Zeynep Somer-Topcu
@zeynsom.bsky.social
Professor of Government at UT-Austin. Research on European politics, parties, elections, and voters. Close follower of everything Turkish, European and American.
Brexit referendum was ten years ago today.. I wrote this a couple days later. The predictions have held up well- though Brexit did less damage to EU than I suspected and was even worse for UK economy than I imagined. www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/uni...
London Falling
British politicians—and many voters—have blamed the European Union for their problems for years. Now they will have to find something new to bang on about as they deal with an economic downturn and in...
foreignaffairs.com
What a wonderful few days in Belfast for #EPSS2026 and what a fantastic community! Thank you to everyone who joined the conference with such enthusiasm A special thanks to @simonhix.bsky.social @kenbenoit.bsky.social @macartan.bsky.social & the rest of the EPSS Council for making it all possible
Great conversations and excellent turnout at the Diversity Panel at the EPSS General Conference today.
Free lunch on a first come first served basis. Come early!
EPSS@epssnet.bsky.social · 2mo ago🥪Starting soon - EPSS Diversity Lunch Roundtable: Tackling Barriers in the Discipline: Disability, Chronic Illness, Neurodivergence, and Mental Health 12:30-13:30 | Bar 2, with Andrej Cvetić, Catherine de Vries, Amélie Godefroidt, Anne Rasmussen, Stefanie Reher and Timon Scheuer
🥪Starting soon - EPSS Diversity Lunch Roundtable: Tackling Barriers in the Discipline: Disability, Chronic Illness, Neurodivergence, and Mental Health 12:30-13:30 | Bar 2, with Andrej Cvetić, Catherine de Vries, Amélie Godefroidt, Anne Rasmussen, Stefanie Reher and Timon Scheuer
Also, if you want to watch England-Croatia with a bunch of political scientists, it’s on in Lagan Suite A in the Hilton.
1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣ A particularly warm welcome to all those participants that are attending #EPSS for the very first time. We are so happy you are here! A huge thanks to Queens University for sponsoring the first-time attendee reception tonight! 🙏
Welcome to Belfast! 🎉Tonight marks the informal start of #EPSS2026! Before the conference officially opens, there are two great ways to ease in.
Please check the EPSS diversity-related events and notes and join us next week!
EPSS@epssnet.bsky.social · 2mo agoHeading to the #EPSSBelfast conference next week? The EPSS Diversity Committee has organized several events to make this a welcoming space for everyone. Quick thread on what's happening and when 👇
The shit that we insisted was going to happen in Turkey finally happened just as we predicted. The only difference is that, ten years down the line, barely anybody outside of Turkey even cares anymore...
During the coalition negotiations in class where students are trying to form a majority coalition: AfD: come on CDU, we are both at 8 on the L-R scale, you don’t want to form a coalition with SPD! CDU: are you willing to have open borders? AfD: never CDU: then no way we can cooperate Principles!
Our @cambup-polsci.cambridge.org author shared insights from her book: “The truth is, they’d always been standing in political quicksand. As @zeynsom.bsky.social describes in her book “Glass Ceilings, Glass Cliffs, and Quicksands,” female leaders often operate in more precarious environments.”
MAGA Women Are Learning The Hard Way What The 'Glass Cliff' Phenomenon Is
Experts break down what women in Trump's orbit should learn from his latest dismissals.
huffpost.com
One thing I forgot to say in this interview: Good riddance!
Brittany Wong@brittanywong.bsky.social · 4mo agoThere’s incompetence to go around, critics have noted, but it’s the women who’ve been told, “You’re fired.” “May Kristi Noem be a reminder that women who carry the most water for the patriarchy are always the first to drown and die of thirst,” one woman wrote on Threads.
I am very proud of this paper, and if you are into voter perceptions of party positions, you will like it too. :)
Semih Çakır@mascakir.bsky.social · 4mo ago🚨 New paper with great co-authors (@oguzhan-alkan.bsky.social @rdassonneville.bsky.social @zeynsom.bsky.social) in Political Behavior! How well do citizens perceive where parties stand? 🤔 Open access: rdcu.be/fb83Z
The deadline is approaching fast (next Tuesday). If you are an EPSS member and can mentor, or would like to get advice (or both), we look forward to your applications!
