@ronaldschleehauf.bsky.social, @judithreinbold.bsky.social, @mariusfroehle.bsky.social

💥 Few moments captured the volatility of transatlantic relations better than the explosive #OvalOffice meeting between Trump + #Zelenskyy in Feb. 🔎 Sebastian Jäckle et al study its impact on German public opinion using online survey data in their @prxjournal.bsky.social research. 👉 bit.ly/4nOIUmF

📰 Many PR firms work for brutal regimes — polishing their image, attacking critics + helping dictators cling to power. 🚫 @alexdukalskis.bsky.social, Christian Gläßel & @ascharpf.bsky.social ask: why does this happen, and what can democratic societies do to stop it? 👉 bit.ly/496GA6Y

My piece for @ecprtheloop.bsky.social 's 🦋#ScienceofDemocracy series. On the two things that I think are both overused and under-theorised in the social sciences: democracy, and (multi)disciplinarities.

In this recent blog post I show how publicly available technologies like satellite imagery and SAR can be used to "fact check" aggressive nuclear rhetoric.

🦋 #ScienceOfDemocracy No.124 Institutional theories rooted in the works of #Schumpeter + #RobertDahl still dominate the study of democracy. Ryusaku Yamada argues this series reveals the emergence of another current: scholars who engage democracy from critical perspectives. 👉 bit.ly/4ojSkHQ

☢️ #NuclearPoliticsParadox No.26 💻 Technology isn't a cure-all. But it can help reduce the risk of #NuclearWeapons crises. 🔍 @jamiewithorne.bsky.social shows how increasingly accessible information can harness transparency and 'fact check' the credibility of nuclear threats. 👉 bit.ly/4qEPq29

🏥 The promise of revolutionary advances in #healthcare is now a mainstay of the EU’s #AIstrategy. 🤖 @jasonetucker.bsky.social explores how the outcomes of the EU’s instrumentalisation of healthcare in the AI race doesn't look good for waning #EU political legitimacy. 👉 bit.ly/4qGnR8m

🔀 Intersectionality is already shaping Europe's fight against gender-based violence in higher education. 📝 Using evidence from the #UniSAFE project and new #EUpolicy frameworks, Lut Mergaert & Marcela Linkova reveal the impact of intersectional initiatives. 👉 bit.ly/4nAuXII

📆 Every September, world leaders gather at the UN high-level meetings to confront the most pressing #GlobalHealth crises. 😷 In 2024, the spotlight fell on #AntimicrobialResistance. But, asks Frank Tu Ngo, will the 2024 meeting lead to real change? #AMR 👉 bit.ly/47ARv6t

Earlier this month, Paul Biya, the world’s oldest head of state, ran for a record 8th term. What are Cameroon’s prospects for peace and democracy in Africa’s turbulent coup belt? Read the assessment by John Chin and Julien Derroitte, today in @ecprtheloop.bsky.social. theloop.ecpr.eu/re-electing-...

🦋 #ScienceOfDemocracy No.123 We need to break democracy out of the disciplinary boundaries of political studies. Reimagining it using a multidisciplinary approach, argues @pandapoliticus.bsky.social, could be the antidote to the global democratic anxiety we are facing. 👉 bit.ly/3WtGb71

🧵 Penelope, in Homer’s #Odyssey, who spent 20 years weaving + unweaving a shroud to delay remarriage, has come to symbolise fidelity & endurance. Serena Fraiese of @ecprsgir.bsky.social argues her story reveals characteristics now central to diplomacy in an age of uncertainty. 👉 bit.ly/4hx6uCM

☢️ #NuclearPoliticsParadox No.25 🌏 Syeda Saba Batool argues that the #NuclearSuppliersGroup needs clear rules for admitting countries outside the #NPT, and to ensure that climate-vulnerable developing states gain fair access to civilian #NuclearEnergy. 👉 bit.ly/3JvlbtE

📈 After almost 20 years of democratic decline, in 2023, liberal democracy in #LatinAmerica appeared to be regaining strength. But, Tim Pires Alves asks, has it managed to sustain the trend? 🌩️ Or was 2023 the calm before an even harsher autocratic storm? 👉 bit.ly/4hwVKVh

🦋 #ScienceOfDemocracy No.122 💭 In a time of anthropogenic existential crises, writes @ioannisrz.bsky.social, this new stage in the Science of Democracy conversation highlights how plural thinking can help rejuvenate democracy. 👉 bit.ly/478VF6B

💻 #HybridWarfare is no longer speculative. Daphna Canetti, Gal Dor & Tal Mimran argue the Iran-Israel clash marks a strategic turning point — where democracies must defend minds as fiercely as borders. 👉 bit.ly/4o7nhPy

