Piotr Zagórski

In Spain, what once seemed impossible is now widespread: the young are turning to the far right | María Ramírez Migration is barely mentioned – instead, failed policies on housing, wages and employment are driving young voters into the arms of Vox, says María Ramírez, deputy managing editor of elDiario.es

Around 40% of men under 35 are planing to vote for the far right in Spain, and support is increasing among young women too. My piece @theguardian.com on this and what other politicians are doing www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

@dpzollinger.bsky.social and I are thrilled "Cleavage Politics in Western Democracies" is out as an SI at @wepsocial.bsky.social!

Its papers explore the foundations of the cleavage pitting new left against radical right parties, and how it compares to the classic cleavages of Lipset & Rokkan:

🧵⬇️

🇲🇩🗳️ 🇪🇺 Astonishingly, it's Moldova that proves that a democratic rebound is sustainable, even in the face of massive interference from a malicious superpower. Maia Sandu's PAS needs to improve its delivery of promises, but voters haven't given up on Moldova's European dream. 1/

Trump, contra la democracia: claves de un asalto para controlar EE UU En menos de nueve meses, el Gobierno de Donald Trump ha atacado todo lo que permite que Estados Unidos funcione: de las libertades civiles a las universidades, pasando por servicios básicos como la sa...

elpais.com/ideas/2025-0...

Does the EPP really vote with the far right? 5 things we learned from the data. Here’s what POLITICO’s analysis of European Parliament first-year plenary votes shows.

One year after the 2024 election bolstered right-wing forces in the European Parliament, POLITICO’s data shows that they don’t team up often — but win when they do.

This is such a small world. I’ve just spent a day in Hungary discussing #illiberalism and woke up to this Jimmy #Kimmel story. Trump & co. don’t need direct lessons from Hungary—some of their moves are already beyond #Orbán in radicalism. 1/8

🧲 We are hiring!
✨ PhD position to join @dec-gr.bsky.social
🏁 4-year FPI contract
🎓 Pol Sci / Social Sci background + Master’s + English
📧 Send expression of interest with CV and motivation letter to gr.dec@uab.cat
🔗 tinyurl.com/yc3epmv2

At least 19 Russian drones crossed into Polish air space last night. This was not an accidental breach or a mistake.

Legacies of Repression and Resistance in Early 20th Century Europe - Andrea Ruggeri, Laia Balcells, Patricia Justino, 2025 Authoritarian and violent experiences affect the institutional settings of post-dictatorial regimes. However, we still lack a comprehensive knowledge on how loc...

New publication alert: "Legacies of Repression and Resistance in Early 20th Century Europe", at Comparative Political Studies. With @andrearuggeri.bsky.social and @apvjustino.bsky.social
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

🇵🇱⚖️🐊 Meanwhile in the Polish rule of law crisis: the association "Lawyers for Poland" (made up of pro-PiS lawyers/judges, both neo- and regular) request for the prosecution to investigate whether the new Minister of Justice Waldemar Żurek didn't illegally own a crocodile. Welcome to Poland.

Young men, gendered labour market competition, and opposition to gender equality policy across 27 EU countries Recent studies have shown an increasing divide in political values between young men and women, particularly regarding gender equality attitudes. In this study it is argued that this is due in part...

New publication in @wepsocial.bsky.social!

Are young men becoming more conservative?

This debate requires a) more nuance and b) theoretical explanations for often descriptive results. With Amy Alexander and Nicholas Charron, we try addressing both.

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

BJPolS abstract discussing the dynamics of mainstream and radical political rhetoric regarding anti-immigrant policies, highlighting differences in societal responses and enforcement norms based on the source of the rhetoric.

NEW -

How Mainstream Politicians Erode Norms - cup.org/4lfeHvD

"we find that statements by mainstream politicians lead to more norm erosion than similar statements by radical-right politicians"

- @valentimvicente.bsky.social, Elias Dinas & @dziblatt.bsky.social

#OpenAccess

🚨 Very excited to share that the call for papers for the EPSS annual conference in Belfast 2026 is live.

🔝 Lots of innovation to enrich the way we exchange ideas in political science in Europe.

🙏🏼 Sharing is caring!

Should liberal leaders prioritize quick action or effective reform after illiberalism? Both options could benefit their opponents.

Read "Democracy After Illiberalism: A Warning from Poland" by Stanley Bill and Ben Stanley:

muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...

🚨 We're hiring!
Join our CSES Team @gesis.org Cologne as a Senior Researcher. If you’re into comparative electoral research and love diving into data, this is your moment.
Come shape global democracy with us! 🌍📊
www.gesis.org/en/institute...

When restoring liberalism after illiberalism, leaders face hard choices between acting quickly and effectively while maintaining a commitment to democratic procedure, write Stanley Bill and Ben Stanley.

muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...

