#Populism? The PopuList 4.0 and its shiny website are out today! Always a pleasure to work with captain @mrooduijn.bsky.social and the rocking crew @dafnoukos.bsky.social @sldelange.bsky.social @casmudde.bsky.social @stijntvankessel.bsky.social @paultaggart.bsky.social @cris-sciencespo.bsky.social

To mark the launch, The Guardian publishes an article based on our latest data on the rise of far-right parties across Europe: www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

A few comments of mine in this piece on how, after Brexit, most European radical right parties have remained reluctant to promote their countries’ withdrawal from the EU.

Today we launch the new version of The PopuList! The PopuList provides an overview of far-left, far-right and populist parties in 31 European countries from 1989 until 1 May 2026. Explore the new website here: popu-list.org

De nieuwe editie van de wetenschappijke popu-list.org is uit "Met gebalde vuisten maakt uiterst rechts een opmars in Europa: in tien jaar van marginale beweging naar een kwart van het electoraat": www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2026/...

Modestly contributed to this ABC Australia news item about lessons from the UK by-election.

On the way to Dublin for the 32nd International Conference of Europeanists, where l shall talk about this book with one of my co-authors: @adrianfavero.bsky.social. Special thanks to Sorina Soare for chairing! It's on Wedn. 17th at 9am in O'Connor L2.21. The book is free to read (link below)

I have to say, listening to the Today programme dedicate an entire (context free) section about whether migrants are more likely to be convicted criminals *the morning after* hundreds of non-migrants of my own ethnicity committed a pogrom is blood boiling.

Just watched it (admittedly on 2x speed so as to avoid a blood pressure spike). Verdict: a total nothingburger. Basically, a bunch of old reheated anecdotes from Bourbons (and the odd self-regarding Jacobin) who've learned nothing and forgotten nothing.

Another YOUMEM article published - the 2nd this week and the 7th in total from the project! In this one, led by @ammassarisofia.bsky.social, we look at women & men's perceptions of having acquired efficacy and greater political ambitions. The article is online & open access in Politics & Gender.

6 years ago, I started asking a question that political science had largely ignored: how & why do women get involved in PRR parties as grassroots members? Today, my 1st book proposes an answer. Grassroots Women in the Populist Radical Right is now out online with OUP: academic.oup.com/book/62754

🚨 VACATURE Het Instituut Politieke Wetenschap van Uni Leiden is op zoek naar twee UD2s met expertise in één of meer van de volgende gebieden: de Europese Unie-politiek, politieke economie, milieupolitiek, beleid en/of de Nederlandse politiek. careers.universiteitleiden.nl/job/Universi...

In good company with @leoniedejonge.bsky.social @sldelange.bsky.social @gabrielagreilinger.com saying a few words on the implications of Orbán's loss www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

I just published something on my Substack about one reason, among many, why I don't think communicating public consensus on climate change is anything like as powerful a climate policy tool as people make it out to be. open.substack.com/pub/drmatthe...

Hoping events in Hungary might encourage renewed undergraduate interest in the continent's politics - for obvious reasons 😉

Very proud to see our piece in @theguardian.com on Hungary's hopeful, Péter Magyar, and his prospects for restoring liberal democracy in Hungary. 🇭🇺🗞️ While expectations among international observers are high, we need to be realistic. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Lees dit essay waarmee @lamyae.bsky.social afscheid neemt als politiek redacteur in Den Haag. Neem elk woord in je op, en lees het dan nog een keer www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2026/...

Hoe moeten we omgaan met FVD nu ze lokaal zo groot zijn geworden? @leoniedejonge.bsky.social en ik pleiten op basis van onderzoek voor een cordon www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2026/...

In Trouw een ingekorte versie van onze uitgebreide analyse op @stukroodvlees.bsky.social

Onze waarschuwing over de groei van het extreem-rechtse Forum voor Democratie nu ook op @villamedia.nl

Voor Villamedia breiden we onze analyse van het succes van de FvD en de normalisering van extreemrechts uit met een reflectie op de rol van de media en doen we aanbevelingen hoe zij zich tot extreemrechts kunnen verhouden om de democratie te beschermen www.villamedia.nl/artikel/de-g...

Bijna iedere verkiezing in de 21e eeuw was een overwinning voor een rechtspopulistische (LPF, BBB) of radikaalrechtse partij (PVV). Gisteren won een EXTREEMrechtse partij en dat is zeer zorgwekkend. FvD is anti-democratisch, antisemitisch, en racistisch. Stop de normalisatie!

FVD is de grootste landelijke winnaar van de verkiezingen. Met @sldelange.bsky.social @leoniedejonge.bsky.social @stijntvankessel.bsky.social @casmudde.bsky.social & Andrej Zaslove betoog ik dat deze partij extreemrechts is en dat die groei dus zeer zorgwekkend is. stukroodvlees.nl/de-groei-van...

Het is van groot belang deze ochtend stil te staan bij het succes van FvD. Voor het eerst in de naoorlogse geschiedenis is een extreemrechtse partij vertegenwoordigd in een groot aantal gemeenten en wordt haar gedachtegoed hierdoor genormaliseerd stukroodvlees.nl/de-groei-van...

