Drop by if you're in Brussels.

VORTEX Doctoral Network @vortex-europe.bsky.social · 6d ago

The VORTEX project is coming to an end! On 28–29 Sept, we’re bringing researchers, practitioners & policymakers together in Brussels for our final Transfer Conference on radicalisation, extremism & prevention. Free registration until 1 Sept: phisoc.ulb.be/fr/agenda-fa... #VORTEX #PCVE

I am thinking of doing my (online) International Office Hours again this semester, but I am not sure how much interest there is. If you might be interested in attending yourself, please like this post. If you think some of your followers might be interested, please re-post this.

Jack Black as Nacho Libre: A Question

ALT: Jack Black as Nacho Libre: A Question

static.klipy.com

The far right always comes to power because part of the establishment feels more threatened by the left than by the far right.

Meet Javid! He recently submitted his PhD thesis on mainstream right radicalization in the Netherlands and Romania. After his pre-defense, he is now looking forward to his final defense in September. Read more about Javid and his PhD journey: vortex.uni.mau.se/javid-ibad/

The only ones that can keep the Republicans in power are the reactionary centrists in and around the Democratic Party.

Moderate Democrats Prepare for ‘War’ Against an Ascendant Left

One moderate group says the progressive wins are “deeply troubling” and is planning a $15 million effort against democratic socialism.

nytimes.com

We are entering phase 1 ("fixing a broken system that has failed ordinary working people"). Phase 2 ("why did it all go wrong, the PM is sooo disliked?") will be upon us before you know it. Certainly by the winter...

The Guardian@theguardian.com · 2mo ago

Burnham sets out vision to transform Britain and fix ‘broken’ system

Glad to get the chance to present some of my ongoing research at IREX at the beautiful University of Tübingen last week. Very grateful to @leoniedejonge.bsky.social and @marcokrueger.bsky.social for the invitation and hospitality!

In the future, everywhere will be Oxford Street for 15 minutes

Is it only me or does it really smell like potential Orbanization? #bulgaria

Europe Elects@europeelects.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Bulgaria, 14.8% of votes counted: National parliament election PB-*: 43.7% (+43.7) PP-DB-RE|EPP: 15.2% (+1.5) GERB-SDS-EPP: 12.5% (-13.9) V-ESN: 5.0% (-8.4) DPS-NN-NI: 4.4% (-7.1) Velichie-*: 3.5% (-0.5) MECh-*: 3.4% (-1.2) ... +/- vs. Last election results ➤ europeelects.eu/bulgaria

strange these op-eds about women being too angry have all come out the last few days when during the same time there's also been a massive investigation published on an online rape academy with millions of viewers a month and none of them have bothered to even cover it, even as news

Oh fuck my head

Yet again, lefties have hled their nose and voted for a right-winger to save democracy from the far right. Contrast that to the large number of right-wingers who consistently chose far-right candidates over even centrists.

What a glorious day! ♥️🤍💚

Fellow academics/writers, I come bearing bad news: #AcademicSky #WritingSky #AcWri #AmWriting #GetYourManuscriptOut

🚀Welcome to the first #VORTEX Newsletter of 2026! Back from our consortium meeting in Cluj-Napoca, we share new blog posts, updates, and insights into our doctoral workspaces. At the same time, we move into our final year, entering a period of reflection. Read more vortex.uni.mau.se/2026/03/vort...

From March 23–26, 2026, the #VORTEX consortium met in Cluj-Napoca to discuss career paths, academic freedom, and ongoing projects. Workshops, ethics reflections, and collaboration sparked discussions and advanced the student and practitioner handbook. #VORTEXresearch #RadicalizationStudies

J.D. Vance’s visit to Hungary is more about Vance 2028 than about Orbán 2026.

Zoek de verschillen. 🇳🇱 🐣 🇵🇹

This critique is accurate but misses the main point - as so many accounts of politics do: the ideological context. These consultants are a symptom of the problem, not the cause. They are only so powerful because neoliberal ideology has captured our universities. 1/2

Management consultants are ruining UK universities

Relentless off-the-peg commercial rewiring has undermined British higher education

ft.com

New Yorkers, join us in the first ever Mayor’s Municipal Madness: a competition of city fixes where everyone wins. Pick your fix and vote here: nyc.gov/madness

If we made the green energy transition this war would be unthinkable and these authoritarians wouldn’t be in power — not in the US, not in Iran, not in Saudi Arabia, not in Russia. Hydrocarbons are killing our freedom and just plain killing us.

Jürgen Habermas, whose work on communication, rationality and sociology made him one of the world’s most influential philosophers and a key intellectual figure in his native Germany, has died. He was 96.

Jürgen Habermas, influential German philosopher, dies at 96

Jürgen Habermas, whose work on communication, rationality and sociology made him one of the world’s most influential philosophers and a key intellectual figure in his native Germany, has died.

bit.ly

So to review: Oil > $100 a barrel, ~30% increase at pump. Mortgages >6%. We replaced one Supreme Leader with his more hardline son, whose whole family we killed. We murdered ~160 girls. Everybody in world but Bibi is pissed at us. Spent more in 1 week on war than USAID costed for 6 months.

⭐ Exemplary, Profound, Innovative ⭐ 🎉Congratulations to @sabinedvolk.bsky.social on winning the 2025 Rising Star Award, praised by the jury for her exceptional academic achievements in #PolSci 👏 Read more buff.ly/JuN5qVr #ECPRPrizes @ameliahadfield1.bsky.social

Sabine Volk wins the 2025 Rising Star Award

European Consortium for Political Research

ecpr.eu

🎉 New publication 😍 The 4th wave of the #farright is marked by #mainstreaming & #normalisation - but how can we distinguish between them? In our new article, @gefjonoff.bsky.social and I map the existing literature, introduce a conceptual framework & outline research avenues. doi.org/10.1017/S147...

lol

Today I had a meeting about funding I received for a November 2025 (!) presentation. Part of the agreement requires me to present the talk at a university-wide event in March 2026. I was told today I could either censor/change my talk’s title and receive the funding, or withdraw. I withdrew.

When you're in social science. #AcademicChatter

Not too shocking from an extremist like Fuentes. What worries me is how seemingly harmless debates about collapsing birthrates from your favourite podcast bro (Williams, Bartlett et al.) increasingly appear to be pipelines to more anti-feminist, misogynist, even far-right great replacement ideas. 1/

Melissa Gira Grant@melissagiragrant.com · 7mo ago

Fuentes, yesterday: “Our #1 political enemy is women because women constrain everything, every conversation, every man, everything. They have to be imprisoned. They are the ones that are hurting the fertility rate. They're the ones making us sympathetic to poor people, which are also brown people.”