These US data are in line with my 7 waves of data from UK and NL since 2020. The "response on the left is to scold young people for making these sorts of investments... has left a clear opening for Republicans who are experimenting with new ways to appeal to the financial concerns of young people."

JLRay@jlray.bsky.social · last mo.

A myth about young peoples' crypto and betting habits is that they're driven by hopelessness and lack of alternatives, that young guys buy this stuff in a final prayer to pay rent or get out of poverty. It's mostly higher-income guys with disposable income ymrp.substack.com/p/which-youn...

Rutte is the leader of VVD

Joost van Spanje@joostvanspanje.bsky.social · 3y ago

Now that my tweet has over 100k views, a translation: Since new VVD leader Dilan said that she is not ruling the party out, PVV has been on the rise. Why? Isolation + imitation costs a challenger votes (average, 15 countries, since 1944). Mark Rutte isolated & imitated PVV; Dilan only the latter.

Zie ook: "Hoe kan een zo controversiële partij zoveel kiezers trekken? (..) veel kiezers stemden met immigratieproblemen in het achterhoofd. (..) [Zij zien] problemen die politici laten liggen – en zouden zelfs op de duivel stemmen om die problemen opgelost te krijgen." sargasso.nl/kroniek-aang...

Kroniek van een aangekondigde zelfmoord - Sargasso

Ondanks alle waarschuwingen koos de Duitse bondskanselier Angela Merkel niet voor de strategie van isoleren en imiteren tegen Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), in tegenstelling tot al haar voorganger...

sargasso.nl

@jessefrederik.bsky.social · 2mo ago

decorrespondent.nl/17145/democr...

🗳️ Did my civic duty this morning and sent my absentee ballot for the Michigan primaries in this year’s midterm elections. Some very important races including the open Senate seat and ones for my district (MI-8) which is one of the swingiest in the country ⚖️ Get informed and go vote!

In 2017 and 2021, Dutch PM Mark Rutte seemed electorally successful with his tactic of isolating and imitating the PVV. In 2023, Rutte's successor stopped the 'isolation' part. She opened the door to political cooperation with the PVV. Our research suggests that that in fact helped PVV win votes.

Rutte did so in 2017 & 2021. This was the 'imitation' in his tactic of isolating & imitating the PVV. Our research suggests that, on average, this tactic costs the far right votes. In 2023, Rutte's successor stopped the 'isolation' part. Our research suggests *that* in fact helped PVV win votes.

Nina Zeelen@ninazeelen.bsky.social · 3mo ago

"Rutte repeated his message in AD, saying that those who do not agree with Dutch values should leave. 'You have the choice, go away! You do not need to be here!' Mudde: 'It is thinly veiled nativism, completely ignoring the anti-refugees violence, physical and verbal, by natives in the past years."

Fascinating work. Crypto prevalent "among younger, male, financially engaged" citizens. Its conclusions are generally in line with ours, based on attitudes to, expectations & policy preferences about, & possession of cryptocurrency in 2 countries since 2020. See scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=n...

Barbara Binder@barbarabinder.bsky.social · 3mo ago

A similar picture emerges when we shift attention from patterns of asset ownership to differences in asset concentration, diversification, and relative wealth positions based on a latent profile analysis. Check out the preprint for more! doi.org/10.31235/osf...

This weekend in Dutch newspaper @volkskrant.nl: @uva.nl (and @ascor.bsky.social) stars (and role models) @pmvalkenburg.bsky.social and @claesdevreese.bsky.social... on one page! The front page of the science supplement. Patti because of her valedictory lecture, Claes because of his Stevin award.

The Department of Political Science at Aarhus University is hiring both Assistant Professors and Associate Professors. Assistant Professor: international.au.dk/about/profil... Associate Professor: international.au.dk/about/profil... Please share these opportunities with your networks!

Assistant Professor in Political Science - Vacancy at Aarhus University

Vacancy at Department of Political Science, Aarhus University

international.au.dk

Today in Dutch newspaper @volkskrant.nl: Dutch Muslim organizations want to have PVV leader Geert #Wilders prosecuted for distributing a controversial image. What are the effects of such hate speech prosecution of politicians? See the 2025 book by Rachid Azrout & me for evidence from 9 countries.

