Professor



jean-benoit.pilet@ulb.be
+32 (2) 650 31 81

Adresse courrier :
ULB - Campus du Solbosch
Avenue F.D. Roosevelt, 50 - CP 124
1050 Bruxelles

Adresse visiteur :
Bâtiment S, 11è étage - Bureau : S11.131
Avenue Jeanne, 44
1050 Bruxelles
 

 

Bio

I am a professor of political science at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), specialising in electoral studies and democracy. My research focuses on electoral behaviour, political parties and citizen participation. In particular, I have worked on the personalisation of elections and electoral systems, the selection of party leaders, democratic innovations and citizen support for technocracy.
 

CV

  • 2020- : Full professor in political science at ULB (professor 2014- 2020, senior lecturer 2011-2014, junior lecturer 2007-2011)
     
  • 2024 : Belgian Francqui Chair at University of Namur
     
  • 2020- : Co-PI and vice-chair of the Executive Committee of the Belgian interuniversity panel – The Social Study
     
  • 2018-2024 : ERC Consolidator Grant for the project POLITICIZE/Cure or Curse
     
  • 2014-2018: Chair of the Political Science Department at ULB
     
  • 2011-15 : Director of Cevipol research center at ULB
     
  • 2006-7 : FNRS postdoctoral researcher
     
  • 2006 : PhD in political science at ULB
     
  • Researcher and/or visiting professor at the University Panthéon-Assas Paris II, University Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Université of Montréal, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, University of Oxford and the University of Bucharest.


Areas of research

  • Democratic innovations
  • Technocracy
  • Democratic preferences
  • Elections
  • Electoral systems
  • Political participation
  • Politics in Belgium and Europe


 
Teaching

POLID554- Réformer la démocratie

POLID208- Introduction à la recherche en science politique

POLID305- Régimes politiques contemporains

POLID459- Research Topics in political science

Research
  • Project Cure or Curse/Politicize – ERC Consolidator Grant – 2018-2025: The goal is to study citizens’ views on non-elected alternatives to representative namely, especially direct democracy, deliberative democracy and technocracy, and to see whether their use may affect citizens’ political trust and democratic satisfaction. Partners: Davide Vittori, Sebastien Rojon & Emilien Paulis.
     
  • POLPOP : Politicians and Public Opinion. POLPOP : Politicians and Public Opinion. Le projet se base sur des entretiens, tous les 2-3 ans, avec des membres des parlements nationaux et régionaux, et vise étudier comment les √©lues et √©lus se relient √† l'opinion publique dans leur travail parlementaire. Partenaires : Stefaan Walgrave (U Antwerp), Lior Sheffer (Tel Aviv University), Jack Lucas (University of Calgary), Stefanie Walter (University of Basel), Fr√©d√©ric Varone (University of Geneva), Annika Werner, Patrick Dumont (Australian National University), Miguel Pereira (London School of Economics), Christian Breunig (University of Konstanz). Partenaires : Stefaan Walgrave (U Antwerp), Lior Sheffer (Tel Aviv University), Jack Lucas (University of Calgary), Stefanie Walter (University of Basel), Frédéric Varone (University of Geneva), Annika Werner, Patrick Dumont (Australian National University), Miguel Pereira (London School of Economics), Christian Breunig (University of Konstanz).
     
  • Project i4i Integrating Public Deliberation for Impact, Weave Research Grant, FNRS (Belgium), DFG (Germany), NCN (Poland), 2024-7 : The goal is to evaluate the impact of climate citizens assemblies on politics, policies and the polity. Partners: Rikki Dean (University of Southampton), Brigitte Geissel (Goethe University Frankfurt), & Paulina Pospieszna (Poznan University).
     
  • Project Not Like US, Excellence of Science Programme Belgium, 2022-26: The goal is to study, via different methods (surveys, experiments, focus groups) to the link between horizontal and vertical polarization, and the homogeneity of social and political groups within society. Partners: Stefaan Walgrave (U Antwerp), Virginie van Ingelgom, Benoit Rihoux, Pierre Baudewyns (UC Louvain), Sofie Marien, Ellen Claes (KU Leuven), Karen Celis (VUB), Bram Wauters (U Gent), Jeremy Dodeigne (U Namur), Caroline Close, Emilie van Haute (ULB).
     
  • Project Represent, Excellence of Science Programme Belgium, 2018-22: The goal was to study the perceptions of political representation and of representative democracy among Belgian citizens. Partners: Stefaan Walgrave (U Antwerp), Virginie van Ingelgom, Benoit Rihoux, (UC Louvain), Sofie Marien (KU Leuven), Kris Deschouwer, Karen Celis (VUB), Emilie van Haute (ULB).
     
  • Project Electoral System Changes in Europe, FNRS (Belgium), 2011-15: The project has mapped and studied changes in European electoral systems, and especially changes in the personalization of electoral systems. Partner: Alan Renwick (University College London)


 

Publications

Renwick, Alan and Pilet, Jean-Benoit (2016) Faces on the ballot. The personalization of electoral systems in Europe, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Pilet, J. B., Bedock, C., Talukder, D., & Rangoni, S. (2024). Support for deliberative mini-publics among the losers of representative democracy. British Journal of Political Science, 54(2), 295-312.

Pilet, J. B., Sheffer, L., Helfer, L., Varone, F., Vliegenthart, R., & Walgrave, S. (2023). Do Politicians Outside the United States Also Think Voters Are More Conservative than They Really Are?. American Political Science Review, 1-9.

Panel, S., Paulis, E., Pilet, J. B., Rojon, S., & Vittori, D. (2023). The Lure of Technocrats: A Conjoint Experiment on Preferences for Technocratic Ministers in Six European Countries. Political Behavior, 1-24.

To DI-Fusion

 
Updated on October 16, 2024