@markuskollberg.bsky.social
Political Scientist | Comparative Political Behaviour, Political Parties, Empirical Democracy Research | Experiments, Surveys, Text-as-Data
@markuskollberg.bsky.socialIt took quite some time to get this paper out. We are really grateful to encouragement and feedback by @tabouchadi.bsky.social, @nicolaiberk.bsky.social, @inalkristiansen.bsky.social, @gessler.bsky.social, @heikekluever.bsky.social, Michael Jacobs, Christina Zuber, and many others...
@markuskollberg.bsky.socialThis matters because it suggests that citizens can contribute to democratic resilience in their everyday lives by challenging populist narratives in non-political settings.
@markuskollberg.bsky.socialFinding 1: Pluralist counter-arguments work! They weaken populist-majoritarian attitudes and are evaluated positively by respondents. Finding 2: Elitist counter-arguments do not work! They do not change attitudes and some findings suggest there might be a backlash against them.
@markuskollberg.bsky.socialWe test the effects of these counter-arguments on respondents' (a) democratic attitudes and (b) candidate evaluations in two survey experiments in the UK. Our vignettes purposefully describe non-political settings: two neighbors meeting at the local supermarket.
@markuskollberg.bsky.socialBuilding on the political theory of populism, we develop two counter-arguments. (1) a pluralist one arguing democracy is about balancing the interests of competing groups; (2) an elitist one arguing that elected representatives with expertise and experience should decide.
@markuskollberg.bsky.socialMany studies have found that politicians can "trash talk" democratic institutions and legitimize attacks on constitutional safeguards using populist rhetoric. We wanted to know: What can citizens actually do to prevent that from happening?
@markuskollberg.bsky.social🚨New Paper in @polbehavior.bsky.social!
Julia Leschke and I ask: What works against populist rhetoric? We find: Advocating for pluralist ideals can mitigate the negative effects of populist rhetoric.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
More details below ⏬
@danbischof.bsky.socialReposted by @markuskollberg.bsky.socialPostdoc position within my group 3 years (100% TVl-13):
stellen.uni-muenster.de/jobposting/2...
⏱️ 06.11.2026
If you have questions: get in touch!
@frederikthieme.bsky.socialReposted by @markuskollberg.bsky.socialWhy do green parties struggle electorally despite widespread support for climate action? My new (first 😱) paper explores why green parties remain uniquely challenged in economic crisis & that the mechanism is not only about sociotropic concerns, but also voters’ pocketbooks 🧵
doi.org/10.1017/S147...
@tabouchadi.bsky.socialReposted by @markuskollberg.bsky.socialFor my new research unit Politics of Democracy at the Berlin Social Science Center @wzb.bsky.social, we have 3 open research positions.
2 postdocs: 4 + 2 years (100%)
1 doc: 2 years (75%)
Starting date: 1 March 2027 (negotiable)
Application deadline: 1 November
@krausewe.bsky.socialReposted by @markuskollberg.bsky.socialHappy to see our new paper on mainstream-to-challenger defection in print!
w/ @denis-cohen.bsky.social & @aigneranna.bsky.social
Check out Denis' summary below!
Thanks to @nilssteiner.bsky.social, @conradziller.bsky.social & @ackermannk.bsky.social for organizing this SI!
@kunkakom.bsky.socialReposted by @markuskollberg.bsky.socialWe are hiring at LMU Munich: two PhD positions and one postdoc on democracy, political psychology and computational social science. Start: January 2027 or as soon as possible. We review applications on a rolling basis until October 20. Details below. Reposts very welcome! 1/7
@markuskollberg.bsky.socialDo you want to understand whether investments in public services can make democracies more resilient? Come and do your PhD with @heikekluever.bsky.social and me!
We offer great conditions, a supportive team, and lots of room to develop your own ideas.
Any questions? Please, do reach out!
@markuskollberg.bsky.social@fabioellger.bsky.social and I are organizing an open panel on the crisis of conservative and christian democratic parties at next year's meeting of the German political science association (DVPW). We are looking forward to interesting submissions!
@fabioellger.bsky.socialReposted by @markuskollberg.bsky.social📣 CFP | DVPW 2027 Leipzig I’m organizing two open panels: 1) Incumbency Disadvantage as the New Normal? w/ Sebastian Bukow 2) Center Right Parties and the Radical Right w/ @markuskollberg.bsky.social Papers, preprints & PAPs welcome in German or English. Message us if interested!
@nilsweidmann.bsky.socialReposted by @markuskollberg.bsky.socialWe have a 2-year postdoc position available in a new SNSF/DFG-funded project on nationalist mobilization. More details here: stellen.uni-konstanz.de/jobposting/5.... Please share widely!
@markuskollberg.bsky.socialNew working paper on dynamic group identities and electoral behavior! ⬇️⬇️⬇️