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Peter Van Aelst

Peter Van Aelst

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Political Science
Belgium
2026
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Law and Political Science
Belgium
2023

D-Index & Metrics

Political Science

D-Index
44
Citations
11324
World Ranking
373
National Ranking
5

Peter Van Aelst publication distribution in Political Science in 2026

The chart shows the distribution of publications by all Research.com ranked scientists in the field of Political Science in 2026. The highlighted bar marks where Peter Van Aelst sits on this spectrum.

36–40 publications: 10 scientists 41–45 publications: 11 scientists 46–50 publications: 25 scientists 51–55 publications: 27 scientists 56–60 publications: 44 scientists 61–65 publications: 52 scientists 66–70 publications: 62 scientists 71–75 publications: 62 scientists 76–80 publications: 79 scientists 81–85 publications: 71 scientists 86–90 publications: 82 scientists 91–95 publications: 65 scientists 96–100 publications: 85 scientists 101–105 publications: 76 scientists 106–110 publications: 66 scientists 111–115 publications: 78 scientists 116–120 publications: 67 scientists 121–125 publications: 73 scientists 126–130 publications: 73 scientists 131–135 publications: 64 scientists 136–140 publications: 45 scientists 141–145 publications: 53 scientists 146–150 publications: 44 scientists 151–155 publications: 45 scientists 156–160 publications: 33 scientists 161–165 publications: 32 scientists 166–170 publications: 28 scientists 171–175 publications: 31 scientists 176–180 publications: 29 scientists 181–185 publications: 27 scientists 186–190 publications: 36 scientists 191–195 publications: 27 scientists 196–200 publications: 24 scientists 201–205 publications: 16 scientists 206–210 publications: 16 scientists 211–215 publications: 19 scientists 216–220 publications: 16 scientists 221–225 publications: 17 scientists 226–230 publications: 18 scientists 231–235 publications: 23 scientists 236–240 publications: 17 scientists 241–245 publications: 13 scientists 246–250 publications: 17 scientists 251–255 publications: 9 scientists 256–260 publications: 13 scientists 261–265 publications: 8 scientists 266–270 publications: 12 scientists 271–275 publications: 8 scientists 276–280 publications: 10 scientists 281–285 publications: 13 scientists 286–290 publications: 13 scientists 291–295 publications: 5 scientists 296–300 publications: 6 scientists 301–305 publications: 11 scientists 306–310 publications: 9 scientists 311–315 publications: 6 scientists 316–320 publications: 4 scientists 321–325 publications: 4 scientists 326–330 publications: 2 scientists 331–332 publications: 5 scientists 333+ publications: 97 scientists
36 publications 333+

This scientist: 220 publications — 83rd percentile

83% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

The last bar groups every scientist with 333 publications or more.

Peter Van Aelst D-index placement in Political Science in 2026

The chart shows the D-index (discipline H-index) distribution of Political Science scientists ranked by Research.com in 2026. The highlighted bar marks where Peter Van Aelst sits on this spectrum.

20 D-Index: 76 scientists 21 D-Index: 79 scientists 22 D-Index: 84 scientists 23 D-Index: 68 scientists 24 D-Index: 88 scientists 25 D-Index: 82 scientists 26 D-Index: 76 scientists 27 D-Index: 75 scientists 28 D-Index: 99 scientists 29 D-Index: 96 scientists 30 D-Index: 96 scientists 31 D-Index: 81 scientists 32 D-Index: 86 scientists 33 D-Index: 81 scientists 34 D-Index: 84 scientists 35 D-Index: 72 scientists 36 D-Index: 58 scientists 37 D-Index: 53 scientists 38 D-Index: 48 scientists 39 D-Index: 40 scientists 40 D-Index: 40 scientists 41 D-Index: 32 scientists 42 D-Index: 26 scientists 43 D-Index: 25 scientists 44 D-Index: 33 scientists 45 D-Index: 33 scientists 46 D-Index: 17 scientists 47 D-Index: 21 scientists 48 D-Index: 22 scientists 49 D-Index: 18 scientists 50 D-Index: 19 scientists 51 D-Index: 19 scientists 52 D-Index: 15 scientists 53 D-Index: 14 scientists 54 D-Index: 10 scientists 55 D-Index: 13 scientists 56 D-Index: 9 scientists 57 D-Index: 11 scientists 58 D-Index: 12 scientists 59 D-Index: 10 scientists 60 D-Index: 5 scientists 61 D-Index: 7 scientists 62+ D-Index: 100 scientists
20 D-Index 62+

