Political Studies

@polstudies.bsky.social

Flagship journal of @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social
journals.sagepub.com/home/psx

@polstudies.bsky.social Oct 11, 2026, 11:01 AM

What does it mean to place yourself on the left or right? @joelletasker.bsky.social examines 2014-2024 UK panel data, finding economic and cultural values both matter, with culture increasingly important. Read OPEN ACCESS: buff.ly/VJulLCc

@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social #polsky #polsci #UKPolitics

@polstudies.bsky.social Oct 10, 2026, 11:01 AM

Do parties shape climate funds? Soham Banerjee, Dishil Shrimankar & Matthew Paterson find projects favour the PM’s allies in competitive constituencies in opposition-governed states. Read more: buff.ly/p5i1IMz

@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social #polsky #polsci #ClimatePolicy

@polstudies.bsky.social Oct 9, 2026, 5:04 PM

2/2 🧵👉 Authoritarian, But Not Nativist - @aborges75.bsky.social & @lisazanottiphd.bsky.social examine how far-right parties in Latin America compare to their Western European counterparts. Read OPEN ACCESS: buff.ly/cHyT0LR

#polsci #polsky #LatinAmericanPolitics #FarRightPolitics

Abstract
Research on far-right parties has mostly focused on Western Europe, where anti-immigration agendas and related nativist ideas have played a major role in right-wing radicalization. In this article, we analyze the rise of the far right in Latin America, a region where immigration has been much less prominent in public debates. Drawing on the 2020 Chapell Hill Expert Survey, we propose to assess the extent to which Latin American far-right parties fit existing conceptualizations that identify nativism and authoritarianism as the core characteristics of this party family. Given the relative unimportance of nativism as a distinguishing feature of cases of right-wing extremism/radicalism in the region, we propose a more parsimonious conceptualization of the far right. We also develop a typological classification and find that authoritarian-fundamentalist parties that embrace an extreme form of religious conservatism are the most common subtype of far-right party in Latin America.

@polstudies.bsky.social Oct 9, 2026, 5:04 PM

1/2 🧵👉 How, when & where does authenticity appear & change in politics? Henrique Sposito examines authenticity performances in politics in Brazil & US since 1988. Read OPEN ACCESS: buff.ly/Lv1kmdE

#polsci #polisky #PoliticalCommunication

Abstract
Political authenticity is connected to higher levels of political trust from electorates and can influence political outcomes, but it is often overlooked as a relevant factor for electoral behavior. To date, discussions of how authenticity appears and changes in politics typically remain at the theoretical level and are rarely comparative. This article develops a framework to identify and compare how authenticity is performed in political discourses over time and across settings by politicians. To demonstrate the usefulness of the framework, this article investigates authenticity performances in 21,496 political texts of electoral debates, interviews, campaigns, and official speeches by presidents and presidential candidates in Brazil and the United States since 1988. The findings indicate that authenticity is generally performed with greater frequency by presidents and presidential candidates in Brazil than in the United States, though authenticity performances are not more prevalent during election years in either country.

@polstudies.bsky.social Oct 9, 2026, 5:03 PM

Are you puzzling over the recent Brazilian presidential first round election result? We've pulled two recently published pieces to help illuminate what's going on in the Brazilian and wider Latin American far right political context. Open the thread below 🧵👇

@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social #polsci

@polstudies.bsky.social Oct 9, 2026, 11:02 AM

Does radical right success change attitudes or the local climate? Stefan Dahlberg, @hilmal.bsky.social & @polhosc.bsky.social examine Sweden, finding contextual alignment, not persuasion. Read OPEN ACCESS: buff.ly/rI91be4

@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social #polsky #polsci #RadicalRight

@polstudies.bsky.social Oct 8, 2026, 5:02 PM

Did Biden’s 2024 exit reshape electoral outcomes? @mattmotta.bsky.social, Trujillo, @stecula.bsky.social, Callaghan, @ophiryotam.bsky.social & @drorwalter.bsky.social examine panel data, finding no turnout effects but higher excitement and Democratic engagement. Read more: buff.ly/q2pN1n9

