Who protests against democratic backsliding? A new working paper with Margalit, Sheffer and Yakir examines this issue and finds that people’s conceptions of what democracy means play a crucial role in predicting whether they engage in active opposition to backsliding efforts. osf.io/preprints/so...

Excited to share that my project on polarization and nonviolent resistance was awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant. So grateful to the many colleagues who supported the work along the way, and looking forward to the research ahead!

📢We are looking forward to tomorrow's presentation by @noamgidron.bsky.social in our HPS³ seminar series. All are welcome, 5:15 PM, VMP9 B130!

Evidence from 100+ interviews dovetails with the experimental and descriptive findings and echoes aspects of work outside Pakistan: Hall, @noamgidron.bsky.social and @pavisuri.bsky.social on status concerns, Nyron Crawford on the “racial defense,” and Jeffrey Witsoe on lower-caste politics.

New paper in @ajpseditor.bsky.social. Is descriptive representation good for substantive representation? Why do voters stay loyal to corrupt and poorly governing ethnic parties? I argue that we ought to focus less on patronage and more on dignity concerns. Defiant pride can come at a price. 1/🧵

📢On Wednesday, December 10th (5:15 PM, VMP9 B130), we are pleased to welcome @noamgidron.bsky.social (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem) in our HPS³ seminar series. All are welcome to attend! For more information ⬇️ www.wiso.uni-hamburg.de/en/fachberei...

Looking forward to presenting at the Hamburg Political Science Seminar Series next week (December 10). Feel free to get in touch if you're around!

How do current and past coalitions explain variations in affect between pairs of parties? This video with Jim Adams summarizes our @cpsjournal.bsky.social article on the topic (w/ @rwillh11.bsky.social), may be useful for those teaching about polarization in Europe: faculti.net/coalition-po...

Recommended:

1st article from my dissertation is out in Perspectives today!! two takeaways: a) knowledge economy 'winners' may not be subject to status loss but they sure care about status preservation & b) this is consequential for their attitudes re: immigration & diversity. Thnx 2 all along this journey!!

A thoughtful and well-argued critique of the common measure of subjective social status, increasingly used in survey-based studies of populism ⬇️

PhD students who might be interested in this -- feel free to get in touch! The application deadline is October 27. azrieli.smapply.io/prog/interna...

New paper out in @wepsocial.bsky.social‬: Pathways to politics: a sequence analysis of political apathy and involvement (open access) doi.org/10.1080/0140...

I am looking for a PhD student in Comparative Politics @powimz.bsky.social. My research focuses on political (in-)equality, representation, and responsiveness. I would be grateful if you could help to spread the word. stellenboerse.uni-mainz.de#/jgu/job/49637

So great to see Voters Under Pressure featured in this @comppol.bsky.social review article by @klingelt.bsky.social! Reviewing the book alongside work of Bartels and Tillman, Tristan's reading is the mandate function of elections is being challenged👇 www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cuny...

An exceptional piece of scholarship by @pauliinapatana.bsky.social , which goes straight on my Qualitative Methods syllabus as it is a perfect example of the value of mixed methods research. It is also highly relevant for my own work on European politics and the far right. Bravo! 👏

Even in times of sociocultural conflict, a progressive left electorate is more averse to sociocultural *and* socioeconomic inequalities than (far) right voters. New paper with @siljahausermann.bsky.social Palmtag @tabouchadi.bsky.social @stefwalter.bsky.social Berkinshaw tinyurl.com/d42wyb79 1/n

Exactly right

Alternatively, you can read this interview with the excellent @noamgidron.bsky.social & Yaniv Roznai. Also a reminder that boycotting all Israeli academics is not just morally dubious (collective punishment) but also strengthens rather than weakens the Israeli far right.

"those who discussed immigration in their open-ended responses expressed far more distrust towards opponents – an effect driven by right-wing respondents who discussed immigration"

From May 2025 - Beyond Observational Relationships: Evidence from a Ten-Country Experiment that Policy Disputes Cause Affective Polarization - cup.org/3Zvgchx - @noamgidron.bsky.social, James Adams, @rwillh11.bsky.social & @ttichelbaecker.bsky.social #OpenAccess

1/3) 📣Out in Party Politics: We trace the equal rights and economic equality positions of 69 center-right and far-right parties since 1970 in 12 countries. We find that center right parties did not react to/address equal rights concerns and economic inequality journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10....

June 30, 2025. Last lunch of the 2024-25 CASBS fellowship year with remaining fellows How quickly an academic year slips into the rear view mirror⏱️ Farewell to the 2024-25 class!! 👋 😘 👊

5. Discussions of effectiveness should also be mindful of the fact that ethnic/racial minorities, as well as their grievances, are perceived as more violent by the public even when peaceful, since perceptions are biased, e.g. my work with @tmitts.bsky.social here:. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Excellent op-ed on nonviolent protest from @robbwiller.bsky.social and @owasow.bsky.social on the importance of nonviolence here www.nytimes.com/2025/06/17/o.... Some additional points worth noting:

An important piece from the @apsrjournal.bsky.social (by @devorahmanekin.bsky.social and @tmitts.bsky.social) to make sense of ongoing events: it matters not only which tactics are adopted by protesters but also who they are.

