Great piece on the absurdity of brute force multiverse analyses. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Looking for rising stars in Historical Political Economy? 🌍📚 Check out this year’s job market candidates: www.broadstreet.blog/p/hpe-candid...

Sometimes individual leaders can leave an imprint that persists long after their tenure. In a new paper with Jørgen Møller, we show how Pope Gregory VII used his network to spread urban political autonomy across Europe www.nowpublishers.com/article/Deta...

Sometimes individual leaders can leave an imprint that persists long after their tenure. In a new paper with Jørgen Møller, we show how Pope Gregory VII used his network to spread urban political autonomy across Europe www.nowpublishers.com/article/Deta...

A must read, especially for anyone who thinks that making little concessions and keeping your head down will work:

The same is true for most cross-national studies www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

If you need to escape from current politics for a while, my co-author, Jørgen Møller, discusses our book "The Catholic Church and European State Formation, 1000-1500" on the New Books podcast: newbooksnetwork.com/the-catholic...

There have been a number of recent articles on statistical power in quantitative political science. This is something that I think deserves more attention and discussion. A short thread of the articles I have read. 🧵

🚨🚨 Accepted yesterday! 🚨🚨 @lenkabustikova.bsky.social and I introduce the concept of "Confessional Illiberalism" and distinguish it from two other forms of illiberalism, reactionary and prejudicial illiberalism. We also compare the concept to other '-isms' to tidy the backsliding literature.

The family became afflicted with the disease of dynasties: inheritance by babies and buffoon, or both That would normally be the death nail for a noble House, but not this time. The Estates of Württemberg stepped in to protect the state, deposed buffoons and ruledon behalf of the babies. (2/3)

Thrilled that my article has just been published at @apsrjournal.bsky.social! 🎉 The article argues that low statistical power is a major impediment to acquiring cumulative knowledge on questions concerning cross-national differences: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

A few years ago, @danweitzel.net, John Gerring, @skaaning.bsky.social and I were curious how well one could predict subjective democracy measures using easy(ish) to code observables. Turns out, *quite* well, even out of sample. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Power corrupts. It’s time for Singapore to become a democracy.

🚨 Very excited that our paper on *Rulers on the Road* has been cond. accepted at the AJPS @ajpseditor.bsky.social. We analyze emperors' strategies of itinerant rule in the Holy Roman Empire 919-1519. Fun working with @claranw.bsky.social, @andrejkokkonen.bsky.social & Jørgen Møller shorturl.at/Spm7z

Herbert P. Kitschelt is the winner of the 2025 Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science. 🏆 He is awarded the prize for " having increased knowledge of the functioning of democratic party systems with exquisite theoretical acuity and impressive empirical breadth and depth."

Les om den utrolige historien om hvordan vi har klart å rekonstruere de tapte norske kommunevalgene før 1937 www.forskning.no/politikk-sta...

How do challenger parties—those without prior governing experience—gain access to executive power? In our paper out now in @thejop.bsky.social, @mvinaes.bsky.social, @jacobnyrup.bsky.social, and I explore whether simply holding legislative office helps them join government. Brief 🧵👇 1/10

Here's @adamprz.bsky.social, telling it like it is... I could not agree more.

Still baffled that the majority of voters in one of the world's oldest and richest democracies voted for an autocrat and likely economic decline

Still baffled that the majority of voters in one of the world's oldest and richest democracies voted for an autocrat and likely economic decline

How exceptional is the current attempt to curb democracy in the US? And can we learn something from cases of autocratization in established democracies? A thread. The US is unlike other cases. Yet, democracy might still be saved. 65% of established democracies that break down are reestablished.

How exceptional is the current attempt to curb democracy in the US? And can we learn something from cases of autocratization in established democracies? A thread. The US is unlike other cases. Yet, democracy might still be saved. 65% of established democracies that break down are reestablished.

I started the year with a great personal achievement. After years in the making, our book manuscript is ready and under contract with Oxford University Press. So stay tuned for deep insights into the security apparatus of dictatorships. Small preview 👇

No one in DC can bargain in good faith with Trump because he will not follow laws passed by Congress. No one internationally can bargain in good faith with Trump because he will not respect agreements made by the United States. Being a counterparty just makes you a target for another shakedown.