#polsci

Abstract
We assess the impact of former President Joe Biden’s unprecedented decision to exit the 2024 Presidential race 2 months before election day by analyzing a naturally-occurring experiment surrounding the incumbent President’s decision to exit the 2024 race, a period in which we fielded the second wave (NWave 2 = 831) of a nationally-representative panel study (NWave 1 = 1400), with random invitation assignment (from the original response pool) throughout Wave 2. Pre-registered difference-in-difference (DID) analyses reveal no evidence of significant turnout or down-ballot effects across either the US adult population or partisan subgroups. However, post hoc tests reveal substantial gains in excitement about the 2024 campaign across both the general population and (especially) among self-identified Democrats after President Biden’s decision to drop out. Elevated excitement coincided with (a) increased belief in core democratic principles and (b) increased donation to Democrats up and down the ballot.

@polstudies.bsky.social Oct 8, 2026, 11:01 AM

When conflict forces people from their homes, does it change how they vote? @galbitton.bsky.social finds that displaced residents shift rightward in their political identity, but don't change their vote. Read more: buff.ly/Qv5xJMw

@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social #researchnote #ConflictPolitics

@polstudies.bsky.social Oct 7, 2026, 9:22 PM

Do parties & voters agree on EU exit referendums? @acgoldberg.bsky.social & @alessandronai.bsky.social examine 10 countries, showing parties are more opposed than voters, with gaps narrowing as issue salience rises. Read OPEN ACCESS: buff.ly/p6gswBf

@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social #EuropeanPolitics

$Abstract The fracture between citizens and elites on European integration remains understudied, most notably when it comes to specific issues. One of these issues, particularly salient in the aftermath of Brexit, is holding further European Union exit referendums across the Union. While regularly floated by (Eurosceptic) parties for electoral purposes, it remains unclear to what extent parties and citizens agree to actually hold European Union exit referendums. We examine the relationship between party and citizen stances on this issue in 10 European Union member states, leveraging original cross-country survey data and expert survey data on parties’ positions, both collected in 2019. The results show that parties tend to be more against holding a European Union exit referendum than their voters, less so the more extreme parties. Moreover, higher media saliency correlates with greater party–voter congruence, and the issue is more polarised among the electorate than at the party level.$

@polstudies.bsky.social Oct 7, 2026, 11:02 AM

Can youth volunteering reduce class-based gaps in voting? @clarawe.bsky.social & @leoazzollini.bsky.social find volunteering nearly closes the participation gap linked to social origin, especially for blue-collar working-class children. Read OPEN ACCESS: buff.ly/3MYAfvU

@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social

@polstudies.bsky.social Oct 6, 2026, 11:02 AM

Can workplace democracy exist in practice or do democratic organisations inevitably devolve into new hierarchies? @timchristiaens.bsky.social argues channels for plebeian contestation from below are needed to withhold the formation of new hierarchies. OPEN ACCESS: buff.ly/c0RacFk

#polsky #polsci

@polstudies.bsky.social Oct 5, 2026, 5:01 PM

How do opposition parties become viable under dominant-party rule? Nur Sinem Kourou & Ahmet Cemal Ertürk examine Turkey’s CHP, arguing “transformative accumulation” builds capacity through ideology, leadership and organisation. Read more: buff.ly/1IVW6fl

@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social #polsky #polsci

Abstract
How do opposition parties become viable alternatives under dominant-party rule? Existing studies often attribute opposition change to electoral shocks or short-term campaign strategies, offering limited insight into how governing capacity is constructed under asymmetric political conditions. This article introduces the concept of transformative accumulation to analyze the recent trajectory of Turkey’s Republican People’s Party under the long-standing dominance of the Justice and Development Party. Drawing on 13 elite-level interviews with incumbent and former party officials, campaign consultants, and local leaders, the study identifies three interwoven narratives—ideological, institutional, and leadership—that structure this transformation. It shows how the Republican People’s Party recalibrated its ideological appeal, adopted a more inclusive leadership model, and strengthened its administrative and communicative capacities despite persistent institutional constraints. While acknowledging the continued structural advantages enjoyed by the Justice and Development Party, the article demonstrates how opposition parties can reposition themselves as viable alternatives within competitive authoritarian regimes. Conceptually, it shifts the analysis of opposition politics away from episodic electoral moments toward a process-based framework for studying opposition agency under dominant-party rule.

