Barend Tensen

Barend Tensen is a Dutch National and studied Political Science and International Relations at the University of Amsterdam. He wrote his Master Thesis on ‘normative and empirical conceptions of democracy in international relations’ and participated in study trips to China, Poland and the Czech Republic. In addition, he followed extra courses in Philosophy and participated in the Montesquieu Institute Masterclass 2013 on ‘determining a fair contribution to the EU’ at Leiden University. For 2011/2012 he was elected Secretary and Vice-President of CDJA, the political youth organization of the Dutch Christian Democrats. In his free time he is still active for the organization as a member of the International Affairs Commission and as editor and writer. In 2013, Barend interned at the Press and Communications Department of the EPP Group in the European Parliament. He conducted research on media relations and was responsible for the development of infographics. His areas of expertise include political theory in general and Christian Democratic thought in particular, foreign policy and emerging markets and he is interested in values and religion, European integration and new societal challenges.