The Loop

Transatlantic TikTok propaganda and the end of localised populism

⛔️ TikTok deportation propaganda is fast becoming the new border wall. States, platforms + algorithms are fusing into a single machine.
📱 This, says @kagegirl.bsky.social is turning #Deportation into bingeable content + replacing physical walls with algorithmic control.
👉 bit.ly/4bLi6S0

My new post @ecprtheloop.bsky.social about the need for genuine co-design at the local level.

I also speak a little but about my new @researchireland.ie project THRIVE which focus on improving democratic urban governance: thrive-project.lovable.app

@dcuresearch.bsky.social

👇👇👇👇

The world order crisis is about authority, not polarity The world order is not simply shifting from unipolarity to multipolarity, but undergoing a deeper struggle over political authority. Who has the right to make binding global rules, through which insti...

🌍 The world order is not simply shifting from unipolarity to #Multipolarity, but undergoing a deeper struggle over political authority.
📊 @attinaf.bsky.social of @ecprsgir.bsky.social argues that multipolarity helps explain today’s stalled reforms + institutional paralysis.
👉 bit.ly/4cj9DFH

🎈 How public consultations can spark local innovation Valesca Lima argues that Irish local authorities tend to treat public participation as a formal administrative requirement. However, by moving beyond performative box-ticking and toward genuine co-des...

🎈 #RepresentativeDisconnect No.7
📑 @valescal.bsky.social argues that Irish #LocalAuthorities tend to treat public participation as a formal administrative requirement.
✅️ However, by moving beyond performative box-ticking + toward genuine co-design, we can bridge the trust gap.
👉 bit.ly/4tsBolB

It's not finance, it's your pensions Sweden is a social-democratic beacon with one of the world's deepest stock markets. Contradiction? Martino Comelli argues that welfare states actively build financial markets through social policy des...

💰️ Martino Comelli argues that welfare states build financial markets through social policy design.
🪙 Funded #Pensions + housing subsidies create investable assets; generous public pensions crowd finance out.
➡️ bit.ly/4r1VTE5

To become a true Arctic power, the US should follow the EU’s example Donald Trump’s sabre-rattling over Greenland has alienated allies and weakened, not strengthened, the US’ position in the Arctic. If the US is serious about solidifying its Arctic position and rebuild...

🗣️ Trump’s sabre-rattling over #Greenland has alienated allies + weakened the US’ position in the Arctic.
🌎️ Using @jird-jour.bsky.social research, Aslak Veierud Busch argues that if the US is serious about solidifying its #Arctic position, it should learn from the EU’s experience.
👉 bit.ly/4c8CMTW

Greenland is a test of US power – and Trump is failing it Donald Trump’s coercion of Denmark over Greenland is not just an Arctic dispute. Igor Sevenard and Richard J. Cook argue that by treating NATO allies as real estate vendors, Trump shatters the trust n...

🏔️ Trump’s coercion of #Denmark over #Greenland is not just an Arctic dispute.
⛓️‍💥 Igor Sevenard & Richard J. Cook argue that by treating #NATO allies as real estate vendors, Trump shatters the trust necessary to deter China. Breaking faith in Europe, the US loses credibility in Asia.
👉 bit.ly/3Zl5MQW

Apply now Summer School of the Standing Group on Extremism and Democracy

📣 Apply now for the Summer School of our SG on Extremism & Democracy @ecpr-ead.bsky.social

📆 6–10 Jul, University of Bologna

✔ 6 classes on key theories & methods
✔ 2 roundtables exploring key challenges in the field
✔ 2 keynote speeches
✔ Network with peers, experts + more!

⏰️ 25 Feb

🔮 Can the populist radical-right National Rally win the 2027 French presidential election? A Jordan Bardella presidency would represent the most significant reconfiguration of executive power since the Fifth Republic’s founding. Even without a radical policy rupture, the symbolic impact on ...

🔮 #FutureOfPopulism No.99
🔀 A #JordanBardella presidency would represent a significant reconfiguration of exec power + have a profound impact on democratic norms.
📉 For the #EU, says John Ryan, the risk lies less in immediate withdrawal or obstruction than in gradual divergence.
👉 bit.ly/3NQfnN7

☢️ Nuclear euphemisms: how 'deterrence' masks escalation Deterrence is back — but not as we knew it. Once a strategy of nuclear restraint, the term is now being stretched to justify aggressive military actions, at home and abroad. Konstantin Schendzielorz a...

☢️ #NuclearPoliticsParadox No.33
#Deterrence is back — but not as we knew it. 🪖 Once a strategy of #Nuclear restraint, the term is now being stretched to justify aggressive military actions, at home + abroad. Konstantin Schendzielorz argues that, as meanings shift, so do red lines.
👉 bit.ly/3NQX5LI

US withdrawal from major environmental international organisations weakens its credibility On 4 January 2026, the US announced it will leave dozens of international organisations, many of which exist to protect the climate and environment. Theresa Jedd warns that this America-first policy o...

