A corrupt sports organisation running a tournament in a corrupt nation.

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

Why is traveling by train always the most unreliable and unpleasant option? 🤦🏻‍♂️

Two Decades of Pirate Politics in Europe Read this important special collection edited by @jakubw.bsky.social @hait-tud.bsky.social and Vladimír Naxera, University of West Bohemia link.springer.com/collections/...

Comparative analysis of the far right in Latin America, linking backlash against social inclusion to global democratic transformations The Far Right in Latin America (eds. Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser, @eljorobado.bsky.social, Talita Tanscheit & @lisazanottiphd.bsky.social) https://cup.org/3RCm2wh

One would almost wonder what team is that…🤔

📘 Youth Wings of the Populist Radical Right is out today online with Oxford University Press! A wee thread about our new-born book 🧵 academic.oup.com/book/62992

Our article is now available Open Access! We hope our typology is useful to study national teams (in all sports) and to further reflect on globalization effects on modern football. The 2026 MAGA World Cup sees a further decline in "ethnic" national teams and a sharp rise in "diaspora" teams.

One of those big achievements in life

Feel bad for Mexico and Canada having to share a World Cup with Trump’s US. Could’ve been a really great tournament otherwise (though, given it’s also Infantino’s FIFA, maybe not).

Great new work by @dieterstiers.bsky.social & Shane Singh on the effects of compulsory voting. Must read! 👇

⚽📚 The Ultimate World Cup Research Thread I've set up a little automated thread: every day of the 2026 World Cup (11 Jun–19 Jul) it shares one study on what football does to society: politics, economics, migration, health, crime & more. One paper a day. Kickoff below 👇

It’s always sooo great when they send you the proof of your article, for which you’re waiting nearly 3 months, on Saturday evening, giving you a 2 day deadline to review it…Anyways, hello from the Namib dessert.

'Magyar’s landslide victory in Hungary has triggered a global outpouring of commentary that sometimes reads like a trashy banner ad: “This one secret technique will make your far-right populism problem disappear!” [But] lessons are more subtle...and some may not be applicable to larger countries.'

Is Europe's #farright fracturing? #Meloni blocking US base access, AfD distancing from #Trump, Farage criticising #Iran rhetoric... When domestic pressure mounts, ideology gives way to necessity. 🔗 Read full analysis by @catherinedevries.bsky.social on our blog: www.eu-values.eu/blog/europes...

“My dad was killed by Iranian proxies forty-two years ago. I have no regard for the Iranian regime whatsoever. But the answer does not lie in starting a war and killing innocent people. Imagine being a parent of one of the one hundred and seventy-five girls who died when their school was bombed.”

Meloni's three-step guide to populist radical-right longevity: 1️⃣ Work WITH the Commission & the EPP — not against them 2️⃣ Pick your battles. (Better yet, pick none) 3️⃣ Devise a few red-meat policies on migration & law and order so the base feels seen. Simple. Cynical? Certainly effective, so far.

🚨 JOB OPPORTUNITY 🚨 Very interesting postdoc opportunity at QMUL on far-right politics!

Never in my adult life did I think I’d find myself on the same side as the Pope (or any religious leader, for that matter). And yet…Also, Attila the Hun looks like an Illuminati mastermind compared to Trump.

I have a new chapter on regional differences in German voting behaviour (beyond east/west). It's coming out later this year, but with attention spans being what they are, here's a 🧵. Most important point: aggregate volatility and east-west-diffs (yeah) were, like, absolutely massive in 2025 #btw25

None of these people are at all well. None of them.

A non-trivial number of accounts flocking to tell me that "Stalin murdered millions" is a Nazi thing to say and equivalent to Holocaust denial. Unbelievable. Is no one teaching the purges. What the actual hell.

Are you interested in the #AfD? M. Weisskircher, M. Diermeier, L. Singer, et al. “Explaining Attitudes Towards Climate Action in Germany: AfD vs. the Greens, the East vs. the West, Wind vs. Solar Energy”. In: German Politics online first (2026), pp. 1-27.

It's so great to see three of my favorite scholars quoted in one piece: @sldelange.bsky.social & @gabrielagreilinger.com @ @leoniedejonge.bsky.social @jonhenley.bsky.social sure knows how to pick 'm! 👏

My first publication in German is now out, part of this great volume on the AfD edited by always brilliant Uwe Backes and @michanattke.bsky.social 🤩🥳. Congrats to everyone involved! editionueberland.de/en/shop/uwe-...