NEW - Educating for Democracy? Going to College Increases Political Participation - cup.org/4iapbva "I find that attending college leads to a substantive increase in voter turnout" - Andreas Videbæk Jensen #OpenAccess

I am keeping a diary of daily events, as they unfold open.substack.com/pub/adamprze... It is available to everyone. I am new to Substack, so please let me know if something is wrong with the link or the file.

Out now open access at @ajpseditor.bsky.social. 194 potential exclusion-restriction violations for studies using weather as an instrumental variable onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

I would not have coded a democratic breakdown yet. However, if opposition to Trump's attempted takeover continues to be weak it won't be long..

#OpenAccess from our new issue - Pre-Modern Institutions and Later Support for Autocrats in Democratic Elections - cup.org/4jtPvSE - @jdoucette.bsky.social

My article on pre-modern institutions and later support for democracy is now out in the newest issue of BJPS! (www.cambridge.org/core/journal...) Using a geographical natural experiment, I find that historical experience with self-government is related to lower support for autocratic parties.

#OpenAccess from our new issue - Pre-Modern Institutions and Later Support for Autocrats in Democratic Elections - cup.org/4jtPvSE - @jdoucette.bsky.social

Having published a book recently, I found it sometimes hard to understand how the process worked (and luckily, had very kind mentors who helped). I have uploaded a short document detailing how my experience went, in case others find it helpful: www.vicentevalentim.com/_files/ugd/a...

A serious question: how will comparative politics respond to the problem of under-powered research (see below)? I hope the the field will lean back into our strength (comparative case study) but I worry it will only tip toward big data. 1: from JOP: shorturl.at/aVJB2 2: from APSR: shorturl.at/sbPUi

In my article ”What Can We Learn about the Effects of Democracy Using Cross-National Data?”, I show that low statistical power presents an obstacle to learning about cross-national differences. A thread below: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

In my article ”What Can We Learn about the Effects of Democracy Using Cross-National Data?”, I show that low statistical power presents an obstacle to learning about cross-national differences. A thread below: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Just published on APSR First View: "What Can We Learn about the Effects of Democracy Using Cross-National Data?" by Jonathan Stavnskær Doucette. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Thrilled that my article has just been published at @apsrjournal.bsky.social! 🎉 The article argues that low statistical power is a major impediment to acquiring cumulative knowledge on questions concerning cross-national differences: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

We are hiring at @statsvitenskap.bsky.social : 2-4 tenured positions (if/when you qualify, you can apply for promotion to full prof.). Open to all subfields of political science. I am of course biased, but this is a fantastic department, socially & academically! www.finn.no/job/fulltime...

Turns out, using simple language in politics helps people understand issues better and even shapes how they see politicians - but it doesn't directly sway votes. Excited to share that our study (w/ @danbischof.bsky.social) is conditionally accepted at JOP! Link: doi.org/10.31219/osf...

Thrilled to announce the release of Uprooted: How Post-WWII Population Transfers Remade Europe with Cambridge UP 🎉🎉 The book argues that accommodating the displaced population can strengthen states and benefit local economies in the long run. 📚 [Amazon: tinyurl.com/24m2mbkf] See thread below:

Politically autonomous cities have been identified as crucial for European state and regime formation. But why did they become widespread in pre-modern Europe and not elsewhere? I provide an overview of answers below 1/N

Why did Europe's armed elite risk their lives by participating in the crusades? In a new paper with Jørgen Møller, we show that the eleventh century Church reform movement incentivized pious lay supporters to take up arms to secure their own salvation www.nowpublishers.com/article/Deta...

Why was Central Europe characterized by political fragmentation? I answer this question in my new article out in JHPE: nowpublishers.com/article/Deta...

Do pre-modern institutions matter for later support for democracy? Using a geographical natural experiment, I find that historical experience with self-government is related to lower support for autocratic parties in Germany. Out now at @bjpols.bsky.social: t.co/fPwjuOjUJO polisky

My article on parliamentary constraints and economic development is now out in the newest issue of AJPS! (onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....) In it, I examine the economic effects of the parliament in the Duchy of Württemberg from 1495 to 1796 1/n polisky

Why do countries democratize? An (incomplete) overview of long, medium, and short run explanations – beginning with the long view. The likelihood of democratization is affected by several biogeographic conditions 1/N polisky

polisky

What role did the Catholic Church play in European state formation? In our book, Jørgen Møller and I argue that the Church was the main engine behind external and internal political fragmentation in pre-modern Europe. 1/N