EPSS@epssnet.bsky.social · 4mo ago🚨Reminder that the application for the @epssnet.bsky.social mentoring program is March 31, details below👇
Great to see this go live 👇 As part of the EPSS Diversity Committee, I’m especially excited about this mentoring program—open to all EPSS members, both as mentors and as mentees. 🗓️ Fill out the survey by March 31 to participate. ℹ️ FAQ: epssnet.org/about/divers...
Mentorship program - EPSS
The EPSS Diversity Committee is happy to announce the launch of our mentoring program. This initiative builds on the success of this scheme by the LGBTQ+ group in previous years. The EPSS Mentoring Program is a new initiative designed to develop a new network of contacts within the EPSS community. Our mentoring program is designed …
epssnet.org
EPSS@epssnet.bsky.social · 5mo agoEPSS Diversity Committee is happy to announce the launch of our mentoring program: a new initiative designed to develop a new network within the EPSS community. March 31 is deadline, and program runs from May 1, 2026, to April 30, 2027. More info: epssnet.org/about/divers...
Please apply and spread the word.
EPSS@epssnet.bsky.social · 5mo agoEPSS Diversity Committee is happy to announce the launch of our mentoring program: a new initiative designed to develop a new network within the EPSS community. March 31 is deadline, and program runs from May 1, 2026, to April 30, 2027. More info: epssnet.org/about/divers...
Please forward to your colleagues!
EPSS@epssnet.bsky.social · 5mo agoEPSS Travel Grants for 2026 Belfast conference: PhD students & junior scholars @ institutions in European countries that are often underrepresented, can apply for full fee waiver & £500 stipend Apply: lnkd.in/ehXjhCgf Deadline: March 8, 11:59pm GMT. More details: lnkd.in/eZTP5sWR
There are many days when I am so glad that I study European politics. Today is one of those days when I do not care enough or need to watch the SOTU.
And, here we go. No surprises but big disappointments every day: www.kut.org/education/20...
UT System votes to limit 'controversial topics' in class, raising concerns about academic freedom
This is the latest move by the state to have more control over what is taught at public universities.
kut.org
Overhead at the sauna room, as a young woman was conversing with an older woman: - I am a junior at Penn State - What are you doing here in Austin in the middle of the semester? - Oh, I am taking the semester off to open my third eye. - (perplexed) What's next? - Law school Gen Z to the core!
Inspired by @mcopelov.bsky.social I asked my small, all senior comparative parties class what their first political memory was: several Obama 2012 reelection, 1 Obama 2008, 1 bin Ladin’s capture, 1 arab spring (she is from UAE). So glad nobody said 2016 Trump!
So, now what stops Turkey from taking over Syria, Russia from taking over Ukraine, and China from taking over Taiwan? US?
📢 Since launching EPSS in June 2025, we’ve been thrilled by the positive feedback from across the political science community. Now that Call for Papers for EPSS Conference in Belfast has closed, we want to share the response has been extraordinary! 🧵
🔥 When fancy faculty @zeynsom.bsky.social coauthor with fancy alum @josephfcozza.bsky.social in fancy journals. Congrats.
Zeynep Somer-Topcu@zeynsom.bsky.social · 9mo agoLesbian and gay party leaders receive lower leadership evaluations than straight leaders in the UK, and the effects are consistent across genders. Interesting yet discouraging findings in our BJPS paper. @josephfcozza.bsky.social @gdilandro.bsky.social Andrea Aldrich @utgovernment.bsky.social
Lesbian and gay party leaders receive lower leadership evaluations than straight leaders in the UK, and the effects are consistent across genders. Interesting yet discouraging findings in our BJPS paper. @josephfcozza.bsky.social @gdilandro.bsky.social Andrea Aldrich @utgovernment.bsky.social
British Journal of Political Science@bjpols.bsky.social · 9mo agoNEW - A Rainbow Ceiling? Sexual Orientation and Party Leader Evaluations - https://cup.org/47G8q7r - Joseph Francesco Cozza, @gdilandro.bsky.social, Andrea Aldrich & @zeynsom.bsky.social #OpenAccess
It was great to host the Comparative Representation in Advanced Parliamentary Democracies workshop at UT. It is always fun and inspiring to hear about the cutting-edge research. @utgovernment.bsky.social
