Annina Hermes

@anninahermes.bsky.social

PhD Student @dynamics.bsky.social @humboldtuni.bsky.social | Political behavior, party competition, far right | Previously @sciencespo.bsky.social

Do far-right parties gain support by embedding their members in sports clubs, cultural societies and volunteer fire brigades? I‘ll present my research on far-right infiltration of civil society at #SGEU2026 today. 🗓️ Wednesday, 4:00 - 5:30 pm 📍 Palazzo Pedagaggi, Aula Magna

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Research by day, networking by night! Great to see many of our PhD Researchers and Alumni presenting their work at the first Annual Conference of the European Political Science Society in Belfast. We are proud of the ideas they shared and the conversations that continued after the panels ended.

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For those of you at #EPSS2026 this week curious about the connection of radical right normalization and anti-minority hate crime, join me at panel CP08: "Migration, Minorities, and Self‑Determination", where I am excited to present ongoing work on the topic! 🗓️ Fri, 06/19 ⏰ 1:30 pm 📍Lagan B (Hilton)

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Why is the Europe-wide strive for power by radical right parties not sparking more of a reaction by opposing voters? At #EPSS2026, I present what if hopefully only the beginning of a project on that question. Come around and tell me what you think 🤝 📅 Friday, 9:00-10:40 📍 Boardroom (Hilton)

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Do far-right parties gain electoral support by embedding their members in sports clubs, cultural societies and volunteer fire brigades? Excited to present my research on far-right infiltration of civil society at #EPSS2026 tomorrow! 🗓️ Saturday, 3:20 - 5:00 pm 📍Broadway (Hilton)

From Sports Clubs to Ballot Boxes: Far Right Infiltration of Civil Society and Consequences for Political Behavior
Annina Hermes 
June 2026
Abstract
Does the strategic infiltration of civil society associations strengthen far-right parties?
While existing research on far-right normalization emphasizes elite cues and electoral breakthroughs, less is known about how extremist actors gain influence through grassroots embedding in everyday social life. I argue that by entering and assuming leadership positions in non-political associations - sports clubs, cultural societies, church councils - far-right actors can strengthen their party through three channels: normalizing their ideology and lowering the perceived costs of supporting it, shifting attitudes through trusted personal contact, and mobilizing existing sympathy into participation and organizational capacity. I construct a
novel dataset linking AfD candidates and members to leadership positions in more than 480,000 civil society associations across Germany between 2013 and 2025, providing the first systematic measurement of far-right embeddedness in local civic life. Leveraging variation in the timing of leadership turnover within associations, I employ a staggered difference-in-differences design to estimate the effect of AfD infiltration of civil society organizations on electoral support for the AfD.
This study highlights a critical mechanism through which democratic societies become vulnerable to extremist influence: the everyday social spaces meant to strengthen civic life can become vehicles for undermining democratic norms and empowering anti-democratic
movements.

📣 The Politics Lecture Series is back with a fantastic line-up! Our opening talk by Aksel Sundström from the University of Gothenburg has the promising title "“Thirsting for New Leaders? Droughts and Demand for Women Politicians” Tue, 28 April 2026, 12–1 pm, Room 002 Everyone is welcomed!

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Really excited to see my final dissertation paper out 🎉 Do parties shift their issue priorities when polls decline? Looking at press releases from 68 parties in 9 countries, we find little evidence that they do.

West European Politics@wepsocial.bsky.social · 5mo ago

🎉 Online first: Do parties shift their issue priorities when polls drop? Examining press releases across 68 parties in 9 countries, @cornelius-erfort.bsky.social , @heikekluever.bsky.social & @lstoetze.bsky.social find little evidence that they do. 🔗 doi.org/10.1080/0140...

Abstract of the article "Parties' issue responsiveness between elections" by Cornelius Erfort, Heike Klüver, and Lukas F. Stoetzer, published online first in West European Politics.

🚨New publication! Thrilled to finally see this paper out in @psrm.bsky.social 🎉 📊I study how gender shapes coalition preferences among politicians. Turns out mayors prefer forming governments with women-led parties, perceiving them as better communicators and more competent governors.

Political Science Research and Methods@psrm.bsky.social · 6mo ago

🧑‍🤝‍🧑Do politicians consider the gender of leaders when selecting coalition partners? ➡️Using a conjoint on 979 Spanish mayors, @albahuidobro.bsky.social finds that mayors, especially those on the center and left, prefer coalitions with parties led by women www.cambridge.org/core/journal... #FirstView

📣 New op-ed in Süddeutsche Zeitung: What the data say about the “Brandmauer” I summarize key findings from a study with @anninahermes.bsky.social across 57 democracies ➡️ Far-right parties don’t get weaker in government, they get stronger (~6 points by the next election) tinyurl.com/4j6jaud2

Demokratie: Wenn die Rechte mitregiert, wird sie nicht geschwächt – im Gegenteil

Eine Untersuchung von 57 Ländern zeigt: Wenn die Rechte in Verantwortung kommt, gewinnt sie dazu. Daraus lässt sich für Deutschland lernen.

sueddeutsche.de

I ran a simulated social media experiment with 1450 Republicans to test different fact-checking interventions. AI produced the largest decrease in engagement with Trump misinformation, outperforming independent fact-checkers and doing so far more consistently than Community Notes.

LSE US Politics and Policy blog - USAPP@lseusablog.bsky.social · 10mo ago

AI fact-checks may be the best way to reduce Republicans’ engagement with online political misinformation finds Isolde Hegemann of @lsegovernment.bsky.social blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/20...

It was so inspiring to participate in the CERIUM-FMSH summer school. The brilliant group of researchers, excellent guest speakers, thoughtful discussions and great atmosphere really made it special. Thanks so much for organizing this @rlachat.bsky.social and @rdassonneville.bsky.social!

Romain Lachat@rlachat.bsky.social · last yr.

The CERIUM-FMSH summer school comes to an end. Thanks to this fantastic group of promising young scholars: @annasawallisch.bsky.social @anninahermes.bsky.social @francescayton.bsky.social @gaetanoinglese.bsky.social @galron3.bsky.social @ginaaniano.bsky.social Isolde Hegemann

It was great talking about recent developments in campaign and (social) media influence at the CERIUM-FMSH summer school - and even better to learn about so many promising PhD projects on these topics. Thanks for having me in sunny Paris @rlachat.bsky.social & @rdassonneville.bsky.social!

Romain Lachat@rlachat.bsky.social · last yr.

On the second day of the CERIUM-FMSH summer school, @florianfoos.bsky.social discussed about political campaigns and their effects. @rdassonneville.bsky.social @fondationmsh.bsky.social @cerium-udem.bsky.social