@polstudies.bsky.social Oct 5, 2026, 11:02 AM

Can social media enable popular counter-power while reinforcing elite influence? @absander.bsky.social examines #saccageparis, finding its digital tactics gave citizens a tribunate role despite its non-popular composition.

OPEN ACCESS: buff.ly/2z1TPOo

@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social #polsky #polsci

@polstudies.bsky.social Oct 4, 2026, 5:01 PM

Can polarized politics still share an issue agenda? @mathiastromborg.bsky.social and Carsten Jensen examine the 2020 US election, finding major political actors generally agreed on the most important issues. Read more: buff.ly/iALWctr

@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social #polsky #polsci #USPolitics

Abstract
American voters, politicians, and media are increasingly hostile toward out-partisans and frequently disagree about the content of policies. This development raises an even more fundamental question about the nature of politics in highly polarized societies: Can the political actors even agree on what issues to disagree about, and why? To answer this critical question, we generate a massive new dataset covering communication by key actors from the last 2 months of the 2020 US Presidential election, including the presidential candidates (all tweets by Donald Trump and Joe Biden), the main news organizations (CNN and Fox News), and a large and original voter survey (N ~ 24,000) with daily representative data. Surprisingly, we find that the patterns of agenda setting in the 2020 election reduced rather than fueled agenda diversity and that the major political actors generally agreed on what the most important issues were in this otherwise polarized election.

@polstudies.bsky.social Oct 4, 2026, 11:01 AM

Should we exaggerate support for #democracy to save it? Maxime Lepoutre examines the dilemma of affirming democracy during democratic backsliding. Read OPEN ACCESS: buff.ly/f0fAwu0

@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social #polsky #polsci #ethics

@polstudies.bsky.social Oct 3, 2026, 8:42 PM

@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social #polsky #polsci #UKPolitics

Abstract
Understanding how voters use the left-right scale is essential, as it is not only related to vote choice but also underpins how political scientists study ideology. This article finds that the way voters use the left-right scale is variable. Using British Election Study Internet Panel data from 2014 to 2024, I find that while economic and cultural values are both related to left-right self-placement, this varies both between individuals and over time. Those on the left of the self-placement scale can best be differentiated from one another by the strength of their economic values. For those on the right, cultural values are more useful in separating between different self-placement levels. Over time, left-right self-placement has become increasingly related to cultural values alongside economic values, driven by movements by people on both sides of the left-right scale. These findings indicate that even within one country, the meanings of ‘left’ and ‘right’ vary.

@polstudies.bsky.social Oct 3, 2026, 11:02 AM

How much more complicated does government formation get when one more party enters parliament? Chris Hanretty (@chanret.bsky.social) finds identifiability declines as parties increase, with no "sweet spots". Read OPEN ACCESS: buff.ly/EPcxz0X

@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social #polsky #PartySystems

@polstudies.bsky.social Oct 2, 2026, 11:02 AM

Does ideological congruence or perceived competence matter more for vote choice? @dieterstiers.bsky.social & @annkristinkolln.bsky.social argue both matter, but valence consistently outweighs spatial considerations. Read more: buff.ly/J3cy21u

@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social #polsky #polsci

@polstudies.bsky.social Oct 1, 2026, 5:02 PM

@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social #polsky #polsci #ClimatePolicy

Abstract
Do political parties shape where International Climate Funds are allocated? We examine this question in the context of India, where International Climate Funds create opportunities for the central government to leverage externally funded resources to advance domestic political interests. Drawing on a novel geo-coded dataset of project locations from the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism, we show that projects are more likely to be allocated to constituencies represented by co-partisans of the Prime Minister’s party, and that this effect is strongest in competitive constituencies within states governed by opposition parties, where the central government has the sharpest incentives to build new support. This is surprising because existing literature on the Clean Development Mechanism suggests that decisions on project allocations are depoliticized. By demonstrating otherwise, this article contributes to the literature on International Climate Funds by demonstrating the importance of domestic politics in shaping its distribution.

@polstudies.bsky.social Oct 1, 2026, 11:02 AM

Election is no guarantee a politician is viewed as an adequate representative - Hendriks & Saward capture how contemporary elected representatives & their teams invest heavily in backstage efforts to show their capacity to represent. Read OPEN ACCESS: buff.ly/tHXGHqD

@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social

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