The #ActEU book is here! This #PoliSci book explores how trust and legitimacy shape Europe’s representative democracies, introducing the ActEU framework to assess democratic change and polarization. link.springer.com/book/10.1007...

The third #ActEU policy brief has arrived!

Great news! 💬 Our series of #ActEU Animated Explainers is available on YouTube with SUBTITLES in Italian 🇮🇹, French 🇫🇷, and German 🇩🇪‼️ Follow the animated characters here & learn more about political trust in Europe👉 www.youtube.com/playlist?lis... @unidue.bsky.social @politicsunisaar.bsky.social

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...

"Why vote if nothing ever changes?" In the fourth episode of #DemocracyCracks, Eva Ribera explores how the center of gravity of political participation may be shifting. Hear #ActEU Heather Grabbe of Bruegel & listen to the episode open.spotify.com/episode/0X9y...

🧲 How did #ActEU researchers collect data on political trust? 📽️This animated video explores ActEU's web-scraping tool, one of the largest collections of European political communications 🔗 youtu.be/LwTeWZjWMtE @alexhartland.bsky.social @pfcdgayo.bsky.social @politicsunisaar.bsky.social

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

How do emotions influence political responsiveness? In his contribution to our issue 3/2025, Georg Wenzelburger of @politicsunisaar.bsky.social argues that by focusing on preference-policy linkages, previous research has often underestimated the role of emotions. Read more: doi.org/10.1515/spp-...

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

OUT NOW 🤩 The first 3️⃣ episodes of our podcast series "Democracy Cracks" are now available on your favourite podcast platforms! ➡️ open.spotify.com/show/75RInYw... This mini-series is created as part of #ActEU and narrated by TEPSA's Programme Manager Eva Ribera!

At the end of the #ActEU Final Conference, Scientific Lead Daniela Braun will provide her concluding remarks, summarising the achievements of the ActEU project 👏 Make sure to follow our livestream on TEPSA's YouTube channel 👉 www.youtube.com/channel/UCUP... @politicsunisaar.bsky.social

A quick summary of the first #ActEU policy brief:

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.

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

👉Register TODAY for the #ActEU final conference "Detached, distrustful, disengaged? Rethinking democracy in today’s Europe" Join us for lively discussions on trust, legitimacy and polarisation in Europe with our diversified and interactive panels!💡 🔗 tepsa.eu/events/acteu...

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:

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

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

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

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

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...

Send us a video of max 3 minutes about your vision of democracy before 9 November 2025 and win a trip to Brussels 🇧🇪 to the #ActEU final conference (and add another line to your CV!) 🏆 Find out more about the contest, the questions and the requirements 👉 tinyurl.com/ActEUContest

How do culture and ideology shape #AI, and how does AI shape them? Join our #PoliSci talk on how values are embedded, contested, and signaled in generative AI systems, and what this means for the politics of AI. Learn more: www.uni-saarland.de/en/chair/bra...

When a government is seen as fair & trustworthy, people feel included & actively participate in politics 👉 #ActEU Scientific Lead Daniela Braun explores this connection in our recent #TEPSAExplainer 🔗 youtu.be/r_8oudinAtk @uni-saarland.de @politicsunisaar.bsky.social @unidue.bsky.social

Why does political #legitimacy matter in a democracy? ➡ Here is #ActEU Daniela Braun's answer 👏 Watch the full #TEPSAExplainer on YouTube 🔗 youtu.be/r_8oudinAtk @uni-saarland.de @politicsunisaar.bsky.social

The widespread acceptance of a government's authority by its people is key for a healthy democratic system 👉 #ActEU Scientific Lead Daniela Braun tells us more about the importance of political #legitimacy in her recent explainer ⬇️ @uni-saarland.de @politicsunisaar.bsky.social

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:

🤝 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

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...

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

#InternationalDayOfDemocracy Today, we celebrate the International Day of Democracy. We take a look at the development of democracy in the world over the past 80 years, by visualizing the V-Dem Liberal Democracy Index (LDI), using the heat map graphing tool. #PolDataSky #PoliSky #Democracy 🧵1(5)

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.

🤔 What is 𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔, and why does it matter for the future of representative democracies? If you haven’t yet explored the latest 📖 publication by Georg Wenzelburger, now is the perfect time. Start your week with some fresh #PROTEMO insights www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... ✨

✨ #PROTEMO in 𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 journal! Georg Wenzelburger from @uni-saarland.de has published 𝐄𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲: 𝐀 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐀𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚. Read it here ➡️ www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... @tandfresearch.bsky.social

29 Mio. Euro Förderung für das Kompetenzzentrum SOUNDS: Ziel der Forschungsstelle ist es, Informatik und Sozialwissenschaften zusammenzubringen, um gesellschaftliche und wirtschaftliche Entwicklungen datenbasiert zu analysieren. Mehr dazu: www.uni-saarland.de/aktuell/gese... © UdS / Thorsten Mohr

💥New study with Daniela Braun @politicsunisaar.bsky.social in dms – der moderne staat – Zeitschrift für Public Policy, Recht und Management @barbarabudrich.bsky.social: Who engages with environmental issues in a multi-level system? An exploratory analysis of German parties’ issue emphasis

The amount of data available is greater than ever, yet remains mostly unused by social scientists & #PoliSci researchers. The Societal Observatory Using Novel Data Sources (SOUNDS) aims to change that - and receives 29 million Euro in funding from Saarland's state gov!🎉 Read more: bit.ly/SoundsPM

USAAR's Cluster for European Studies is looking for a science communication officer! Learn more: bit.ly/CEUS-Ausschreibung #PoliSci #hiring

Check out our new interdisciplinary volume on border regions as laboratories for researching #Europe! www.nomos-shop.de/isbn/978-3-7... #PoliSci

What links exist between attitudes towards #GenderEquality policies and democracy? Check out Matilde Ceron's #ActEU presentation about our project's preliminary results over on YouTube! @unidue.bsky.social @politicsunisaar.bsky.social @unisalzburg.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffO8...

Our new #PoliSci collected volume on border regions as laboratories of European research is finally here. Check it out (in German): www.nomos-elibrary.de/de/10.5771/9...

We're looking for student assistants!

📢 New on the Observatory of Online Politics blog! 🎯 TikTok and its role in the 2025 German Elections By @rosanavarrete.bsky.social & Ariq Suryo Hadi P. Read more politics.i2sc.net/blogposts/ti...

With #TEPSΑ we turned some findings from our report into a nice infographic. Bonus: it's in Greek and Spanish too. Enjoy! @cchscsic.bsky.social @unidue.bsky.social @politicsunisaar.bsky.social