhoods. Summer School of the University of Amsterdam’s Research School for Regional, Transnational & European Studies (ARTES), co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, Amsterdam 14-15 June 2018.
• Bruin, R.J. de (2018, April 7). De EU als Unidentified Political Object: Nederlands verleden, Europese toekomst?: lezing en debat over de toekomst van de Europese Unie. Borders of knowledge, identity and power, fourth edition of the conference A Struggle for Peace, Academiegebouw Utrecht, Dutch United Nations Students Association (SIB).
• Bruin, R.J. de & M.M. Lok (2016, October 27). Europe’s Dark clouds? Problems and solutions: an analysis. European Sonnenberg Conference (My!Europe project), Soesterberg 26-30 October 2016.
• Bruin, R.J. de (2016, June 15). Elastisch Europa. Nederland, het Verenigd Koninkrijk en de Europese Gemeenschappen. Koninklijke Industrieele Groote Club, Amsterdam, Nederlandse Vrouwenclub-Internationale Lyceumclub Amsterdam.
• Bruin, R.J. de (2016, June 7). "We had to break the whole thing up, so we had to get inside." Het Verenigd Koninkrijk en de Europese Gemeenschappen. Academiegebouw Universiteit Utrecht, Utrechtse Historische Studentenkring. Kleinere Unie in juni? Wat betekent een Brexit voor ons? Patrick van IJzendoorn & Robin de Bruin helpen ons de situatie beter begrijpen.
• Bruin, R.J. de (2015, July 13). Member States’ Politicians and the EU. Utrecht Summer School, Utrecht, guest lecture in course "Doing Business in Europe" co-ordinated by Bart Toering.
• Bruin, R.J. de (2014, July 7). Member States’ Politicians and the EU. Utrecht Summer School, Utrecht, guest lecture in course "Doing Business in Europe" co-ordinated by Inez Meurs.
• Bruin, R.J. de (2014, April 23). Europe and the National State. Amsterdam, VU University. Guest lecture in BA History course "Empire and Continental Europe" by Susan Legêne & Paul van Trigt.
• Interviews
• "Europese integratie als kribbe van bestaanszekerheid: in gesprek met dr. Robin de Bruin." Interview Marnix Kluiters and Berrie van der Molen (Charge, scientific platform political party Volt) with Robin de Bruin for podcast series "Europa dichterbij". Recorded in Amsterdam on 10 April 2024, published on 24 May 2024. https://www.charge-volt.org/bestaanszekerheid.
• "Hoe vertellen we de geschiedenis van Europese integratie?" Interview René Koekkoek with Alessandra Schimmel and Robin de Bruin for podcast series "Blik Achteruit" (Utrecht University). Recorded in Utrecht on 17 April 2024, published on 1 May 2024. https://blik-achteruit.nl/podcast/hoe-vertellen-we-de-geschiedenis-van-europese-integratie/.
• Verdini, Giulia. "In Europe Schools: Small Narratives for European Integration."  EuroClio website, April 2, 2021: https://www.euroclio.eu/2021/04/02/in-europe-schools-small-narratives-for-european-integration/. (6 pages)
• Valencia-García, Louie Dean. "The Unfinished History of Europe, an interview with Robin de Bruin: Part of our campus spotlight on the University of Amsterdam." EuropeNow 31, no. 1 (2020): https://www.europenowjournal.org/2020/01/15/the-unfinished-history-of-europe-an-interview-with-robin-de-bruin/. (5 pages)
• Pires de Lima, Bernardo (SAIS Center for Transatlantic Relations, Johns Hopkins University, Washington DC and Portuguese Institute of International Relations, Universidade Nova de Lisboa), interview on 15 March 2017 about the rise of populist parties and Euroscepticism for interview project and books: Pires de Lima, Bernardo. The B-side of Europe: A Journey to the 28 Capital Cities. Lisbon: Tinta-da-China, 2019.
• Pires de Lima, Bernardo (SAIS Center for Transatlantic Relations, Johns Hopkins University, Washington DC and Portuguese Institute of International Relations, Universidade Nova de Lisboa), interview on 15 March 2017 about the rise of populist parties and Euroscepticism for interview project and books: Pires de Lima, Bernardo. O Lado B da Europa: Viagem às 28 Capitais. Lisboa: Tinta-da-China, 2018. http://www.tintadachina.pt/book.php?code=0ed159b8bb71fb54e3498fad8731b7fc.
• Radio 1, "Start (BNN radio)," July 17, 2016,  05:00-07:00: http://www.nporadio1.nl/start/uitzendingen/310702-2016-07-17.