This scientist: 44 D-Index — 83rd percentile

83% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

The last bar groups every scientist with 62 D-Index or more.

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Political Science in Belgium Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Political Science in Belgium Leader Award
  • 2023 - Research.com Law and Political Science in Belgium Leader Award
  • 2022 - Research.com Law and Political Science in Belgium Leader Award

Overview

Peter Van Aelst is affiliated with the University of Antwerp in Belgium and focuses their research within the social sciences, specifically communication, sociology and political science, and political science and international relations. Their work also crosses into fields such as artificial intelligence and statistical and nonlinear physics.

Their research addresses several main topics, including:

  • Social Media and Politics
  • Misinformation and Its Impacts
  • Media Studies and Communication
  • Media Influence and Politics
  • Electoral Systems and Political Participation
  • Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection
  • Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence

Van Aelst has published extensively, with notable papers including:

  • "Does a Crisis Change News Habits? A Comparative Study of the Effects of COVID-19 on News Media Use in 17 European Countries" (2021) in Digital Journalism
  • "Navigating High-Choice European Political Information Environments: a Comparative Analysis of News User Profiles and Political Knowledge" (2021) in The International Journal of Press/Politics

Their frequent publication venues reflect a focus on political communication and media, with the largest number of publications appearing in:

  • Political Communication
  • Information Communication & Society
  • The International Journal of Press/Politics
  • Digital Journalism
  • Politics of the Low Countries

Van Aelst collaborates regularly with several coauthors who also work in related fields, including:

  • Frank Esser
  • David Nicolas Hopmann
  • Toril Aalberg
  • Karolina Koç-Michalska
  • Jörg Matthes

Best Publications

  • The Contingency of the Mass Media's Political Agenda Setting Power: Toward a Preliminary Theory

    Stefaan Walgrave;Peter Van Aelst

  • Political communication in a high-choice media environment: a challenge for democracy?

    Peter van Aelst;Jesper Strömbäck;Toril Aalberg;Frank Esser

  • INTERNET AND SOCIAL MOVEMENT ACTION REPERTOIRES: Opportunities and limitations

    Jeroen Van Laer;Peter Van Aelst

  • The personalization of mediated political communication: A review of concepts, operationalizations and key findings

    Peter Van Aelst;Tamir Sheafer;James Stanyer

  • Who Demonstrates? Antistate Rebels, Conventional Participants, or Everyone?

    Pippa Norris;Stefaan Walgrave;Peter Van Aelst

  • Who is that (wo)man in the street? From the normalisation of protest to the normalisation

    Peter Van Aelst;Stefaan Walgrave

  • Media Systems and the Political Information Environment: A Cross-National Comparison

    Toril Aalberg;Peter van Aelst;James Curran

  • Who is that (wo)man in the street? From the normalisation of protest to the normalisation of the protester

    Peter Van Aelst;Stefaan Walgrave

  • New media, new movements?