🎉 New publication 😍 The 4th wave of the #farright is marked by #mainstreaming & #normalisation - but how can we distinguish between them? In our new article, @gefjonoff.bsky.social and I map the existing literature, introduce a conceptual framework & outline research avenues. doi.org/10.1017/S147...

We @qmulsse.bsky.social have a vacancy: a one year Lectureship in Public Policy (Teaching & Scholarship). Please see details below.

Members of our @populisminaction.bsky.social team will be presenting our work at 2 conferences in the near future: The Political Studies Association 2026 Annual Conference in Oxford (30th March-1st Apr) and the 32nd International Conference of Europeanists in Dublin (16-18 June). Details below.

For an international audience: Forum for Democracy (FvD) is showing its true colors in many ways recently, amongst others by having candidates from extremist extraparliamentary organisations on its local lists

Great intervention by @jwmueller-pu.bsky.social on reactionary centrism, anti-wokeness, and the tendency to interpret the success of the right as backlash instead of as its own political project www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Seven MPs of Geert Wilders' Freedom Party (PVV) quit the party and start their own parliamentary party group in the Dutch House of Representatives. They refer to the fact that Wilders is the only party member of the PVV and the lack of results. www.dutchnews.nl/2026/01/dutc...

Radical right parties in Europe have not moderated. Their positions and rhetoric have entered the mainstream. They have become normalized and legitimized. Unless we understand this, we have little chance of countering their success.

This is a brilliant piece on the restructuring of political competition in Western Europe and goes far beyond the question of populism. Great also for teaching.

Back at Bologna's Alma Mater today to discuss the book below with Politics postgrads... Looking forward to it.... The book is open access -free to read and download. See link below.

The core thesis of our Brextinction paper, beautifully (or morbidly?) summarized in one flowchart (also based on YouGov data). @simonhix.bsky.social @juhoharkonen.bsky.social ejpr.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

📣 #MilitantDemocracy out in #OpenAccess @routledgebooks.bsky.social! 📝 Offers one of the first comprehensive theories of #democraticselfdefence. Great to see it’s still relevant to current debates. 🎂 This month marks the 10th anniversary of the Dutch edition! www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-mon...

For the Guardian, @jonhenley.bsky.social reports on our new research briefs on the politics of housing. Current policies too often treat housing as an asset. Housing as a social right has nearly disappeared from the agenda of even progressive parties. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...

After more than 10 years of “the Danish Model”, nativism is hegemonic in the country, the far right polls near level highs again, and the Social Democrats lost Copenhagen and poll at historic low. European Social Democrats should look at the facts, not the myths! Me in @theguardian.com

Cas Mudde spells out what has become largely the consensus among researchers: moving right on immigration will not weaken the far right nor strengthen social democracy. If your reaction is "but in Denmark" please at least familiarize yourself with Danish politics www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Labour is desperately trying to appeal to Reform supporters. In October, we asked people in the UK if they perceive a party as a "party for someone like them". Only very few people say this for both Labour and Reform. The correlation is negative. Labour is chasing an electorate that does not exist.

Our book launch is still planned for next Thursday, November 20th, 5PM at Queen Mary University of London. Catering has also been booked 🍷🫒. Register via: tinyurl.com/382xbuy5

Andrej Zaslove and I wrote down our thoughts on the recent Dutch election results, noting the continuing relevance of the far right and the hollowing of the (liberal) centre. 👇 @qmul-sse-cgd.bsky.social @qmulsse.bsky.social

My more elaborate take on why the Dutch election outcome does not represent a defeat of the far right

One observation re. the Dutch election is the enduring strength of the far right (I am not fully subscribing to the 'shift back to the centre' narrative). I should be on ABC Australia News channel at around 11 CET to talk about this and to show my plants (again). www.youtube.com/live/vOTiJkg...

🗳️ First exit polls from the Netherlands: Wilders’ PVV appears to shrink from 37 to 25 seats. Make no mistake — the far right remains strong. Support hasn’t disappeared; it’s shifted across parties. The Dutch political landscape is more fragmented than ever — and the far right is no exception. 🇳🇱

Election day also means a quick round up of my comments in the international media that have been published today. Pick your favorite language 🙂 www.bbc.com/news/article...

This is the final 'poll of polls' before the Dutch elections. Three parties at the same level, and two more not much smaller. Given the high percentage of late deciders and voters in doubt, the outcome is still very much uncertain. 🧵

Here is the Guardian piece, which worked off slightly different polls.

You think your elections are nail biters? In the last poll of the polls, the @peilingwijzer.bsky.social produced by @tomlouwerse.nl, before election day in the Netherlands tomorrow, three parties are tied for first place peilingwijzer.tomlouwerse.nl

📣 Very timely: our @epsrjournal.bsky.social article on how populist radical right parties in the Netherlands have evolved organisationally is now officially published - with volume and page numbers and all! Check it out here if you’re interested: doi.org/10.1017/S175... 🍿

🎧 In Haagse Zaken schuift vandaag een gigant aan: Herman Tjeenk Willink. Waarom je de democratische rechtsstaat moet koesteren, en over wat er deze verkiezingen echt op het spel staat: spotify.link/OfIAlJ7nKXb