• l’Escalopier, Louis de & Victor Gherardi. "Les Pays-Bas et l’Europe vus par Robin de Bruin."  interview project EU Stories, July 2, 2014: https://www.eustories.com/paysbas.
• Atasever, Hüseyin. "Invloed populistische partijen overschat." Zaman Vandaag, May 21, 2014.
• Radio 5, "NTR academie," May 12, 2014, 22:00-23:00: http://programma.ntr.nl/10593/ntr-academie-radio/archief/detail/aflevering/6000012825/NTR-Academie.
• Schulte, Addie. "Drees twijfelde niet over Europa. Elastisch Europa. Promotieonderzoek over Nederlandse politiek en Europese integratie, 1947-1968." Het Parool, May 10, 2014.
• Muns, Maarten. "Nederlandse politici waren oprecht pro-Europa." Kennislink website,  May 8, 2014: http://www.kennislink.nl/publicaties/nederlandse-politici-waren-oprecht-pro-europa.

Organisation conferences, workshops

• Organisation panel at Workshop "Decolonising European Studies," interdisciplinary ACES funded workshop organised by Sudha Rajagopalan & Gulnaz Sibgatullina. UvA, June 19 and 20, 2025.
• "Imagining the future of UK-Europe relations: Narratives from Brexit Britain," lecture by Mark Kaye (European & Area Studies, University of Portsmouth), in collaboration with the UvA's centre for European Studies ACES and the FGw’s school for regional and European Studies ARTES. Discussant: Matthew Broad (Institute for History, Leiden University and Nuffield College, University of Oxford), moderation: Robin de Bruin (European Studies, University of Amsterdam). UvA, 8 May 2025.
• Chair panel "European and national identities" at workshop European Identity Politics in the European Union, University of Amsterdam, 19 and 20 December 2023 (papers by Theresa Kuhn, Ronja Sczepanski & Armin Seimel/John Michaelis, discussant Gary Marks). Organised by Theresa Kuhn and John Michaelis.
• Chair panel "A Policy Perspective" at Jean Monnet Workshop: Rethinking EU Enlargement, University of Amsterdam, 1 December 2023 (papers by Jelena Dzankic, Isabelle Ioannides & Nisida Gjoksi). Organised by Zamira Xhaferri and Dorian Jano, with a keynote lecture by Frank Schimmelpfennig.
• Organisation international Book Launch: Aleksandra Komornicka, Poland and European East-West Cooperation in the 1970s: The Opening Up (Abingdon: Routledge, 2023), Amsterdam, 23 November 2023. Organised by Robin de Bruin & Paschalis Pechlivanis, with contributions by Matthew Broad, Jorrit Steehouder, Ruud van Dijk & Aleksandra Komornicka.
• Organisation international conference Antiliberal Internationalism (20th C.): Beyond Left and Right?, Amsterdam, 11-13 January 2023. Organised by Marjet Brolsma, Robin de Bruin, Stefan Couperus, Rachel Johnston-White & Matthijs Lok. Keynotes by António Costa Pinto, Marlene Laruelle, Glenda Sluga & Benjamin Teitelbaum.
• "Aanbieding bundel Eurocentrism in European History and Memory (with Matthijs Lok & Marjet Brolsma)," University of Amsterdam 12 December 2019.
• Organisation valedictory seminar for Michael Wintle, "The Image of Europe", and "book launch" edited volume: Eurocentrism in European History and Memory, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2019. 248 p. (with Marjet Brolsma, Matthijs Lok, Jamal Shahin & Claske Vos), University of Amsterdam 26 June 2019.
• Chair of panel on Youth and Pioneer Camps at conference "Crossing the Iron Curtain: Tourism and Travelling in the Cold War," University of Amsterdam 7 & 8 April 2017.
• Organisation (with Karin van Leeuwen) Workshop "New Political History and European Integration: Third international workshop," ACCESS EUROPE / Huygens ING, Amsterdam 30 January 2015.
• Organisation panel about "European integration as a cause for consensus or conflict in domestic politics, 1950-2010," Council for European Studies: Crisis and Contingency: States of (In)stability, Amsterdam 25-27 June 2013.
• Member organisation committee conference on European encounters. Intellectual exchange and the rethinking of Europe (1918-1945), University of Amsterdam 27 & 28 January 2011.
• Organisation session with José Reis Santos (Instituto de História Contemporânea, Universidade Nova de Lisboa) on "The Portuguese Estado Novo as an Example for Europe, 1926-1950," European Social Science and History Conference 2010, Ghent 13-17 April 2010.