Today in Dutch newspaper @volkskrant.nl, journalist Peter de Waard: "If hackers obtain private data from citizens, politicians scream bloody murder. But if banks do it, politicians encourage it. The BKR records every debt. Banks are going further, claiming to want to stay ahead of changing laws".

Right now at the #politicologenetmaal in Gent, Belgium: Rachid Azrout presents a paper, co-authored by myself, on reactions to the PVV and their electoral effects 2017-2025. We analyse media and survey data to assess our theoretical model. @vpw-politicologie.bsky.social @gasparugent.bsky.social

Studies on stigma suggest that such action normalizes extremism. Some of my studies indicate that isolating extremists costs them votes (if combined with imitation). Vice versa, a study by Rachid Azrout & me suggests that the VVD bringing in the PVV from the cold (2023) brought the PVV many votes.

NOS@nieuws.nos.nl · 4mo ago

Coalitiepartijen sluiten politieke samenwerking met Markuszower niet uit

The Louvain Penal Court has sentenced Dries Van Langenhove to a €4k fine for a lecture at KU Leuven. What are the effects of such cases? Read the book "Prosecuting Politicians for Hate Speech & the Consequences for Democracy" (Oxford UP, 2025) by Rachid Azrout & me on 51 such cases in 9 countries.

De Morgen@demorgen.be · 4mo ago

De correctionele rechtbank van Leuven heeft Dries Van Langenhove veroordeeld tot een geldboete van 4.000 euro voor zijn controversiële NSV-lezing aan de KU Leuven.

Today in Dutch newspaper @volkskrant.nl: Great article by @arnoutleclercq.bsky.social on Hungary, also starring @zsolt.bsky.social: "Particularly in smaller towns and within vulnerable groups, people did not dare to vote for another party for fear of losing their jobs or missing out on state aid."

Het is natuurlijk prettig om te denken dat de stijging van JA21 en FvD de schuld zou zijn van de VVD. Probleem is: er zijn weinig aanwijzingen voor. Wel zijn er aanwijzingen voor een heel andere verklaring. Die geen likes op BlueSky genereert. En die @sanderschimmelp.bsky.social liever niet hoort.

Sander Schimmelpenninck@schimmelpenninck.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Het resultaat van de domrechtse koers van de VVD na Rutte: net zo groot als JA21, FVD en PVV. En gewoon stug doorgaan, stelletje retards.

The Dutch Media Regulatory Authority published a report calling for the government, the EU, civil society, and citizens to make full use of EU regulations attempting to limit democracy-undermining social media algorithms and feeds. I spoke to @nieuws.nos.nl about the report. nos.nl/artikel/2615...

Vier vragen over rapport gevaren sociale media: 'We staan op een keerpunt'

De informatiestroom op sociale media vormt volgens het Commissariaat voor de Media een risico voor de democratie.

nos.nl

Goed Nieuws! Wij zijn gisterochtend met de crowdfunding voor The Firewall begonnen en inmiddels hebben zich meer dan 2.000 medestanders gemeld en beschikken we over meer dan 90 bondgenoten! #StaOpTegenBigTech en word ook medestander van @thefirewall.eurosky.social ! www.thefirewall.eu/doe-mee

Today at Dutch news site @rtl.nl : "Celebrity Lawyer Spong thinks Markuszower can be prosecuted for public statement". In the book by Rachid & me, read about when Spong thought that another politician, Geert Wilders, could be prosecuted - and other cases in 9 countries. www.rtl.nl/nieuws/polit...

Advocaat Spong denkt dat Markuszower kan worden vervolgd voor uitspraak over Palestijnen

De uitspraken van Tweede Kamerlid Gidi Markuszower over dat Nederland Palestijnse asielzoekers 'met geweld' bij de grens zou moeten tegenhouden, zijn volgens advocaat Gerard Spong te zien als opruiing...

rtl.nl

Big win for Dutch extreme right party FvD. A local branch reached a political agreement with a local branch of mainstream right party VVD. The local VVD even proudly announces it on its website! Sure, it's just an "outline agreement" at the local level. But...the FvD! www.vvd.nl/gemeente-lel...

