Neil Garrett Vander Most
Mailing Address: 306 S. Prairie Street, #1, Champaign, IL, 61820
Office: 316 Armory Building, 505 E. Armory Avenue, Champaign, IL, 61820
Home: (217) 721-1284
Email: [email protected]
EDUCATION
University of Illinois: Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL
Ph.D in Political Science
Area of Concentration: Comparative Politics
Minor: European Union Studies
expected
June 2015
University of Illinois: Champaign-Urbana, Urbana, IL
M.A. in Political Science
Area of Concentration: Comparative Politics
Thesis: “Far Right Parties, Anti-Immigration, and
Morality in the Netherlands and in Europe”
2010
University of California: Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
B.A. in Political Science
Graduated Cum Laude and with College Honors
2008
DISSERTATION
Title: "Beyond Assimilation and Multiculturalism: A Social Psychological Reconstruction of
Immigrant Integration in the Low Countries"
Committee: Carol Skalnik Leff (Chair), Robert D. Pahre, James H. Kuklinski, Thomas J.
Rudolph
The integration of vast numbers of migrants into European countries from North Africa and the Middle
East continues pose challenges for policy makers. The many differences between these immigrants and
the native population can make maintaining a cohesive society difficult. In order to increase trust
between citizens and migrant populations, various forms of multicultural and assimilatory policies have
been enacted with mixed success. This study challenges the usefulness of the current way people think
about integration ideologies, namely as a choice between assimilation and multiculturalism. I
hypothesize that we can better analyze public attitudes about integration by conceptualizing integration
as a continuum of possibilities arranged along a scale of overall permissiveness. Using this continuum,
we can entertain new and more effective ideologies as policy options. During my field research, I
conducted surveys with native-born citizens in the Netherlands and Belgium to gather information about
the appeal and usefulness of these new integration ideologies. This paper finds evidence that the more
moderate ideologies of interculturalism and “liberalism as identity” create stronger feelings of trust
toward immigrant while minimizing in-group projection. Furthermore, in Belgium, interculturalism is
seen as more desirable to the respondents than the current more extreme policies of multiculturalism and
assimilation.
PUBLICATIONS

Vander Most, Neil. “An Unusual European Election.” The Diplomatist. Vol. 2, No. 5. May
2014.

Vander Most, Neil. “The Netherlands” Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations. Farmington
Hills, Michigan: Gale Centage Learning. 13 th ed. Vol. 5. 2012.

Whalley, Lucy et al. 2011. CREATE: Pre-Intervention Analytical Framework. Construction
Engineering Laboratory Technical Note ERDC/CERL TN -DRAFT. Champaign, IL: US Army
Engineer Research and Development Center.
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

“Expanding Policy Options for Immigrant Integration” –
To be presented at the American Political Science
Association Conference (August)
2014

“Finding the Middle Path: The Strength of National
Identities in the European Union” – Presented at the
Midwest Political Science Association Conference (April)

“Seeing oneself and the other: How National Identity
impacts Opinions on Immigration in the Netherlands and
Belgium” – Presented at the Midwest Political Science
Association Conference (April)

“Determinants of Identity-based Trust in Ten Western
European Countries” – Presented at the Midwest Political
Science Association Conference (April)

“Failure of multiculturalism? Rise of far -right, antiimmigration political parties in Europe” – Presented at the
UIUC European Union Center: Summer Curriculum
Workshop – (June)
2011

“Far Right Parties, Anti-Immigration, and Social
Conservatism in the Netherlands and Europe” – Presented
at the Midwest Political Science Association Conference
(April) and at the Western US Graduate Research
Workshop on the European Union (May)
2010
2014
2013
2012
AWARDS

Teacher Ranked Excellent by their Students
Spring 2012,
Fall 2012,
Spring 2013,
Fall 2013, and
Spring 2014

European Union Center Graduate Research Travel Grant ($1300)
11/2013

KU Leuven – University of Illinois Faculty and Ph.D Candidate
Exchange Program ($6600)
08/2013 11/2013

Ferber Sudman Dissertation Award – Honorable Mention ($400)
07/2013

Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship ($7500)
- Attended Summer Dutch courses at the Universities of Antwerp and
Amsterdam
06/2012 08/2012

Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship ($7500)
- Attended Summer Dutch courses at the Universities of Groningen
and Antwerp
06/2010 08/2010

Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship ($7500)
- Attended the Summer Dutch Institute at the Univ ersity of Indiana,
Bloomington
05/2009 08/2009
WORK EXPERIENCE

Primary Instructor – University of Illinois: Urbana Champaign
- Foundations of Political Science
- Politics of the European Union
06/2013 present

Research Assistant – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Engineer
Research and Development Center
09/2011 06/2012

Teaching Assistant – University of Illinois: Urbana Champaign
- Introduction to American Politics
- Introduction to Comparative Politics
- The [American] Presidency
- Introduction to Political Theory
- Introduction to Political Science

Research Assistant – Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs
(JINSA), Washington D.C.
09/2008 06/2013
09/2007 12/2007
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE

Reviewer for Political Behavior
07/2012,
09/2013
PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS



English – native language
Dutch – read, write, and speak at an intermediate level
Computer literate in: Datadesk, R and SAS Programming Languages, MediaLab,
SurveyMonkey
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Midwestern Political Science Association

American Political Science Association
09/2009 –
present
09/2012 –
present
REFERENCES



Carol Leff. Assoc. Professor: Dept. of Political Science, UIUC.
(217) 493-9139, [email protected]
Robert Pahre. Professor: Dept. of Political Science, UIUC.
(217) 333-2851, [email protected]
Thomas Rudolph. Professor: Dept. of Political Science, UIUC.
(217) 244-2885, [email protected]