Dirk Koppenol MA

PhD Candidate

Biographical Note

Dirk M. Koppenol (1987) has studied History and Public Administration at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. He finished his History Bachelor with a thesis on governmental manipulation of the media during limited wars, from the Vietnam War to the Second Gulf War (2009). Continuously, the Master Global History and International Relations was completed with a thesis on the European wish for American influence after the Great War (2010). In addition to his History Master he studied Public Administration at the Erasmus University (2010/1) as well as English at the Oxford School of English, resulting in a certificate in Advanced English (2010/1).

During his study, he worked for several months as a volunteer in Brazil (2006) as well as in Zambia (2008). Furthermore, he was a trainee policy maker for two ChristenUnie members of the Dutch Parliament in The Hague (2008) and a researcher at the National Archive in The Hague (2011).

In September 2011 he started a Ph.D. project on the decision making process preceding the construction of the mega project Maasvlakte 2, an expansion of the Port of Rotterdam, that will be finished in 2013. The doctoral is financed by the Port of Rotterdam and will be Supervised by prof. dr. H.A.M. Klemann and dr. B. Wubs.

Main research interests include international relations, development aid, mega projects, public administration and business history.