New publication: Party Competition and Voter Attitudes in German Border Regions Using innovative local VAA data the study shows how party competition and voter preferences on European integration take shape where #EUpolitics meets the local level. Learn more: www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandg...

Abstract submissions close on March 3rd! We are also extending a ✨ call for mentored reviewers ✨ if you advise excellent graduate or postdoctoral researchers you are welcome to recommend them to review for IC2S2 2026. Email [email protected] to nominate mentored reviewers (or faculty colleagues)

The SOUNDS initiative is hiring for 𝗪𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻/ 𝗪𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻/ 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱-𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝗙𝗼𝗸𝘂𝘀 𝗪𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗳𝘁𝘀𝗸𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗸𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗦 (𝗺/𝘄/𝗱). Link: www.uni-saarland.de/fileadmin/up... @ingmarweber.de @politicsunisaar.bsky.social

Join us on 5. March for our (German) #PoliSci talk with #UNTWIST: "How political are gender question really?" Sign up here: bit.ly/untwist-gsb

The second #ActEU policy brief is here!

The Societal Observatory Using Novel Data Sources (SOUNDS) project is inviting applications for the following position: 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗱𝗼𝗰 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 (𝗳/𝗺/𝘅) 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 (𝗿𝗲𝗳: 𝗪𝟮𝟴𝟬𝟭) Paygrade: E13 TV-L 100% Duration: 2 years @ingmarweber.de @politicsunisaar.bsky.social @uni-saarland.de

The Societal Observatory Using Novel Data Sources (SOUNDS) project is inviting applications for the following position: 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗱𝗼𝗰 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 (𝗳/𝗺/𝘅) 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 (𝗿𝗲𝗳: 𝗪𝟮𝟴𝟬𝟭) Paygrade: E13 TV-L 100% Duration: 2 years @ingmarweber.de @politicsunisaar.bsky.social @uni-saarland.de

📢Job Offer‼️New Max Planck Research Group on Medical Demography Marcus Ebeling will lead the team starting on 1 July 2026. The research group will be based at the MPIDR in Rostock. Read an interview with Marcus on his future research here: www.demogr.mpg.de/go/rgmd (including link to job) #postdoc

🚨 Join us for the next edition Summer School for Women* in Political Methodology in Mannheim 🚨 7 days of hands-on advanced methods + networking for PhDs, postdocs & early-career researchers. Free of charge (limited travel support). Deadline 1 March 2026: summerschoolwpm.org #methodsky #polisky

#BowlingAlone documented a quiet shift from collective to solitary practices. In Bowling with ChatGPT ( #TheWebConference2026), we study whether a similar shift is unfolding in interactions with conversational AI. arxiv link: arxiv.org/abs/2602.01114

A quick summary of the first #ActEU policy brief:

New paper 🎉 in Oxford Open Climate Change together with Daniele Conversi, @lorenzoposocco.bsky.social @wenjiening.bsky.social and Joan Enguer We look at how nationalism shapes climate action — sometimes enabling it, often constraining it. doi.org/10.1093/oxfc... #Research #PoliticalScience #Climate

Coming soon: Activating European Citizens’ Trust in Times of Crisis and Polarization This #PoliSci book will explore how trust and legitimacy shape Europe’s representative democracies, introducing the #ActEU framework to assess democratic change and polarization.

🌍 Are you new to #icwsm or @journalqd.bsky.social and based in a low- or middle-income country? 🚨 There are only 10 days left to apply to ICWSM/JQD Global Initiative! 🚀 Apply by Jan 15: www.icwsm.org/2026/submit....

New deadline is Jan 23. If you're based in a low- or middle-income country and work on computational social science, particularly using online data, please consider applying.

We're #hiring: This time we're looking for a project lead assistant for our large-scale #compsocsci project SOUNDS!

New Publication out! 🔥 Italy’s right-wing politics has changed dramatically over the past two decades. With @gippone.bsky.social and @leonardo-puleo.bsky.social we started from a basic question: Why has the radical right surged inside Italy’s right coalition? Radicalisation or something different?

🎶“The relationship between voters and parties is a complicated dance, with high potential for misalignment” 🎶 Find out more in this #ActEU blog post 👉 www.foederalist.eu/2025/12/acte... ✍️ @alexhartland.bsky.social, Daniela Braun, Giuseppe Carteny, @rosanavarrete.bsky.social & @annreinl.bsky.social

Jordan D. Klein & Ingmar Weber published a Letter to the Editor in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that opens a conversation on the findings of Chi et al (Measuring global migration flows using online data). https://www.demogr.mpg.de/go/PNAS-Letter-Editor

European parties often miss what voters actually care about. New #ActEU research shows clear gaps between party platforms and voter priorities with consequences for trust and political stability. Read more in our latest #PoliSci blogpost:

2026 tutorial submissions are open! ✔️ Submission deadline: February 2nd, 2026 ✔️Acceptance Notification: February 16th, 2026 View the guidelines here: lnkd.in/eBHVe2tP

2026 abstract submissions are open! ✔️ Submission deadline: March 3rd, 2026 ✔️ Acceptance Notification: April 14th, 2026 View the guidelines here: lnkd.in/eJEXvd8u

Are you an international researcher interested in ethical AI in education? Good news — Prof. Nagashima is hiring another Postdoc (as a Humboldt Fellow) to LaLa Lab! 🎤 Read his interview to see what he looks for in candidates: sic.link/lalalab 📄 Application requirements: sic.link/fellowship

Join us in january for a #PoliSci talk by Dr Anne Jadot: "What drives French voters to the polls?"

