#OpenAccess from July 2025 - The Backlash Against Civil Society Participation in International Organizations: The Case of Human Rights Complaints Mechanisms - cup.org/463Vb1m - @chrisvsteinert.bsky.social#OpenAccess& Hannah Marietta Smidt

🚨 New working paper alert 🚨 Missing summer — and the Tour de France? Don’t worry, we got you covered. 🚴‍♂️🚴‍♂️🚴‍♂️ In this paper, we show that being on the route of Tour de France reduces far-right voting. osf.io/preprints/so...

Radical right accommodation really does not work. New paper out with this exceptionally talented team @katharinalawall.bsky.social @robjohns75.bsky.social @drjennings.bsky.social @sarahobolt.bsky.social @zachdickson.bsky.social @danjdevine.bsky.social & @jack-bailey.co.uk doi.org/10.31235/osf...

I am thrilled to share 'Foreign Aid for Peace and Civilian Victimisation,' recently published in @coco-journal.bsky.social. This study examines the impact of European Union aid on civilian victimisation in Colombia’s post-conflict context. 🔗 Read the full article: lnkd.in/dQUFTq_v

Das bemerkenswerte hier ist, dass die Verschiebung eben nicht 2015 passiert sondern 2017. Genau dann wenn Politik und Medien anfangen sich auf die aufsteigende AfD und ihre Themen einzuschießen. Wenn Migrationspolitik verschärft wird und Migranten dämonisiert werden. Es ist nicht Migration an sich.

Due diligence laws make firms liable for human rights violations and environmental damage in their supply chains. But the business lobby heavily criticizes these laws because of the required bureaucracy and potential compliance costs, which may create economic disadvantages. (1/5)

Our findings call into question the business lobby’s narrative of severe economic harm resulting from due diligence law. For more details, see: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... (5/5)

🚨 New in Journal of Politics! 🚨 Do radical right parties need to cut ties with old dictatorships to succeed? 👉 @sergipardos.bsky.social and my study of Spain’s VOX says: ❌ Not necessarily.

Dictating the Agenda: The Authoritarian Resurgence in World Politics by me & @cooleyoneurasia.bsky.social is now published by OUP in the USA (rest of world soon) If you are interested in why you see so many dictatorships & illiberal leaders influencing world politics then this is the book for you.

Armed conflicts involve governments, rebel groups, militias, communal factions, and foreign forces — all interacting in complex ways. The result? A web of violence that can feel overwhelming to understand. That's why we launch the Conflict Networks Explorer peaceobservatory.com/conflict-networks

🚨 Just accepted at @bjpols.bsky.social! Paolo Bertolotti, Fotini Christia, Ali Jadbabaie, and I use 12 billion Yemeni cellphone records to study the effects of U.S. drone strikes on civilian mobility and displacement. We Find: 🧵: 1/3

We have page numbers 🥳 Independent #judiciaries around the world are under threat from authoritarian #populists - but the threat starts long before these actors enter office! More on the dangers of "populists before power" 👉👉👉 doi.org/10.1080/1351... #OpenAccess @democratization.bsky.social

New paper out in @fpajrnl.bsky.social - tldr: Recipient leadership turnover does not affect the continuation of existing international arms transfers relationships. In the paper, I discuss why this is surprising and how we can make sense of it.

Trump has imposed more sanctions on the International Criminal Court than Russia & Putin (who is wanted by the ICC for war crimes)

I have studied the targeting of journalists for many years, but the scale and public display of these killings is truly shocking: “Israel admits deliberate attack on the journalist, known for frontline coverage, in a strike on a tent outside al-Shifa hospital“ www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

Highly recommended new study, check it out:

There it is: call for papers, inaugural conference of @epssnet.bsky.social in Belfast, 2026. Please send your best work and support this new important initiative! epssnet.org/belfast-2026/

Even in times of sociocultural conflict, a progressive left electorate is more averse to sociocultural *and* socioeconomic inequalities than (far) right voters. New paper with @siljahausermann.bsky.social Palmtag @tabouchadi.bsky.social @stefwalter.bsky.social Berkinshaw tinyurl.com/d42wyb79 1/n

New UN ideal point estimates available. These are for the first time based on years rather than UNGA sessions. For more, see here: dataverse.harvard.edu/dataset.xhtm...

NGOs are often unsure how to help refugees. For example, when refugees without rights seek help repatriating, NGOs may feel helping makes them complicit in forced returns, but not helping forces refugees to remain. I consider how dilemmas like these can be resolved. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Very happy that the joint paper with Ore Koren on infectious diseases and trust in politics has now been published: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... A nice result of his fellowship at @uni-konstanz.de, funded by the @humboldt-foundation.de!