🌎️ On 4 Jan, the US announced it will leave dozens of international organisations, many of which exist to protect the environment.
⚠️ Theresa Jedd warns that this #AmericaFirst policy of international environmental isolationism could harm the people it claims to protect.
👉 bit.ly/4c1yZYD

The Indonesian government's flood response is exacerbating victims' suffering Fadhilah Primandari and M. Ammar Hidayahtulloh reflect on the Indonesian government’s response to Sumatra's calamitous floods in November 2025. They argue that when authorities gaslight disaster victi...

🌧️ @dhilaprimandari.bsky.social & M.Ammar Hidayahtulloh reflect on the Indonesian govt response to #Sumatra's floods in Nov 2025.
🗣️ They argue that when authorities gaslight disaster victims into believing they can handle the consequences, they delegitimise victims’ suffering.
👉 bit.ly/3MgQ6ex

What Davos 2026 reveals about the international system At Davos 2026, world leaders no longer spoke as architects of a shared international order, but as actors positioning themselves amid its visible unravelling. Assertions of raw sovereignty stood along...

⛰️ At #Davos2026, leaders no longer spoke as architects of a shared international order. Assertions of raw sovereignty stood alongside appeals to law, values & legitimacy.
⚡ This, says Süleyman Güngör, reveals a global system drifting decisively away from rules, and towards power.
👉 bit.ly/3NFedE5

🔮 How left-wing populism replaces security threats: Jean Luc Mélenchon on Muslims Left-wing populists tend to be inclusionary and egalitarian towards ethnic minorities. But Ugo Gaudino points out that their defence of Muslim communities’ religious grievances often clashes with thei...

🔮 #FutureOfPopulism No.98
🤝 Left-wing populists tend to be egalitarian towards ethnic minorities.
📃 But based on @ejisbisa.bsky.social research,  @ugaudino.bsky.social points out that their defence of Muslim communities’ religious grievances often clashes with their secular agenda.
➡️ bit.ly/4t0M4HP

How well do politicians understand what matters to voters? Politicians need to have a good understanding of which issues matters most to voters. Chris Butler reports from a recent survey of politicians that reveals that while they have a reasonable understand...

1) "when the issue was of less importance to politicians themselves, they assumed that voters were also less likely to care about it."
2) "when politicians acknowledged that voters disagreed with them on an issue, they were more likely to underestimate its importance."

👏@chrisbutlerpol.bsky.social

☢️ How nuclear weapon reductions backfired for NATO Russia continues to rely on its sub-strategic nuclear arsenal, and NATO is therefore hoping in vain for sub-strategic nuclear arms control negotiations. For three decades, says Wannes Verstraete, the ...

☢️ #NuclearPoliticsParadox No.32
⌛ Russia continues to rely on its sub-strategic nuclear arsenal & #NATO is therefore hoping in vain for sub-strategic #NuclearArms control negotiations. For three decades, says Wannes Verstraete, the Alliance has merely been 'waiting for Godot'.
➡️ bit.ly/4taPIz0

Has Chega changed the Portuguese parliament? What parliamentary votes reveal Nelson Santos, Sofia Serra-Silva, and Tiago Silva analysed voting patterns in Portugal’s parliament. They found that the legislative behaviour of populist radical-right Chega contradicts the party’s a...

🗳️ Nelson Santos, Sofia Serra-Silva & Tiago Silva analysed voting patterns in #Portugal’s parliament.
🔄 They found that the legislative behaviour of populist radical-right #Chega contradicts the party’s anti-system rhetoric. Meanwhile, conflict has reached unprecedented levels.
👉 bit.ly/49ymoKT

Digital governance and the 'good' digital citizen in Hungary Hungary is gearing up for national elections in April 2026. The authoritarian Fidesz party – in power for over fifteen years – is campaigning hard in the online realm. Alíz Nagy puts these development...

🗳️ #Hungary is gearing up for national elections in April 2026.
💻 The authoritarian #Fidesz party – in power for over 15 years – is campaigning hard in the online realm. Alíz Nagy puts these developments in the broader context of #DigitalAuthoritarianism.
👉 bit.ly/4bbLD7a

Guinea, Gabon, and the judicial certification of post-coup rule in Africa Michael Asiedu argues that in Guinea and Gabon, judges are doing more than routine certification. By validating post-coup elections, courts transform military rulers into constitutional presidents — w...

🌍 @michasiedu.bsky.social argues that in #Guinea and #Gabon, judges are doing more than routine certification.
🗳️ By validating post-coup elections, courts transform military rulers into constitutional presidents — without requiring genuine democracy. #Coup
👉 bit.ly/4b6oXFj

Why we need to rethink what we know about public views on immigration You might think that most people have misperceptions about immigration. Yet many false beliefs are merely low-confidence guesses, rather than firmly held views. Drawing on new Swiss survey evidence, P...

