The Loop

When courts become weapons: how Chad jailed its opposition leader Chad's 20-year conviction of opposition leader Succès Masra reveals how African courts have become weaponised against dissent. Across the continent, writes Michael Asiedu, from Benin to Uganda, author...

⚖️ Chad's 20-year prison sentence for #SuccèsMasra reveals how African courts have become weaponised against dissent.
🤫 Across #Africa, writes Michael Asiedu, #Authoritarian regimes are using fabricated charges to silence opponents, masking the repression behind democratic facades.
👉 bit.ly/49t7ztz

🌊 The nature of fascism and why it differs from populism People are talking more and more about fascism, and often confusing it with populism. Paul D. Kenny argues that we need to understand how fascism stands out. It has never been just a matter of words o...

🌊 #IlliberalWave No.44
🗣️ People are talking more and more about #Fascism, and often confusing it with #Populism.
💡 @kennypd.bsky.social discusses the features of fascism and argues that we need to understand how it stands out.
👉 bit.ly/4r1mjGe

🧭 The negative consequences of rule transfer in EU enlargement László Bruszt and Julia Langbein argue that EU market rules, when applied to weaker economies, can trigger damaging side effects. Unless anticipated and managed, these risks threaten not just candidat...

🧭 #EUEnlargementDilemmas No.32
🌍 Based on @jeppjournal.bsky.social research, L Bruszt & J Langbein argue that #EU market rules, when applied to weaker economies, can trigger damaging side effects. Unless managed, these risks threaten not just candidate countries but the EU itself.
👉 bit.ly/4a3IGEV

Why rare earths are central to US-China relations From F-35 jets to Tesla batteries, Washington’s reliance on rare earth elements (REEs) runs deep. China, which refines more than 99% of the world’s heavy REEs and supplies 70% of US imports, has repea...

🔋 From F-35 jets to Tesla batteries, the US’s reliance on rare earth elements runs deep.
🚢 China supplies 70% of US imports + repeatedly plays this ace in times of tension. Yet, writes Mariam Mumladze, interdependence + limited alternatives complicate the standoff.
👉 bit.ly/4o4nNNk

☢️ Nuclear deterrence or nuclear collapse? A nuclear war between great powers would mean the collapse of human civilisation – and could lead to the irreversible breakdown of global society. Rhys Lewis-Jones argues that humanity faces an existe...

☢️ #NuclearPoliticsParadox No.28
⚡ A #NuclearWar between great powers would mean the collapse of human civilisation and could lead to the breakdown of society.
🚨 Rhys Lewis-Jones argues that we face an existential #NuclearThreat that demands deliberate and urgent action.
👉 bit.ly/47LDtjF

National parties' strategies for mobilising expat voters The recent Dutch parliamentary elections and the popular vote on electronic ID in Switzerland revealed the considerable influence of the expat diaspora, which adds crucial votes to overall election re...

🗳️ The recent #DutchElections + the #DigitalID vote in Switzerland revealed the major influence of the expat diaspora.
📈 National parties, argue @adrianfavero.bsky.social & @gillespittoors.bsky.social, need to harness the power of transnational orgs to mobilise non-residents voters.
👉 bit.ly/3X2fMxq

From compassion to fatigue: Türkiye's refugee return debate Once seen as brothers in faith, Syrians are now at the centre of Türkiye's sharpest debate: return. Economic hardship, social fatigue, and Europe’s moral outsourcing have turned an act of solidarity i...

🤝 Once seen as brothers in faith, #Syrians are now at the centre of #Türkiye's sharpest debate: return. Süleyman Güngör explores the hardship and social fatigue that have turned an act of solidarity into a question of justice, identity and survival.
➡️ bit.ly/3K1BONH

What Americans really think when European allies don’t cooperate NATO recently agreed to a historic 5% defence spending target. But Osman Sabri Kiratli presents new experimental evidence revealing that what Americans truly care about goes far beyond the numbers. In...

💰 #NATO has agreed to a historic 5% defence spending target. But @osmansabrikiratli.bsky.social of @ecprsgir.bsky.social presents 🆕 evidence revealing that what Americans truly care about goes beyond the numbers. In fact, democratic allies may have more leeway than they realise.
👉 bit.ly/3JXqqlX

🧭 The geopolitical turn in enlargement discourse Tom Hunter, Natasha Wunsch and Marie-Eve Bélanger argue that Russia’s war has exposed the double-edged nature of European discourse. The EU has long sustained itself through words; now language has be...

🧭 #EUEnlargementDilemmas No.31
🌐 Geopolitical conflict exposed the double-edged nature of European discourse.
🗣️ Now, argue Tom Hunter, Natasha Wunsch & Marie-Eve Bélanger, language has become #EUstrategy, shaping what is possible.
👉 bit.ly/4p4PMgI

🔮 Banana populism: when politics gets absurd (and why it works) Why did Viktor Orbán bring pickles to Parliament? What made Kamala Harris lean into 'brat summer'? And why do politicians flood social media with pets, food, and everyday objects? Ilana Hartikainen an...

