dr. Yuri van Hoef

**Research** My research focuses on the role of friendship in contemporary political history, with a specialisation in the role of emotions in politics, specifically regarding friendship between state leaders in contemporary history. Publications can be found in a wide variety of scientific outlets including the *Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics, Political Psychology, AMITY: The Journal of Friendship Studies, Contemporary Political Theory, International Affairs, Political Studies Review, and Politics and Governance*. In 2018 I successfully defended my PhD thesis M*odelling Friendship between Elite Political Actors: Interpreting the Relationships of Schmidt and Giscard d’Estaing, Kohl and Mitterrand, Thatcher and Reagan, and Bush and Major* at the University of Leeds, under the supervision of Graham M. Smith and Simon Lightfoot. My thesis was awarded several prizes, both by the University of Leeds and the White Rose University Consortium, including the University Research Scholarship of the University of Leeds.