Hilma Lindskog (@hilmal.bsky.social)

@polstudies.bsky.social Sep 30, 2026, 5:01 PMReposted by @hilmal.bsky.social

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

"Abstract
Electoral success of radical right parties is often argued to normalize previously stigmatized anti-immigration attitudes. Yet, it remains unclear whether such normalization reflects genuine within-individual persuasion or shifts in the local climate of political expression. We address this question by linking highly disaggregated district-level vote shares to individual-level panel survey data from Sweden (2018–2022), a period marked by sustained growth and partial normalization of the Sweden Democrats. Cross-sectional analyses reveal pronounced contextual patterns: Restrictive immigration attitudes are more prevalent in districts with higher local radical right support, particularly among voters who do not support the party, while core supporters remain comparatively stable. However, first-difference panel analyses provide little evidence that changes in local radical right support are associated with attitudinal change. The findings suggest that what appears as normalization in ecological analyses is more consistent with contextual alignment than with rapid persuasion, clarifying the micro-foundations of radical right normalization."

@hilmal.bsky.social Sep 25, 2026, 11:29 AM

The paper shows that while workplaces may serve as sites for countervailing processes to educational polarization, structural patterns of educational sorting in the labor market contribute to a political polarization of education groups at the aggregate.

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

@hilmal.bsky.social Sep 25, 2026, 11:29 AM

📌 The main finding is that working alongside more university-educated colleagues has a liberalizing effect on political attitudes, independent of an individual's own level of education. Panel data suggests that not only selection effects drive the association.

@hilmal.bsky.social Sep 25, 2026, 11:29 AM

In light of recent labor market trends showing educational sorting at work, I use population-wide administrative data linked to a representative election survey to study the attitudinal effects of our colleagues.

@hilmal.bsky.social Sep 25, 2026, 11:29 AM

Do educational networks at workplaces shape political attitudes? 👬 Happy to share that the latest paper in my dissertation is now published in @bjpols.bsky.social.

@hilmal.bsky.social Sep 24, 2026, 2:52 PM

The main finding is that working alongside more university-educated colleagues has a liberalizing effect on political attitudes, independent of an individual's own level of education. Panel data suggests that not only selection effects drive the association.

@hilmal.bsky.social Sep 24, 2026, 2:52 PM

In light of recent labor market trends showing educational sorting at work, I use population-wide administrative data linked to a representative election survey to study the attitudinal effects of our colleagues.

@hilmal.bsky.social Sep 4, 2026, 4:49 PM

Big congratulations!!