🔮 #FutureOfPopulism No. 96
📱 Why do politicians flood social media with pets, food + everyday objects?
🍌 @lanihart.bsky.social & @zeaszebeni.bsky.social argue these are examples of #BananaPopulism, where politicians build emotional connections with voters through mundane imagery.
➡️ bit.ly/3WWV9Tc

The 'Dead Internet Theory' and the rise of synthetic politics The Dead Internet Theory, once dismissed as 'paranoid fantasy', now offers a disturbingly useful framework for understanding digital politics. Mimi Mihăilescu argues that the theory's growing credibil...

Ever feel like politics online is… off?
Like everyone’s debating, but no one’s actually there?

New piece for @ecprtheloop.bsky.social on the Dead Internet Theory and how we might be building a simulation of democracy itself.

🔗 theloop.ecpr.eu/the-dead-int...

#DeadInternet #academicsky #democracy

🦋 Epistocracy, DemEarth, and the asteroid belt of democracy Who should decide what counts as democratic, and how? This series argues that such a challenge raises an ethical, a practical, and a philosophical difficulty. Leonardo Fiorespino questions the ethical...

🦋 #ScienceOfDemocracy No.125
🙋‍♀️ Who should decide what counts as democratic, and how? Such a challenge raises ethical, practical, and philosophical difficulties.
☄️ Leonardo Fiorespino questions the ethical issue and introduces 'the asteroid belt of democracies'.
👉 bit.ly/3JsRmtS

☢️ Moscow brandishes threats, Beijing clings to caution China and Russia march in unison on the global stage. Behind the choreography, however, lies a partnership of limits and unequal leverage. United in criticising Washington and trading weapons, the two...

☢️ #NuclearPoliticsParadox No. 27
🔀 United in criticising Washington + trading weapons, China & Russia diverge sharply on #NuclearDoctrine.
M Mumladze shows how shared opposition to the West conceals deeper strategic differences, exposing the limits of their no-limits partnership.
👉 bit.ly/4oKSdoX

The 'Dead Internet Theory' and the rise of synthetic politics The Dead Internet Theory, once dismissed as 'paranoid fantasy', now offers a disturbingly useful framework for understanding digital politics. Mimi Mihăilescu argues that the theory's growing credibil...

💻 The #DeadInternetTheory offers a disturbingly useful framework for understanding #DigitalPolitics.
🤖 @kagegirl.bsky.social argues that the theory's growing credibility masks deeper questions about whether we're overestimating #AI's political power.
👉 bit.ly/3JN0edQ

Diplomatic resilience: what is it, and how can states achieve it? How do small and medium-sized states safeguard their sovereignty and national interests amid intensifying great-power rivalry and a fragmented international order? To answer this question, John Karlsr...

❓ How do small and medium-sized states safeguard their sovereignty and national interests amid intensifying great-power rivalry and fragmented international order?
💭 John Karlsrud, Maryna Rabinovych & Marianne Riddervold introduce the concept of diplomatic resilience.
👉 bit.ly/47PazOw

@ronaldschleehauf.bsky.social, @judithreinbold.bsky.social, @mariusfroehle.bsky.social

How the Trump-Zelensykyy Oval Office meeting shifted German views of the US Few moments captured the volatility of transatlantic relations better than the explosive Oval Office meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy on 28 February 2025. Sebastian Jäckle, Ronald ...

💥 Few moments captured the volatility of transatlantic relations better than the explosive #OvalOffice meeting between Trump + #Zelenskyy in Feb.
🔎 Sebastian Jäckle et al study its impact on German public opinion using online survey data in their @prxjournal.bsky.social research.
👉 bit.ly/4nOIUmF

PR firms are working for brutal regimes, and getting away with it Many PR firms work for brutal regimes — polishing their image, attacking critics, and helping dictators cling to power. Alexander Dukalskis, Christian Gläßel, and Adam Scharpf ask: why does this happe...

📰 Many PR firms work for brutal regimes — polishing their image, attacking critics + helping dictators cling to power.
🚫 @alexdukalskis.bsky.social, Christian Gläßel & @ascharpf.bsky.social ask: why does this happen, and what can democratic societies do to stop it?
👉 bit.ly/496GA6Y

My piece for @ecprtheloop.bsky.social 's 🦋#ScienceofDemocracy series. On the two things that I think are both overused and under-theorised in the social sciences: democracy, and (multi)disciplinarities.

In this recent blog post I show how publicly available technologies like satellite imagery and SAR can be used to "fact check" aggressive nuclear rhetoric.

🦋 The times have changed: beyond conventional studies of democracy Institutional theories rooted in the works of Joseph Schumpeter and Robert Dahl still dominate the study of democracy. But, argues Ryusaku Yamada, this Science of Democracy 2.0  discussion reveals the...