Due diligence laws make firms liable for human rights violations and environmental damage in their supply chains. But the business lobby heavily criticizes these laws because of the required bureaucracy and potential compliance costs, which may create economic disadvantages. (1/5)

How does filing complaints to the United Nations affect the human rights situation of civil society organizations? To learn more about this question, check out our publication (with the fantastic Hannah Smidt) in the British Journal of Political Science. (1/8) www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

How does participation in the human rights complaint mechanisms of the United Nations affect the situation of civil society organizations? To learn more on this question, please check out our new publication @bjpols.bsky.social

NEW - The Backlash Against Civil Society Participation in International Organizations: The Case of Human Rights Complaints Mechanisms - cup.org/463Vb1m - @chrisvsteinert.bsky.social & Hannah Marietta Smidt #OpenAccess

Can banning political ideologies protect democracy? 🛡️🆚🗣️ Our (w. @valentimvicente.bsky.social) paper finds: punishing individuals might backfire. We study a West German policy banning "extreme left" individuals from working for the state. #Democracy #PoliticalScience 🧵 url: osf.io/usqdb_v2

Our article (with @madselk.bsky.social, @jacobnyrup.bsky.social, @benansell.bsky.social, @aslicansunar.bsky.social, and Laure Bokobza) on why it is so hard to counteract wealth inequality through inheritance taxation is out in @worldpolitics.bsky.social!

(1/5) My article Disintegration and Party Competition is out in the latest issue of @jeppjournal.bsky.social ! I ask how parties in other member states reacted to #Brexit. Do #Eurosceptic challengers frame it as an example to follow? Or do they instead row back on ‘hard’ demands to #leave the EU?

Working on crises in urban setting and wanting to spend some time in Zurich? I have a fellowship for you! Hosted by the UZH Crisis Competence Center: www.crisiscompetence.uzh.ch

Version 2.0 of the National Elections Database is online! nationalelectionsdatabase.com We cover presidential and parliamentary elections 1789–2023, extending the post-1945 data of Electoral Turnovers @reveconstudies.bsky.social (academic.oup.com/restud/advan...) w/ Benjamin Marx and Vincent Rollet

DISINTEGRATION publ #13: IOParlspeech—600k+ parliamentary statements on IOs across 6 countries (1990–2018). @stefwalter.bsky.social & @tommccraehunter.bsky.social show that radical/opposition MPs speak more negatively about IOs, and auhtoritative IOs receive more attention. doi.org/10.1007/s115...

“reliance on ChatGPT for idea generation comes with a trade-off: while enhancing individual ideas' creativity, it reduces the diversity of ideas in a pool of ideas-a critical element for effective brainstorming” www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Here is the thing about science. And knowledge, more generally. And art. And music. They are universal. A scholar who only reads books from authors with the right passport is no scholar at all.

📌 New paper out in @conflictmanagement.bsky.social ➡️ Individuals exposed to severe and somatic forms of violence are more likely to favour political and negotiated solutions. Evidence for the "violence begets war-weariness" hypothesis! 📖 journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

"Men emit 26% more planet-heating pollution than women from transport and food, according to a preprint study of 15,000 people in France. The gap shrinks to 18% after controlling for socioeconomic factors such as income and education."

@kmross.bsky.social and I wrote a small opinion piece on #peacekeeping. We bring attention to this year's #PeacekeepingMinisterial and the opportunity it presents for states to reaffirm their commitment.

Ein hervorragender und pointierter Kommentar von Sophie von der Tann zu Israel, Gaza, der sogenannten Staatsräson und unserer Verantwortung gegenüber dem geltenden internationalen Recht!

Important paper from @stefwalter.bsky.social and the @disintegrationerc.bsky.social project: the backlash against globalisation is less about large shifts in public opinion, more about political entrepreneurs mobilising the issue.

Ever felt uneasy about how concepts & measures of "grey zone" autocracies are used interchangeably across the literature? Then check out my 🚨new paper🚨 in @democratization.bsky.social and get some substance to back up your gut feeling: tinyurl.com/ypdm2kna Or at least read the main points below ⬇️

🚨3-Year Postdoc Position in Zurich @ipz.bsky.social ❓Political implications of labor market transformation Plenty of flexibility, no teaching obligations, great research environment in an highly livable city. Deadline: May 18, 2025. tinyurl.com/postdoczurich #polisky #poliscijobs #psjminfo

The dividends of peacekeeping may extend to improved local economic development in post-conflict societies, our new research in @bjpols.bsky.social shows 👇

From February 2025 - How Does Shaming #HumanRights Violators Abroad Shape Attitudes at Home? - cup.org/4hTqP4p - Lotem Bassan-Nygate "by shaming foreign countries, governments can improve their image at home and virtue signal their dedication to human rights" #OpenAccess

During Trump I, there was a 12% reduction in international students during the first three years of the Trump presidency, relative to top five competing destinations.

Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions - rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking steps to make sure students can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect. Let’s hope others follow suit.

We @amnesty.org recorded over 1500 executions across 15 countries in 2024, the highest figure recorded by Amnesty International since 2015. Yet our latest report finds that the use of the death penalty has been decreasing globally 👇

How to (Self-)Destroy a Hegemon in 6 Easy Steps: 1. Wreck academia + science infrastructure 2. Erect massive tariff barriers + supercharge econ inequality 3. Re-segregate your (very) diverse military 4. Destroy elements of soft power (e.g., USAID) 5. Dismantle your democracy 6. Nuke immigration

New paper accepted for publication at PSRM, on a timely topic:

Every once in a while, we write articles we truly care about. This is one of them, and I am so happy and proud to see it published at ISQ:

Buried deep in this story is the stunning stat that "the loss of U.S. support may mean 75 million children do not receive routine vaccinations in the next five years, with more than 1.2 million children dying as a result." That's just from cutting the vaccine program alone.