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🗳️ Radical parties have institutionalized and entered political competition and democratic institutions. Yet their voters do not seem to become more satisfied with democracy after this inclusion. Why is this the case? In a newly published paper with @morganlcj.bsky.social we propose a response 🧵

When people ask me what the phrase "artificial intelligence" means, my short answer is, it means "venture capitalists, give me some money". But OUP asked me for a longer answer, given here and summarized in the section headings: doi.org/10.1093/9780...

New paper out 📄 How do citizens mentally map political divides — and where do they go wrong? Using German survey data on immigration, we split perceptual error into 3 biases (egocentrism, conservatism & false polarization) that mirror the very divides they distort. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Seeing Divides: Citizens’ Biased Perceptions of Political Cleavages - Political Behavior

Citizens’ perceptions of political divides shape democratic processes, yet we know little about how these divides are mentally represented. This article develops a conceptual framework that integrates...

link.springer.com

‘Polarization’ has become the master concept for diagnosing our current democratic crisis. But this is not polarization. It is the radicalization of the political right. By misdiagnosing it, we risk becoming complicit in the crisis. 🧵 Just out in Perspectives on Politics doi.org/10.1017/S153...

NOW OUT ON FIRSTVIEW!! It’s Not #Polarization; It’s the #Radicalization of the #Political #Right By @pettertornberg.com doi.org/10.1017/S153...

Europe’s growing urban-rural divide in voting along the transnational cleavage is not merely a reflection of underlying educational differences, as @theresakuhn.bsky.social, @bramlancee.bsky.social and I show in this new study in @ejprjournal.bsky.social. A short thread 🔽

Die Hälfte (!) der Mitglieder des neuen #AfD Bundesvorstands ist durch die 'Kaderschmiede' der #Jugendorganisation gekommen. Langfristige Loyalitäten und Netzwerke scheinen sich auszuzahlen. Falls noch jemand an der Relevanz dieser Unterorganisation zweifelt: doi.org/10.1177/0192... #afdbpt #ef0407

Drivers of radicalisation? The development and role of the far-right youth organisation ‘Young Alternative’ in Germany - Anna-Sophie Heinze, 2025

Today, many far-right parties maintain youth wings, providing opportunities to mobilise members and future party leaders. However, they are often neglected in t...

doi.org

Floris Biskamp@theflorislava.bsky.social · last mo.

Bemerkenswert: Im neuen AfD-Bundesvorstand (der mit nur minimalen Konflikten gewählt wurde) sitzen sieben ehemalige JA-Kader, sechs davon unter 40. So viel zur Ablehnung des Prinzips "Kreißsaal-Hörsaal-Plenarsaal", die mal so wichtig für die Parteiidentität war. 2 der 14 sind Frauen (bisher eine).

Here's what I have to say about Elon Musk becoming a trillionaire: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Is it bad that Elon Musk has a trillion dollars? Yes, and here’s why | Ingrid Robeyns

Just as the ‘poverty line’ determines what’s required for basic living, we need a ‘wealth line’ to show when extreme wealth becomes harmful, says economist and philosopher Ingrid Robeyns

theguardian.com

LOL! 😂😂😂

POV: very, very ordinary people in a v ordinary setting. That is the 7 Swiss govt members on their annual 2-day trip called #Bundesratsreisli. No secret service, just lots of unscripted contact with citizens. And the ppl reward them for it: the Swiss govt enjoys the highest trust levels worldwide

A fifth of Leave voters have died.

Why do our societies seem so deeply divided when most citizens actually occupy a broad political middle ground? @steffenmau.bsky.social, @thomaslux.bsky.social & @lwestheuser.bsky.social unpack this paradox in Trigger Points, pub. today @brisunipress.bsky.social, Foreward @mikesavagelse.bsky.social

Trigger Points

Trigger Points - Inequality and Political Polarization in Contemporary Society; Available open access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. Is society really polarized? This book explores key conflicts...

bristoluniversitypress.co.uk

Only 2 days until Switzerland's probably most important direct democratic vote in (at least) a decade: Will Switzerland cap its population at 10 million and terminate bilateral EU treaties? Not only has media coverage been very high, but turnout numbers indicate the highest turnout in >30 years.

Reto Mitteregger@indubioproreto.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Ultimately, the vote will be decided by mobilization patterns. Many cities (which will lean towards a no) update turnout numbers regularly: Zürich: www.stadt-zuerich.ch/de/aktuell/n... Basel: data.bs.ch/explore/data... Bern: www.bern.ch/themen/stadt...

Switzerland will soon vote on whether to cap its population. But who is actually entitled to vote? In one of the 26 cantons, a majority of residents have *no* political rights (50.3%). A minority of residents is empowered to decide the fate of those who are most directly affected by the outcome

New Blog 📣 Christian Fernández 🇸🇪 Swedish Exceptionalism – An Autopsy New citizenship rules are creating a two-tiered citizenship that separates natives from migrants and their descendants. This is a far cry from the universal egalitarianism that defined the Swedish model 🔖 tinyurl.com/yj9y3x4j

Swedish exceptionalism – an autopsy - Globalcit

The new citizenship rules are creating a two-tiered citizenship that separates natives from migrants and their descendants. This is a far cry from the universal egalitarianism that used to define the ...

tinyurl.com

The vote on the 10M population cap will happen in a week's time. It will also be the day of the feminist strike. And the day before, Switzerland plays its first World Cup match with one of the most diverse national teams. Mny players have a migration background or are the children of immigrants

Remember that recent paper claiming to show that "ideological bias" determined the results obtained by immigration policy research teams? A careful, open-code reanalysis by @kauspurg.bsky.social & Josef Brüderl finds that the result arises from a coding error. —> doi.org/10.31222/osf...

