Biography
Dr Sanne van Oosten is a social scientist specialising in discrimination, voting and elections, focusing on the impact of anti-Muslim discrimination on politics and society.
She completed her PhD in Political Science at the University of Amsterdam in October 2024. Her research focused on the political representation of women, minority, and Muslim politicians in European parliaments. She examined how anti-Muslim discrimination affects electoral success, particularly through voter preferences based on (shared) religion, migration background, and gender. Sanne conducted original data collection across France, Germany, and the Netherlands, with oversamples of minoritised groups.
Sanne is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oxford, contributing to the EqualStrength consortium. This project explores cumulative and structural discrimination faced by Muslim, Roma, and Black minorities in Europe, with a focus on intersectional inequalities. Her work examines experiences of discrimination, shedding light on how prejudice accumulates across the life course.
Sanne van Oosten has published in various journals, such as Electoral Studies, PS: Political Science & Politics, Public Integrity, and Representation. She has been interviewed as an expert by the BBC, NPR, The New York Times, Volkskrant, NOS, and Nieuwsuur. Additionally, she has provided strategic advice to political parties, the UK Home Office, Amnesty UK, and other organisations.
Here is a link to Sanne van Oosten’s CV and Bluesky
Select publications
van Oosten, S. (2026a) Affinity voting in Europe: The impact of religion, migration background and gender on preferences for in-group politicians. European Political Science Review, first view. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1755773926100393
van Oosten, S. (2026b) Surveying citizens with a migration background: A quantitative study of identification versus categorization. Survey Research Methods, 20(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.18148/srm/2026.v20i1.8334
van Oosten, S., & Aydemir, N. (2026) Broadstancing Muslim politicians: Advocating for gender equality erases voter bias against Muslim politicians without causing backlash from Muslim voters. OSF Preprints. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/J5YGQ
van Oosten, S. (2025a) Evaluations of female Muslim politicians in a populist era: Measuring intersectionality using interaction effects and conjoint experiments. Journal of Populism Studies, 1, 1–31. https://doi.org/10.55271/JPS000114
van Oosten, S. (2025b) Do Muslims have different attitudes and voting behaviour than the majority populations of France, Germany and the Netherlands? European Center for Populism Studies. https://doi.org/10.55271/rp00100
van Oosten, S. (2025c) The importance of in-group favouritism in explaining voting for PRRPs: A study of minority and majority groups in France, Germany and the Netherlands. Populism & Politics. European Center for Populism Studies. https://doi.org/10.55271/pp0046
van Oosten, S. (2025d) PhD summary: Minority voting and representation – The impact of religion, migration background and gender on voter preferences for in- and out-group politicians in France, Germany and the Netherlands. Politics of the Low Countries, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.54195/plc.23042
van Oosten, S. (2024) Broadstancers hebben een electoraal voordeel. Binnenlands Bestuur. Retrieved January 5, 2026, from https://www.binnenlandsbestuur.nl/bestuur-en-organisatie/negatieve-vooroordeel-tegen-islamitische-politici-verdwijnt-helemaal-wanneer
van Oosten, S., Mügge, L., & van der Pas, D. (2024a) Race/ethnicity in candidate experiments: A meta-analysis and the case for shared identification. Acta Politica, 59, 19–41. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41269-022-00279-y
van Oosten, S., Mügge, L., Hakhverdian, A., & van der Pas, D. (2024b) What explains voting for DENK: Issues, discrimination or in-group favouritism? Representation, 60(4), 601–623. https://doi.org/10.1080/00344893.2024.2387011
van Oosten, S. (2022) What shapes voter expectations of Muslim politicians’ views on homosexuality: Stereotyping or projection? Electoral Studies, 80, 102553. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2022.102553