Yes, but tactics are perceived and covered through racialized lenses that frame them as threatening regardless of facts on the ground.

This was up there with one of @rafaelbehr.bsky.social's best eps. I learned a lot from @m-b-petersen.bsky.social Next up, Raf should talk to @noamgidron.bsky.social about status and populism - would make for a great follow up. Oh, and it's given me an earworm for one of my favourite ever tracks!

Thinking about immigration from a cultural perspective heightens distrust of political opponents—with Adams, @rwillh11.bsky.social and @ttichelbaecker.bsky.social at @bjpols.bsky.social. Might interest scholars of polarization and ideology, and those analyzing open-ended questions. cup.org/3ZajcQ1

Another great paper by @ttichelbaecker.bsky.social of now also TU Chemnitz. Congrats, Thomas!

NEW - Beyond Observational Relationships: Evidence from a Ten-Country Experiment that Policy Disputes Cause Affective Polarization - cup.org/3Zvgchx - @noamgidron.bsky.social, James Adams, @rwillh11.bsky.social & @ttichelbaecker.bsky.social #OpenAccess

Interesting substack on interesting research, identifying one more way to be right — this time, through culture wars:

Happy to share a new paper now out in EJPR w/ @jeyalizade.bsky.social , @fabioellger.bsky.social and @mgruenewald.bsky.social exploring gendered effects of political violence on political supply. https://ejpr.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1475-6765.70017 A 🧵 with findings

We're in an age of surging right-wing populism here in the US and around the globe, threatening democracy and growth. Should policymakers care? And how should they respond? In an essay for @equitablegrowth.bsky.social, Shayna Strom and I answer these questions: equitablegrowth.org/designing-ec... 1/

Looking forward to this conference on Populism and Democracy at Princeton later this week---I'll be presenting research co-authored with Yotam Margalit, @liorsheffer.bsky.social and @itamaryakir.bsky.social: csdp.princeton.edu/events/confe...

In the latest issue of @cpsjournal.bsky.social, my article with Jonne Kamphorst in which we propose that educationally homogeneous social networks contribute to the stabilization of political conflict on the cultural dimension. A short thread on the main findings: Link: doi.org/10.1177/0010...

Please share widely: PhD workshop in June 2025 with @miguelpereira.bsky.social and Mareike Kleine politicalsciencenow.com/2025-dissert...

The whole thread is worth reading:

Nice to see our @cpsjournal.bsky.social paper on status and social marginalization (journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....) referenced in this article -- which I think somewhat overstates the evidence in favor of the economic causes of populism yet is still interesting nonetheless.

In Social progress at the expense of economic equality? we ask if equal rights or equal chances concerns crowded out economic equality as priority of the Left? Mapping equality concepts 1970-2020: not green or far-left parties. Yet, social democrats … 1/2 ejpr.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Thread 🧵 de vulgarisation de l'article de Noam Gidron paru dans le British Journal of Political Science, "Many Ways to be Right", sur les électeurs idéologiquement tiraillés, pourquoi est-ce qu'ils penchent malgré tout à droite, et qu'est-ce que cet avantage fait à la droite ⬇️

April 7: Sense-making from current CASBS fellow @noamgidron.bsky.social & 2019-20 CASBS fellow @guygrossman.bsky.social 💡

I am looking for a post-bac (Dartmouth language for a pre-doc) researcher to join our team studying elections and democracy. If you (or someone you know) have expertise in data science or political science, please apply or share this opportunity! polarizationresearchlab.org/hiring/

With growing concerns for Israeli democracy, join us for a thought-provoking webinar. We will explore cross-national examples of democratic decline and discuss what lessons can be applied to Israel’s current situation. 📅Monday, April 7th 🕓8:30 PM EST | 5:30 PM PST 📍Register tinyurl.com/webinar040725

This is a great paper that helps us understand the nature of democratic backsliding. @vikburgi.bsky.social and I had the pleasure of discussing some of the results and implications with Noam on our podcast. podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/e...

Great paper overall, and yet another piece of evidence that populist attitudes just don't matter that much for the things we actually care about

Why do people support democratic backsliding? Two key reasons: 1) loyalty to the political leader driving it, and 2) deep hostility toward political opponents. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Good piece! Why do people support democratic backsliding? Two main reasons: 1) loyalty to the political leader driving it, and 2) deep hostility toward political opponents. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Essential reading Current CASBS fellow @noamgidron.bsky.social & 2020-21 fellow Yotam Margalit among the coauthors of this new article

Shout out to a great scholar of #populism who deserves a broader audience. @benmoffitt.bsky.social is a pre-Trump populism scholar, who has made many key contributions to the study of populism - like the two books below.