❗The segmentation of the right field is eroding, especially among young voters❗

New article out by @simonbornschier.bsky.social @dpzollinger.bsky.social
@mrsteenbergen.bsky.social and myself
@ipz.bsky.social ‬ @wepsocial.bsky.social

tinyurl.com/ycxfx2aj

A short 🧵

1/7

New article out in World Politcs. We analyze how different groups react to varying programs of social democratic parties. We find less trade-offs than often assumed. Generally, more left-progressive programs increase support among social democratic potentials
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/articl...

Enhorabuena!!🚀

Vox es el partido con más intención de voto entre los españoles menores de 45 años, según la encuesta de 40DB para @elpais.com
elpais.com/espana/2025-...

A horizontal bar chart titled “Generational Turnout: From 2020 to 2024 Rates” shows turnout rate changes among registered voters by generation and party affiliation. The chart includes four generational groups—Gen Z, Millennial, Gen X, and Boomer—and tracks changes from 2020 (dot) to 2024 (arrow tip), with Democratic turnout in blue and Republican turnout in red. Key trends: • Gen Z: Democratic turnout dropped by 13.7 percentage points (pp); Republican turnout dropped by 7.9pp. • Millennials: Democratic turnout fell by 5.6pp; Republican turnout fell by 0.3pp. • Gen X: Democratic turnout dropped 4.2pp; Republican turnout dropped 0.8pp. • Boomers: Democratic turnout declined 3.2pp; Republican turnout declined 1.4pp. A note below the chart explains that all groups saw turnout declines, but Democratic voters dropped off more steeply. A boxed summary highlights the consistent pattern: Republicans started from higher turnout and maintained more of their base, while Democrats experienced longer arrows (larger drop-offs) across all generations.

Underappreciated 2024 trend: Relative dropoff in Dem vs Rep turnout among younger reg. voters. Easy to mistake this as a swing right but it’s turnout.

If young Dems matched Rep turnout rates, they’d have netted 2.5-3.5M votes—might not have flipped election but likely would’ve swung popular vote.

I hope you all had a great #EPSA2025 in Madrid @uc3m_es — we certainly did! @simonchauchard.bsky.social

Outstanding academic exchanges in an equally exceptional social and collegial atmosphere.

See you all in Belfast next year for #EPSS2026!

We were lucky enough to have our YouGov/The Economist poll in field when the US bombed Iranian nuclear facilities. You can see the partisan realignment in real time

Bar chart titled “The Supreme Court vs. The Lower Courts: Rulings on the Trump Administration” showing three horizontal bar charts for May 1-June 23, 2025. Federal District Courts: large red bar (82 cases, 94.3% against) with tiny green bar (5 cases, 5.7% for). Circuit Courts of Appeal: medium red bar (15 cases, 68.2% against) with smaller green bar (7 cases, 31.8% for). Supreme Court: tiny red bar (1 case, 6.3% against) with large green bar (15 cases, 93.7% for). Shows dramatic reversal from lower courts ruling against Trump administration to Supreme Court ruling for it.

Since May:

Federal district courts have ruled against Trump admin 94% of the time.

Supreme Court has sided with the Trump admin 94% of the time.

A judiciary at war with itself.

📆 On 19-20 June, scholars across Europe met for a workshop on Political Behaviour in Central & Eastern Europe.

Hosted by @eui-sps.bsky.social under the #EUIWidening Europe Programme, the event explored topics like voting trends, participation & public opinion.

More info👉 loom.ly/Y3Udo4I

Novo presidente da Polônia deve obstruir recuperação do Estado de Direito no país, diz cientista político Analista Piotr Zagorski diz que eleição de Karol Nawrocki terá consequências na qualidade da democracia polonesa

folha.com/y2cnb4e6

The Direction and Meaning of Left-Right in Postcommunist Societies Abstract. Positioning on the left-right scale is often regarded as a heuristic that enables citizens to reduce the information costs involved in navigating

New paper out in IJPOR! We (w Ian McAllister) use @ess-survey.bsky.social and other survey data to examine East/West differences in the use and meaning of left-right.

academic.oup.com/ijpor/articl...

a cartoon of a bear with the words to coin a phrase my dear counselor below it Alt: Robin Hood movie, the kind talks to the counselor and says he wants to steal from the poor

Can populist parties produce a Robin Hood Effect by bringing new emphasis to welfare?

Are they a corrective to liberal democracy in terms of political representation?

[SPOLIER] No!

Very proud of this paper for @jeppjournal.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1080/1350...

🚨 New article out at @polstudies.bsky.social!

"A Longitudinal Study on the Dynamic Relationship Between Affective Polarization and Radical Right's Emergence: The Case of VOX in Spain", co-authored with @marianotorcal.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1177/0032...

🚨THE GENDER GAP AMONG THE YOUNG HAS REVERSED in several European countries. Now under-25 women earn more than young men per hour.

Why is this happening and how does this impact the vote for the far-right?
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