Heute erscheint der Band "Die AfD im Osten. Analysen anlässlich der Wahlen 2024/25", von Uwe Backes (@HAIT_TUD) & @michanattke.bsky.social (@kbsachsen.bsky.social), der sich der Frage widmet was die Wahlerfolge der #AfD für die #Demokratie bedeuten & ob damit politische Kipppunkte erreicht sind.

Soon it may be just Infantino left standing with Trump… www.reuters.com/world/europe...

More of this distancing again today, as Meloni brands Trump's words about the Pope as "unacceptable", adding that: "it is inevitable and right that the Head of the Catholic Church will ask for peace to prevail & condemn any kind of war"...

There are plenty of people in Saxony-Anhalt tonight who are praying Vance will visit their state next... ;-)

Congrats Hungary and Europe! Now, we JUST need to get rid off that clown in the White House, those 2 genocidal maniacs in Moscow and Tel Aviv and maybe, just maybe, the world can be a bit of a better place.

I am begging you, if you haven't followed Hungarian political discourse in Hungarian over the last few weeks/months, perhaps hold back on your wild theories about what will happen in Hungary after the elections and whether Orbán will accept the results. My god.

In my article for @talkingpointsmemo.com, I tried to explain the prospects for de-Orbánisation after Sunday's election in Hungary to a U.S. audience, in fewer than 1000 words [by invitation] 🗳️🇭🇺⬇️

Looking forward to hearing from this excellent lineup of speakers (@wurthmann.bsky.social, @sarahwagner.bsky.social, @marianasmendes.bsky.social, and Lenka Buštíková) at @hait-tud.bsky.social this summer semester! 🤩

There are crucial elections in #Hungary 🇭🇺 this weekend. If you are looking for sharp and well-informed commentary on Hungarian politics, make sure you follow these excellent women! @veghzsuzsanna.bsky.social @gabrielagreilinger.com @zecsaky.bsky.social @eublogo.bsky.social

T-7 days until the Hungarian election. 🇭🇺🗳️ In this third (most likely final) thread before the election, I discuss four potential outcomes of the election and possible scenarios for post-April 12 🧵 1/

Orbán gave us a 2-min Facebook update. No one's hurt, gas is still flowing, but then went on to emphasise that Europe is facing an energy crisis, that we're dependent on 🇷🇺 gas. The rest is anti-Ukrainian propaganda, claiming 🇺🇦 "has been working for years on cutting off Europe from Russian energy"

The issue with Trump’s social media post is not the profanity! It is the open declaration of war crimes and the clear illustration of a deranged mind.

Doing a virtual @asn-org.bsky.social panel on "Populism and Nationalism" with @bartbonikowski.bsky.social & Maria Snegovaya, moderated by Zsuzsa Csergo, next week.

It’s a tough life being on a business trip on a Sachsens Tagesgeld (i.e. allowance)

Missed the 🇨🇿 team qualifying for a world cup after 20 years for a boring friendly, which has seen Japan beating the home side England 1-0 in front of 80 000 people (a lot of them Japanese). So what…Last day of PSA and the last night in my beloved Oxford tomorrow :)

T-14 days until the Hungarian election. 🇭🇺🗳️ In this thread, I discuss Magyar's prospects of success in restoring (liberal) democracy (if he wins) and will tell you he's not the saviour you might think he is (but that he’s still good enough for now). 🧵 1/

1. Frederiksen did NOT profit from a rally-around-the-flag effect. 2. There is NO evidence Trump played a role in the Italian referendum. 3. A PRO-Trump politician won in Slovenia.

Incidentally, a lot of atheists 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 think that he may end the world, yet for entirely different reasons

Wanker.

This is pretty much what evil looks like.

Terrorists terrorize…

I have been studying the far right for decades but have never come across the insanity of these Christian nationalists In the U.S. 🤯

Counterpoint: sports are also geopolitics

📚 Am Samstag, 21. März stellen die Herausgeber von "Die AfD im Osten. Analysen anlässlich der Wahlen 2024/25", Uwe Backes (hait-tud.bsky.social) und @michanattke.bsky.social (@kbsachsen.bsky.social) das Buch im Rahmen einer Podiumsdiskussion auf der #LeipzigerBuchmesse vor.