🚨PRE-PRINT🚨 This forthcoming chapter in the Oxford Handbook of Comparative Immigration Law gently introduces readers to quantitative data methods in the field. I hope it is useful! @globalcit.bsky.social @migcitpol.bsky.social @migcitizenapsa.bsky.social @mpc-eui.bsky.social @migobs.bsky.social

Sam D. Schmid@samdschmid.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Since finding my place in the “third space” at the University of Lucerne, research is not in my job description anymore. But I love it far too much to abandon it completely, so it's now a hobby. Today, I am happy to share a new pre-print publication: www.samdschmid.com/publications...

Important read 👇

Sam D. Schmid@samdschmid.bsky.social · 3mo ago

🚨PRE-PRINT🚨 This forthcoming chapter in the Oxford Handbook of Comparative Immigration Law gently introduces readers to quantitative data methods in the field. I hope it is useful! @globalcit.bsky.social @migcitpol.bsky.social @migcitizenapsa.bsky.social @mpc-eui.bsky.social @migobs.bsky.social

📚New paper with @jakobschwoerer.bsky.social @saengler.bsky.social in @prxjournal.bsky.social📚 We show that moving toward the far right on immigration doesn't benefit mainstream parties. Not even in elections where immigration is salient. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

🚨PRE-PRINT🚨 This forthcoming chapter in the Oxford Handbook of Comparative Immigration Law gently introduces readers to quantitative data methods in the field. I hope it is useful! @globalcit.bsky.social @migcitpol.bsky.social @migcitizenapsa.bsky.social @mpc-eui.bsky.social @migobs.bsky.social

Sam D. Schmid@samdschmid.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Since finding my place in the “third space” at the University of Lucerne, research is not in my job description anymore. But I love it far too much to abandon it completely, so it's now a hobby. Today, I am happy to share a new pre-print publication: www.samdschmid.com/publications...

Since finding my place in the “third space” at the University of Lucerne, research is not in my job description anymore. But I love it far too much to abandon it completely, so it's now a hobby. Today, I am happy to share a new pre-print publication: www.samdschmid.com/publications...

Samuel D. Schmid - Quantitative Data and Methods for Comparative

Abstract Over the past years and decades, numerous large-scale quantitative datasets to measure various attributes of immigration law have been generated and...

samdschmid.com

“Every 2nd person in 🇨🇭 is taking huge risks without any real necessity. The initiative is an expression of a widespread decadence born from prosperity. Apparently, we have completely lost our senses if we are using our political system to engage in such reckless nonsense“ www.nzz.ch/meinung/10-m...

10-Millionen-Initiative: Sind wir von allen guten Geistern verlassen?

Die Welt verändert sich gerade dramatisch, die Schweizer aber denken daran, die Mauern hochzuziehen. Und machen sonst so bequem weiter, als sei nichts passiert.

nzz.ch

Congratulations to Dr Ahmed Ajil, who will carry out his ERC Starting Grant Project at the University of Lucerne!

Euresearch@euresearch.ch · 3mo ago

📢Have a look at our new Euresearch Success Story!  Assistant Professor Dr Ahmed Ajil on his recently received ERC Starting Grant: the importance of ERC funding for early career researchers and their research. A great testimonial. Thank you Ahmed Ajil. 📹https://youtu.be/v7yWpDNGzcs #HorizonEU #ERC

Frustrated with the election pundits talking as if votes only 'swing' from one party to another. I did some analysis of the results, and my modelling (based on votes only, not polls) suggests that the largest movement since 2024 local elections (by a long way) is from 'Did Not Vote' -> Reform

Im Herbst sind Landtagswahlen in Sachsen-Anhalt. @cendt.de & Team haben 1000 mögliche Wahlergebnisse simuliert. In deren 369 holt die AfD eine absolute Mehrheit. Dann könnte sie allein regieren. „Jetzt gehts um wirklich alles“, kommentiert der ZEIT-Chefredaktor www.zeit.de/politik/2026...

Landtagswahl in Sachsen-Anhalt: So groß ist das Risiko, dass die AfD die absolute Mehrheit bekommt

Vor der Landtagswahl in Sachsen-Anhalt führt die AfD in Umfragen deutlich. Wir haben berechnet, mit welcher Wahrscheinlichkeit sie mehr als die Hälfte der Sitze erhält.

zeit.de

This 💯👇

Josh Zingher@zingherpolisci.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Americans have a habit of trying to compare all authoritarianism to Nazi Germany. I think in some ways i think it is comforting to view authoritarianism as a foreign ideology. If you want to understand our current authoritarian moment, you need to look to our own past, not to Europe 1/x

On 7 May 2026, Britain ran a PR experiment: Scottish Parliament: a Mixed-Member Proportional system Welsh Senedd: a (new) Low-Magnitude Party List system Same day, same political context, different outcomes. Which version of PR would be better for Westminster? 🧵

#POLITKOLUMNE: It’s not so much what people think that has changed, but what has become *publicly sayable*. The fear of social stigma when voting for the radical right has declined. Very glad to have been able to cover @valentimvicente.bsky.social ’s seminal research www.derbund.ch/radikale-rec...