🌍 #PaulBiya, the world’s oldest head of state and the 2nd longest ruling leader in Africa, ran for a record 8th term earlier this month. 🕊️ John Chin & Julien Derroitte assess #Cameroon’s prospects for peace and democracy in Africa’s turbulent coup belt. 👉 bit.ly/4nndHa6

🔓 #OAWeek Spotlight 🔄 ECPR is committed to sharing knowledge freely and widely 👇 Discover ✨ most accessed ✨ #OA articles in 2024 from our journals & blog @prxjournal.bsky.social @ejprjournal.bsky.social @ejir.bsky.social @epsrjournal.bsky.social @epsjournal.bsky.social @ecprtheloop.bsky.social

🌍 Lucas Sudbrack & James F. Downes describe how growing income inequality across Europe impacts support for far-right parties. 📈 Using national + individual-level data, they find that when the poorest citizens lose a significant share of national income, far-right votes rise. 👉 bit.ly/4nYrQvb

🎭 #DemocraticTransformations No.20 🌎 @turkanfirinci.bsky.social argues that by embodying #HannahArendt’s ideas of freedom and action, 🪧 youth #ClimateActivists are transforming utopias from rigid blueprints into living practices of collective possibility. 👉 bit.ly/3IPFXUF

🦋 #ScienceOfDemocracy No.121 🔃 Do we need a paradigm shift in democracy research?  ↔️ Simon Bein broadens the current western-led perspective on researching democracies and asks: who says what and where democracy is? 👉 bit.ly/3W8mamk

🧭 #EUEnlargementDilemmas No.30 🗣️ War in #Ukraine has transformed how often #EUleaders talk about enlargement, but not how they frame it. 🏅 Based on @jeppjournal.bsky.social research, Nicole Scicluna shows that enlargement remains cast as a conditional, merit-based process. 👉 bit.ly/4ommRVc

🤖 #Albania has appointed an #AIminister for public procurement. ♀️ But Vera Tika argues that while '#Diella' embodies gendered symbolism and digital modernity, her appointment exposes a gap between European aspiration and democratic accountability. 👉 bit.ly/47llUGO

New article on @ecprtheloop.bsky.social: How Charlie Kirk’s murder reveals the terrifying intersection of meme culture and political violence. When terror becomes content optimised for engagement, what’s left of democracy? theloop.ecpr.eu/performative... #academicsky #meme #violence #CharlieKirk

☢️ #NuclearPoliticsParadox No.24 🌍 The 2026 Review Conference of the Parties to the #NPT gives African states an opportunity to turn disarmament pledges into real action. Kudakwashe Mapako says they must take advantage of unity, minerals & norms to press for irreversible disarmament. 👉 bit.ly/4h66YQa

🧠 What happens when political elites claim their opponents are simply mad? A proposed Bill in Minnesota on so-called #TrumpDerangementSyndrome shows how politics can spill into psychiatry. This, argues Ela Serpil Evliyaoğlu, risks turning dissent into pathology #PoliticalPsychology bit.ly/4n5i7C1

The engraved bullets that killed #CharlieKirk were content designed to go viral. @kagegirl.bsky.social argues this represents a trajectory first made explicit in the 2019 #ChristchurchMassacre: not ideological terror, but performance-art #Terrorism optimised for algorithmic engagement bit.ly/3IHWBpb

🦋 #ScienceOfDemocracy No.120 @michbied.bsky.social outlines a tripartite caveat for this 🆕 phase of the series by considering a concept rarely engaged in the study of politics: ideology. 🧑‍🏫 Here, he opens up normative considerations that education needs to guide. 👉 bit.ly/4pZyrap

🤝 On 6 September, Italian #ExtremeRight parties sealed a new pact and launched a committee they call 'Remigration and Reconquest'. ↪️ Federico Taddei argues its launch could mark a turning point in #Italy’s extreme-right galaxy. 👉 bit.ly/4938fp0

🕊️ Netanyahu has accepted Trump's plan for #PeaceinGaza in principle – though he is likely to try and sabotage it. Paul Whiteley warns that this is a dangerous strategy given #Netanyahu's current dire approval ratings among ordinary Israelis. #Israel #Gaza #Ceasefire 👉 bit.ly/4oajS1M

🗣️ #ProEU MEPs pursue #democratisation based on institutional mimicry. 🔗 Jan Pieter Beetz, @gillespittoors.bsky.social & Wouter Wolfs argue that this risks overlooking potentially better alternative models that might better connect with European citizens. 👉 bit.ly/48gEEs2

