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Gabrielle Bartelse

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Jun 4, 2026, 10:42 PM

The Culture of Boycott

When art betrays its own freedom

Jun 1, 2026, 8:05 PM

The university between truth and activism

On administrative cowardice, moral selectivity and the loss of academic Courage There are moments when a university must redefine itself—not through buildings, rankings or policy documents, but through the way it relates to truth, power and public pressure. The continuing...

May 21, 2026, 11:18 AM

The loss of home

On civilisational fatigue, multicultural universalism, and the disappearance of cultural loyalty in the Netherlands The Netherlands no longer seems to understand itself as a historical community, but rather as an administrative space in which every identity is welcome — except...

May 16, 2026, 5:43 PM

When victims no longer fit the narrative

On the hierarchy of empathy in the West There are moments in which a civilization is judged not only by what it condemns, but above all by what it no longer appears capable of seeing. The mass murders committed by...

May 14, 2026, 3:07 PM

The university and its new orthodoxies

On morality, conformity and the return of antisemitism in institutional form

May 9, 2026, 7:56 PM

Double standards or democratic tension?

Protest rights, institutions and the boundaries of tolerance in the Netherlands Introduction The Netherlands likes to present itself as an open democratic state governed by the rule of law, in which freedom of expression and the right to protest belong to...

May 6, 2026, 1:05 PM

Between Engagement and Distortion

On journalism, universities and the temptation of activism The analysis by journalist Matti Friedman of media coverage concerning Israel and Gaza — as published in, among others, The Atlantic and Tablet — touches upon an uncomfortable issue in the functioning...

May 5, 2026, 12:54 PM

The aestheticisation of moral outrage

How activism, media and institutions produce a moral icon

May 4, 2026, 6:01 PM

The inviolability of silence

On 4 May, historical specificity, and the erosion of remembrance in an age of moral excess There are moments in a society when speech must yield to silence. Not because words are lacking, but because they are inadequate. The Dutch...

May 4, 2026, 9:38 AM

The cowardice of the centre

Administrative indecision in times of moral confusion There are moments when administrative caution turns into something else: no longer prudence, but paralysis. No longer neutrality, but a form of moral cowardice. The current Dutch debate surrounding the possible arrival of...

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About Me

Though professionally active in education, the author writes in a personal capacity about democracy, exclusion, and institutional responsibility in Dutch society.