🦋 #ScienceOfDemocracy No.124
Institutional theories rooted in the works of #Schumpeter + #RobertDahl still dominate the study of democracy.
Ryusaku Yamada argues this series reveals the emergence of another current: scholars who engage democracy from critical perspectives.
👉 bit.ly/4ojSkHQ

☢️ Using emerging technology for escalation management Technology is not a cure-all. But it can help reduce the risk of nuclear weapons crises. Jamie Withorne shows how increasingly accessible information can harness transparency and 'fact check' the cred...

☢️ #NuclearPoliticsParadox No.26
💻 Technology isn't a cure-all. But it can help reduce the risk of #NuclearWeapons crises.
🔍 @jamiewithorne.bsky.social shows how increasingly accessible information can harness transparency and 'fact check' the credibility of nuclear threats.
👉 bit.ly/4qEPq29

The EU’s AI gamble with healthcare The promise of revolutionary advances in healthcare is not a mainstay of the EU’s artificial intelligence policies. Jason Tucker explores how the outcomes of the EU’s instrumentalisation of healthcare...

🏥 The promise of revolutionary advances in #healthcare is now a mainstay of the EU’s #AIstrategy.
🤖 @jasonetucker.bsky.social explores how the outcomes of the EU’s instrumentalisation of healthcare in the AI race doesn't look good for waning #EU political legitimacy.
👉 bit.ly/4qGnR8m

Tackling gender-based violence in European universities — through intersectionality Intersectionality is already shaping Europe’s fight against gender-based violence in research and higher education. Using evidence from UniSAFE, new EU policy frameworks, and the next generation of Ge...

🔀 Intersectionality is already shaping Europe's fight against gender-based violence in higher education.
📝 Using evidence from the #UniSAFE project and new #EUpolicy frameworks, Lut Mergaert & Marcela Linkova reveal the impact of intersectional initiatives.
👉 bit.ly/4nAuXII

Can UN high-level meetings on health deliver real change? Every September, world leaders gather at the UN high-level meetings to confront the most pressing global health crises. In 2024, the spotlight fell on antimicrobial resistance – a silent pandemic thre...

📆 Every September, world leaders gather at the UN high-level meetings to confront the most pressing #GlobalHealth crises.
😷 In 2024, the spotlight fell on #AntimicrobialResistance. But, asks Frank Tu Ngo, will the 2024 meeting lead to real change? #AMR
👉 bit.ly/47ARv6t

Re-electing Cameroon’s forever president Paul Biya, the world’s oldest head of state and the second-longest ruling leader in Africa, ran for a record eighth term earlier this month. John Chin and Julien Derroitte assess Cameroon’s prospects ...

Earlier this month, Paul Biya, the world’s oldest head of state, ran for a record 8th term. What are Cameroon’s prospects for peace and democracy in Africa’s turbulent coup belt? Read the assessment by John Chin and Julien Derroitte, today in @ecprtheloop.bsky.social. theloop.ecpr.eu/re-electing-...

🦋 Breaking democracy out of its box We need to break democracy out of the disciplinary boundaries of political studies. A fresh, multidisciplinary approach to reimagining democracy, argues Mouli Banerjee, could be the antidote to the gl...

🦋 #ScienceOfDemocracy No.123
We need to break democracy out of the disciplinary boundaries of political studies. Reimagining it using a multidisciplinary approach, argues @pandapoliticus.bsky.social, could be the antidote to the global democratic anxiety we are facing.
👉 bit.ly/3WtGb71

Penelope’s web and the politics of patience Penelope, wife of Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey, who spent twenty years weaving and unweaving a shroud to delay remarriage and preserve her household, has come to symbolise fidelity, cunning, and endura...

🧵 Penelope, in Homer’s #Odyssey, who spent 20 years weaving + unweaving a shroud to delay remarriage, has come to symbolise fidelity & endurance. Serena Fraiese of @ecprsgir.bsky.social argues her story reveals characteristics now central to diplomacy in an age of uncertainty.
👉 bit.ly/4hx6uCM

☢️ Rebuilding nuclear credibility through fair energy access The Nuclear Suppliers Group faces new tests from great-power rivalry, climate change, and the spread of nuclear technology. Syeda Saba Batool argues the Group needs clear rules for admitting countries...

☢️ #NuclearPoliticsParadox No.25
🌏 Syeda Saba Batool argues that the #NuclearSuppliersGroup needs clear rules for admitting countries outside the #NPT, and to ensure that climate-vulnerable developing states gain fair access to civilian #NuclearEnergy.
👉 bit.ly/3JvlbtE

Is Latin American democracy showing signs of recovery? After almost twenty years of democratic decline, in 2023, liberal democracy in Latin America appeared to be regaining strength. But has it managed to sustain the trend? Tim Pires Alves assesses whethe...

📈 After almost 20 years of democratic decline, in 2023, liberal democracy in #LatinAmerica appeared to be regaining strength. But, Tim Pires Alves asks, has it managed to sustain the trend? 🌩️ Or was 2023 the calm before an even harsher autocratic storm?
👉 bit.ly/4hwVKVh