@mstephen.bsky.social and I argue @ecprtheloop.bsky.social that the return of power politics favours cooperation through #IIGOs, as they allow powerful states to increase their scope for action. Yet, the systematic turn to IIGOs is at odds with the idea of global authoritative rules. For more, see ⬇️

🆕 Deservingness perceptions & candidate support 👥 #GroupAppeals help connect #VoterIdentity 🧩 to voting choices 🗳️ – @rdassonneville.bsky.social, Rune Stubager & Mads Thau want to know if this appeals to other social groups 📣 📖 #OA

🌈 #GenderingDemocracy No.31 #AbortionRights advocates in hostile environments face tough choices. Clare Daniel, Anna Mahoney & Grace Riley’s research in #Louisiana shows how traditional advocacy approaches fail to sway legislators and bridging divides risks setbacks. 👉 bit.ly/4h6OSxG

🗓️ One week to go! 🗣️ Don't miss this fascinating roundtable featuring a panel of expert speakers from our ☢️#NuclearPowerPolitcs blog series. ⬇️

☢️ #NuclearPoliticsParadox No.23 🌍 #GlobalSouth states have long advocated for #NuclearDisarmament, yet recent abstentions + muted positions on conflicts suggest waning commitment. 🔎 Shivani Singh examines what this means for the #NuclearOrder. 👉 bit.ly/3IYVW2v

👣 From #Ukraine to global finance, informal organisations are stepping into gaps left by traditional institutions. ⏩ With speed + flexibility, these informal bodies are quietly reshaping #InternationalOrder, write @stevebmann.bsky.social & @mstephen.bsky.social. 👉 bit.ly/3VPrHht

Interesting @ecprtheloop.bsky.social piece by @rnords.bsky.social on the rise of the far right in Japan 🇯🇵

🗳️ The recent election results in #NorthRhineWestphalia barely disguise Chancellor #Merz’s unpopularity + offer no respite for the #CDU/CSU-SPD government at national level. ⚡Bold actions are needed to tackle #Germany’s deep + structural challenges, argues John Ryan. 👉 bit.ly/4o5xRpI

🦋 #ScienceOfDemocracy No.119 💭 The ‘Fourth Theorist’ is the radical idea of a yet-to-exist theoretician who can access + condense immense amounts of information. @rishirajsen.bsky.social explores whether the #FourthTheorist risks becoming an authoritarian figure. 👉 bit.ly/4mOc7h5

🌈 #GenderingDemocracy No.30 📰 Under President #Bukele’s #StateOfException, #ElSalvador has made international news for its historic decline in homicides. Despite this, women report that problems of violence are far from over in the country, write @jzulver.bsky.social & Anne Ruelle. 👉 bit.ly/3KPFAK4

☢ #NuclearPoliticsParadox No.22 Scholarly research has paid scant attention to #YouthParticipation in #NuclearPolitics. 🗣️ In this ‘third nuclear age’, F C Escobar argues there is a growing need to record the voices of young antinuclear organisers in the 21st century. 👉 bit.ly/4nSn7uO

💼 We often consider business groups to be the dominant lobbying force in Brussels. 📘 But, based on @ejprjournal.bsky.social research, @frederikstevens.bsky.social shows the opposite: citizen groups are more likely to influence what gets on, or stays off, the #EU’s agenda. 👉 buff.ly/f5AAtfG

📙 Drawing on @prxjournal.bsky.social research, @rubenvanseveren.bsky.social shows why politically cynical citizens often praise the idea of #Referendums, but may not be enthusiastic when they take place. 👎 Low interest can mean low turnout, invalid results + wasted effort. ➡️ bit.ly/3VKlG5I

🏳️‍🌈 Hungary’s government recast #BudapestPride as a danger to security, then banned the 2025 march. 📈 Varvara Prodai's data shows that the 'security threat' framing spiked in Hungarian, while English-language messaging remained legalistic. ➡️ bit.ly/4mzXVYN

📝 The Brazilian parliament recently resumed debates on a reform proposal for public administration. 🎯 Nayara Albrecht argues that although the proposal claims to target privileges in #Brazil, it risks undermining the integrity of #PublicAdministration. 👉 bit.ly/3Klqzjf

Please check out not only this piece by @jacktaggart.bsky.social & myself, but also our Special Section on 'The SDGs at 10' in @globalpolicy.bsky.social.

An often-overlooked aspect in discussions on EU enlargement? The role of welfare security💡. I address this in my latest contribution for @ecprtheloop.bsky.social. Thanks @vanghel.bsky.social for inviting me🇪🇺

Excellent post debunking the myth that landmines are useful for self-defence purposes: 'Are landmines legitimate self-defence? The folly of leaving the Ottawa Convention' (via @ecprtheloop.bsky.social) theloop.ecpr.eu/are-landmine...