Assistant Professor
TLS: Tilburg Law School
TLS: Public Law and Governance
I am Michiel Stapper, assistant professor at Tilburg Law School. Growing up, I loved drawing maps and collecting atlases. So it seemed right to start studying urban planning. After my BA in urban planning I finished degrees in geography, philosophy and sociology. In 2019, I was visting scholar at NYU's Institute for Public Knowledge. My research interests are mostly directed at questions at the intersection of society, law and cities. How do public-private partnerships influence civic participation? What is the role of participation and deliberation in the energy transition? What are the politics of legal instruments?
In my research I examine how legal and regulatory frameworks create moral beings and attribute (un)worthiness to citizens. Through my work, I contribute to the fields of participatory governance, urban politics and socio-legal studies. In my research I have used a variety of methods, ranging from observations, interviews, content analysis to the q-method. I have experience with comparative research in Amsterdam, Hamburg and New York. Next, I have published in journals such as Environment and Planning C and Cities.
Currently I am studying the impact of the new Dutch Environment and Planning Act (Omgevingswet) and the European Green Deal on society. I am particulary interested in how these legal and regulatory frameworks affect marginalized people.
I teach in the BA program Public Administration and the MA program International Law. I am involved in the courses Public Policy Making, Market, Civil Society and Government, Qualitative Research Methods, International Relations and Thesis Supervision (BA and MA level).