Hoofdlijnenakkoord 2026-2030 met PVV, FvD en Mooi Lelystad - LELYSTAD

Vandaag presenteren wij samen met de PVV, FvD en Mooi Lelystad een hoofdlijnenakkoord voor de raadsperiode 2026–2030. Deze vier partijen maken hiermee helder op welke onderwerpen zij elkaar hebben gev...

vvd.nl

Evalutating the extent to which right-wing parties are stigmatised as extremists and racists, Miku Matsunaga & @joostvanspanje.bsky.social depict that a communist legacy reduces the extent of stigmat. while a fascist legacy links to a weak correlation to racist stigma (OA): doi.org/10.1080/1350...

The stigma on right-wing parties: perceptions and voting behaviour

Right-wing parties are often stigmatised as extremists and racists. However, the extent to which voters perceive a party as stigmatised and the impact of such perceptions on voting behaviour remain...

doi.org

Your regular reminder that the far right has no incentive to solve problems. Only to make things worse. Just as Trump and Le Pen before, Wilders kills a strict immigration bill. Ignoring many who voted for him. For example, the 23.5% of 2023 voters, ~87% of whom voted PVV because of immigration.

Shocking, fascinating documentary. "The Propagandist" by @human.nl . About Jan Theunissen (1898-1975), the Dutch 'film czar' during the Nazi occupation. Interviewed about his films and personal life, contrasted with investigative research. Watched via @npostart.bsky.social . Highly recommended.

🚨 VACATURE Het Instituut Politieke Wetenschap van Uni Leiden is op zoek naar twee UD2s met expertise in één of meer van de volgende gebieden: de Europese Unie-politiek, politieke economie, milieupolitiek, beleid en/of de Nederlandse politiek. careers.universiteitleiden.nl/job/Universi...

Incoming Hungarian PM Péter Magyar went on Orbán's state TV today for the first time in 18 months: "This factory of lies will end once the Tisza govt is formed... What has been going on here since 2010, which even Goebbels or the North Korean dictator would have been envious of, cannot continue."

🚨 Job Alert 🚨 We have an opening for a 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗱𝗼𝗰 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 @stawi-univie.bsky.social starting Aug/Sep 2026! Focus: political representation, party competition, political institutions, political economy, political behavior, or related fields 📅Apply by 29 April 2026 jobs.univie.ac.at/job/Universi...

Today at @nieuws.nos.nl: In 2024, 25 of 66 inspected farmers violated pesticide rules. Excessive pesticide levels had been found in surface water in the inspected areas in 2022. NL is one of the EU countries where water quality is the worst, with further decline in recent years. nos.nl/l/2609532

Boeren overtreden regels bestrijdingsmiddelen, NVWA vindt dat zorgwekkend

Bijna twee op de vijf onderzochte telers overtraden de regels, blijkt uit een controle van de Nederlandse Voedsel- en Warenautoriteit (NVWA).

nos.nl

This is exactly the opposite of what the EU must do. It must solve crises, not avoiding them. Watering down the ETS is hazardous longterm in many ways. If only because millions of Europeans worry about environmental issues. This only radicalizes many of these citizens. www.nu.nl/klimaat/6391...

Brussel stelt eerste versoepeling van belangrijkste klimaatmaatregel voor

De belangrijkste klimaatmaatregel van de EU gaat mogelijk op de schop. De Europese Commissie wil het zogeheten emissiehandelssysteem, dat bepaalt hoeveel CO2 grote bedrijven mogen uitstoten, versoepel...

nu.nl

This is exactly the opposite of what the EU must do. It must solve crises, not avoiding them. Watering down the ETS is hazardous longterm in many ways. If only because millions of Europeans worry about environmental issues. This only radicalizes many of these citizens. www.nu.nl/klimaat/6391...

Brussel stelt eerste versoepeling van belangrijkste klimaatmaatregel voor

De belangrijkste klimaatmaatregel van de EU gaat mogelijk op de schop. De Europese Commissie wil het zogeheten emissiehandelssysteem, dat bepaalt hoeveel CO2 grote bedrijven mogen uitstoten, versoepel...

nu.nl