I’m pleased to share that our paper, "A Global Dataset of Location Data Integrity Assessed Reforestation Efforts," has been published in Nature Scientific Data! Read the paper in Scientific Data: lnkd.in/eGrffFqB Access the dataset on Harvard Dataverse: lnkd.in/e63mv__Y

Missed the #TEDxSaarbridge talks by our Interdisciplinary Institute for Societal Computing? Good news, you can find their recordings now! 👀 🎥 #societalcomputing #sciencecommunications

New Research out 📢 In "Citizens' trust in Constitutional Courts: Evidence from Spain" at @epsrjournal.bsky.social Pablo Castillo-Ortiz and I provide an input of empirical evidence into theoretical debates on the design of Constitutional Courts. Check it here: doi.org/10.1017/S175...

Another day, another job ad: We're also looking for a student assistant for a new project at our chair! #hiring

The recordings for TEDx Saarbrigge organized on June 14, 2025, are now available. Details: www.i2sc.net/events/past-... @i2sc.net @dock11saarland.bsky.social @algoright.bsky.social @uni-saarland.de @saarland-informatics-campus.de @dfki.bsky.social @ingmarweber.de @kevinbaum.bsky.social

Job ad: The city of Saarbrücken is currently searching for applicants familiar with the field of #InternationalRelations. Find out more:

And another job ad: We're looking for four student assistants! #hiring

Our new #PoliSci study shows how randomized response techniques can reveal hard-to-measure lobbying influence inside German parliaments. A cautious but promising step toward studying sensitive political behavior more directly. Learn more:

We are looking for a teamlead for our large-scale project SOUNDS! #compsocsci #PoliSky #PoliSci #hiring #JobAlert

Watch our latest #PoliSci talk at TEDx "Wie bekommen wir mehr Bevölkerung in die Politik?" (in German) where Prof Braun discusses declining voter turnout, growing polarisation and loss of trust as well as potential solutions.

This year we hosted the German #PoliSci Association's annual conference. Read up on some of the results in our newest publication: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Digital technologies reshape politics & religion alike — but how do European politicians reference religion online? Our #PoliSci study together with @davidschweizer.bsky.social & Eva-Maria Euchner examines EP candidates’ X (Twitter) profiles in 🇩🇪🇸🇪🇳🇱🇬🇧. Read more:

Was #climate policy central in the 2024 European election campaign – and how divided were parties along left-right lines? Find out in our #PoliSci study by Daniela Braun, Djamila Jabra & @janpollex.bsky.social:

The SICSS Saarbrücken 2025 has officially come to an end. We are grateful to all participants and speakers who made this event such a success, and we look forward to seeing how the conversations and collaborations will continue beyond these two weeks! @uni-saarland.de @i2sc.net @ingmarweber.de

Day 9 of SICSS Saarbrücken was packed with energy and progress as participants dove deeper into their group projects. The groups presented updates on their work, pitching new insights and demonstrating how much they had accomplished in such a short period.

We compared #EU issues' salience in the 2019 & 2024 EP elections and found out: Mainstream parties turned more negative on EU policies, while Eurosceptics became somewhat less negative on the EU polity. Read more in our #PoliSci publication: oaj.fupress.net/index.php/qo...

🤝 Political trust is fundamental for representative democracy 👉 but what makes a government legitimate? And why does legitimacy matter? Find out in our latest #TEPSAexplainer with #ActEU Daniela Braun 🔗 youtu.be/r_8oudinAtk @uni-saarland.de @politicsunisaar.bsky.social

By day seven of SICSS Saarbrücken, participants were in 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽-𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲, diving deep into their collaborative work, even missing coffee breaks. They also presented their initial research questions along with their plans for data collection and analysis.

On the 6th day of SICSS Saarbrücken, Daniela Braun (@uni-saarland.de) and @rosanavarrete.bsky.social (@uam.es) presented on “𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑡𝑦: 𝑊ℎ𝑦 𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑡 𝑛𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑎𝑟𝑦? 𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 (𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑒𝑥𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑐ℎ)?” @politicsunisaar.bsky.social @o3pol.bsky.social

Always a pleasure to attend the Heidelberg Laureate Forum #HLF @hlforum.bsky.social & meet smart people. Catch me today (Tue) if you'd like to learn about our work at @i2sc.net. And be sure talk to Manon if you'd like to learn about her work about better AI safety evaluations.

We are looking for a project manager for our large-scale project SOUNDS! Learn more: bit.ly/SOUNDS-Manager #compsocsci #PoliSky #PoliSci #hiring #JobAlert

How do different types of regional organizations react to current challenges and crises? Find out in our #PoliSci publication together with @lisa-h-anders.bsky.social & Alexander Libman which explores this question by bringing together contributions from EU studies and comparative regionalism.

On Saturday, SICSS-Saarbrücken participants took a step away from lectures and hands-on sessions to explore the rich industrial heritage of the region.

On the fifth day of SICSS Saarbrücken, participants attended a lecture by @blurky.bsky.social (@oii.ox.ac.uk) on “𝑁𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝐶𝑎𝑛𝑣𝑎𝑠 – 𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑆𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑆𝑒𝑙𝑓-𝑅𝑒𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑉𝑖𝑠𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑁𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑆𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑦𝑠.” The lecture introduced key concepts of network analysis, illustrated with insightful examples.

On the fourth day of SICSS Saarbrücken, Abhisek Dash (MPI-SWS) presented on "𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑀𝑜𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝐷𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑑 𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑠 : 𝐴 𝐶𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑆𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝐵𝑙𝑢𝑒𝑠𝑘𝑦".

On the third day of SICSS Saarbrücken, we had the pleasure of learning from @ezagheni.bsky.social (@mpidr.bsky.social), who shared his expertise on “𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑖𝑎𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑑𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑎”.