    Peter Van Aelst;Stefaan Walgrave

  • Intermedia Agenda Setting in the Social Media Age: How Traditional Players Dominate the News Agenda in Election Times:

    Raymond A. Harder;Julie Sevenans;Peter Van Aelst

  • Resilience to Online Disinformation: A Framework for Cross-National Comparative Research:

    Edda Humprecht;Frank Esser;Peter Van Aelst

  • Why political parties adapt to the media: Exploring the fourth dimension of mediatization

    Jesper Strömbäck;Peter Van Aelst

  • Politicians in the News: Media or Party Logic? Media Attention and Electoral Success in the Belgian Election Campaign of 2003

    Peter van Aelst;Bart Maddens;Jo Noppe;Stefaan Fiers

  • Cyber-protest and civil society: the Internet and action repertoires in social movements

    Jeroen Van Laer;Peter Van Aelst

  • Political Information Opportunities in Europe A Longitudinal and Comparative Study of Thirteen Television Systems

    Frank Esser;Claes H. de Vreese;Jesper Strömbäck;Peter van Aelst

  • Political Balance in the News: A Review of Concepts, Operationalizations and Key Findings

    David Nicolas Hopmann;Peter van Aelst;Guido Legnante

  • Minimal or Massive? The Political Agenda-Setting Power of the Mass Media According to Different Methods:

    Peter Van Aelst;Stefaan Walgrave

  • Exploring Some Antecedents of the Media’s Framing of Election News: A Comparison of Swedish and Belgian Election News:

    Jesper Strömbäck;Peter van Aelst

  • Does a Crisis Change News Habits? A Comparative Study of the Effects of COVID-19 on News Media Use in 17 European Countries

    Peter Van Aelst;Fanni Toth;Laia Castro;Laia Castro;Václav Štětka

  • ‘Do the Vote Test’: The Electoral Effects of a Popular Vote Advice Application at the 2004 Belgian Elections

    Stefaan Walgrave;Peter van Aelst;Michiel Nuytemans

  • The Fourth Estate as superpower? an empirical study of perceptions of media power in Belgium and the Netherlands

    Peter Van Aelst;Kees Brants;Philip Van Praag;Claes De Vreese

  • When politics becomes news: An analysis of parliamentary questions and press coverage in three West European countries

    Rosa van Santen;Luzia Helfer;Peter van Aelst;Peter van Aelst

  • Studying the tango: an analysis of parliamentary questions and press coverage in the Netherlands

    Peter Van Aelst;Rens Vliegenthart

  • Politics in the news: Do campaigns matter? A comparison of political news during election periods and routine periods in Flanders (Belgium)

    Peter van Aelst;Knut De Swert

  • Why Don’t We Learn from Social Media? Studying Effects of and Mechanisms behind Social Media News Use on General Surveillance Political Knowledge

    Patrick F. A. van Erkel;Peter Van Aelst

Frequent Co-Authors

Stefaan Walgrave
Stefaan Walgrave University of Antwerp
Toril Aalberg
Toril Aalberg Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Jesper Strömbäck
Jesper Strömbäck University of Gothenburg
Tamir Sheafer
Tamir Sheafer Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Claes H. de Vreese
Claes H. de Vreese University of Amsterdam
Frank Esser
Frank Esser University of Zurich
Bram Wauters
Bram Wauters Ghent University
Rens Vliegenthart
Rens Vliegenthart Wageningen University & Research
James Curran
James Curran University of Sydney
Jörg Matthes
Jörg Matthes University of Vienna

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Related Online Degrees & Career Pathways

Studying Political Science in the USA opens doors to many related online degrees and career options. For example, those interested in data-driven policy research may consider an online bachelor's in mathematics to strengthen their quantitative analysis skills. This technical expertise is valued in political polling, legislative analysis, and public administration.

Similarly, a background in information management can be useful. Earning a degree from online library schools can prepare graduates for roles in government archives, research institutions, or policy libraries.

Political Science and history often go hand-in-hand. A solid understanding of the past can deepen your insights into policy and governance. For further study, explore degrees in history to expand your academic and career horizons.

Finally, for students seeking flexibility and breadth, interdisciplinary studies online programs allow customization of your education by blending political science with subjects like economics, communications, and more, broadening your professional pathway.

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