💭 Based on @psrm.bsky.social research, @lutzphilipp.bsky.social & Marco Bitschnau reveal that many false beliefs about #Immigration are merely low-confidence guesses, rather than firmly held views. 🤔 This distinction has important implications for understanding public opinion.
➡️ bit.ly/3NvPq5i

Algeria’s assertive turn in postcolonial justice On 24 December 2025, Algeria passed a law recognising French colonisation as a state crime, and calling for restitution and reparations. The law is primarily domestic and symbolic. But Morgiane Noel a...

⚖️ In Dec 2025, #Algeria passed a law recognising French #Colonisation as a state crime.
🌍 While the law is primarily domestic + symbolic, @morgianenoel.bsky.social argues it signals a significant postcolonial shift which could influence #AfricanPolitics + Europe–Africa relations.
👉 bit.ly/4jPtVsb

How well do politicians understand what matters to voters? Politicians need to have a good understanding of which issues matters most to voters. Chris Butler reports from a recent survey of politicians that

Really pleased that @ecprtheloop.bsky.social have published my blog setting out my research around how well politicians understand which issues matter to voters, why they sometimes get it wrong, and how this misperceptions play out in real life decisions theloop.ecpr.eu/how-well-do-...

A just peace settlement for Ukraine remains elusive Donald Trump has recently suggested negotiators have made 'tremendous progress' on a Russia-Ukraine peace agreement. A fair and durable settlement, however, remains elusive. According to Dennis Shen, ...

🕊️ A fair and durable #PeaceSettlement for Ukraine remains elusive. According to Dennis Shen, an outcome that is overly accommodating of Russia’s war aims would only deepen present global geopolitical tensions and compound fiscal and economic challenges

⤵️ bit.ly/4jAEy1U

Trump’s strategy for Venezuela must include civil-military relations On 3 January 2026, US military invaded Venezuela, capturing and removing president Nicolás Maduro. But Vasabjit Banerjee and María Isabel Puerta Riera

🪖 On 3 January 2026, US military invaded Venezuela, capturing and removing president #NicolásMaduro.
💡 But @vasabjit.bsky.social and @maripuerta.com caution that beyond the ousting of Maduro, the Trump administration doesn't appear to have a plan for sustaining a democratic regime
👇 bit.ly/4pznACr

Kyiv, Caracas... Taipei? The unfolding post-exceptionalist world order The US capture and extraction of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on 3 January 2026 was an act without precedent. But Ruairidh Brown argues that recent

🚁 The US capture and extraction of Venezuelan leader #NicolásMaduro on 3 January 2026 was an act without precedent.
🌐 But in his new piece for The Loop, Ruairidh Brown argues that recent events in #Caracas were only the second Act in an unfolding post-exceptionalist world order
⤵️ bit.ly/49zgdoD

I did this job for a few years. Always fascinating.

🎈 How a student citizens' assembly in France is reshaping a Parisian university A pioneering new deliberative democracy project invites university students, faculty and administrative staff to develop transformative measures to future-proof their institution against social and en...

🎈No.5 Émilie Frenkiel introduces a pioneering #DeliberativeDemocracy project inviting university students & staff to develop measures to future-proof their institution against social and environmental challenges, bridging the #RepresentativeDisconnect between citizens & institutions bit.ly/4jBg7Bn

Logo of the European Political Science (EPS) featuring the acronym "EPS" in large letters below the full name written in smaller text, all set against a two-tone beige background.

Archive content from the European Political Science is now available on Cambridge Core -

https://cup.org/4poSDRx

cc @ecprtheloop.bsky.social @epsjournal.bsky.social

Why democracies ban extremist organisations Many extremist organisations exist and operate in democratic societies. Some get banned by democratic authorities; others don’t. Why? Using data on far-right organisations from Germany, Michael Zeller...

🪧 Many #extremist organisations operate in democratic societies. Some get banned; others don’t. Why?
📜 Using data from Germany, Michel Zeller of @ecpr-ead.bsky.social explains why governments ban only some of the organisations working to undermine constitutional democracy
#extremism
⤵️ bit.ly/3YuECH0

Trump’s version of Atlanticism mirrors Putin’s Eurasianism The Trump administration is advancing an illiberal Atlanticism that reimagines the West in manners similar to how Putin imagines Eurasia. Sibei Sun dissects the uncanny parallels between the two geopo...

🌐 The #TrumpAdministration is advancing an #illiberal #Atlanticism that reimagines the West in manners uncannily similar to how #Putin imagines Eurasia.
🌎 @sunsibei.bsky.social considers what this means for future transatlantic relations.
#illiberalism #Eurasianism
⤵️ bit.ly/4b8eqtl