Sarah de Lange

« La liberté académique est une condition de la démocratie elle-même » TRIBUNE. La France doit tirer une leçon de l’expérience américaine : sans statut juridique fort, la liberté académique ne résiste pas longtemps aux chocs politiques, explique, dans une tribune au « Mo...

www.lemonde.fr/idees/articl...

Inside the Growing Scientist Migration to Europe For decades, the U.S. has attracted talented scientists from all over the world. That may be changing.

Good piece on the “brain drain” from the U.S. and the history of its “brain gain”. For the moment, while the numbers might be up, it looks like the real loss is in talented junior and future scholars, rather than senior “stars” (as most of these programs are not competitive for the latter).

Red Lines: Why we need Red Lines (Aurelien Mondon) - Reactionary Politics Research Network This article by Aurelien Mondon discusses the need for red lines in the struggle against reactionary politics.

Thought-provoking read by Aurelien Mondon. Should be of interest to centrists, liberals, and lefties concerned about the far right.

Poland asks EU Parliament to strip far-right leader Braun of immunity to face Holocaust denial charge

Poland has asked the European Parliament to strip far-right leader Grzegorz Braun of immunity so that he can be charged with denying Nazi crimes, an offence carrying a potential three-year jail term.

The case relates to his claims that gas chambers were not used at the Auschwitz and Majdanek camps.

“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist,
but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction and the distinction between true and false
no longer exist.”

- Hannah Arendt

My choice for Quote of the Day in @stinej.bsky.social series.

Fascinating new paper by and @elena-amaya.bsky.social and Robert Braun on the role of folklore in shaping far-right support in Weimar Germany: journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10....

Danish election campaign first poll:

- center left bloc almost has a majority; center right far from
- centrist government (like the current) is an option again
- social democrats do well (compared to recent polls, not comp w/ 2022 elections)
- liberals do poorly, general fragmentation on the right

MATTHEW BADLOSS IS IT

how it started / how it’s going

So much Schadefreude waking up to a certain by-election result

🇮🇹⚖The Italian government seeks to hold a referendum on reforming the judiciary. What is at stake? Proponents say it's a technical reform that will address persistent issues with the organisation of Italian judges and prosecutors. Detractors point to a power grab. What's the deal here? 1/

Mette Frederiksen announces Denmark will hold snap election on March 24 The center-left prime minister has experienced a surge of support after she rebuffed U.S. President Donald Trump’s bid to seize Greenland.

🚨🚨Biggest European Politics news of today: A midst ongoing crisis with #trump and #Greenland #Denmark will hold a snap election next month, PM #MetteFrederiksen announced today during a plenary session of the Danish parliament in Copenhagen. 🧵
www.politico.eu/article/mett...

Extreemrechtse student Thomas D. krijgt 2 jaar cel voor wapenbezit, waarvan 1 jaar voorwaardelijk

Extreemrechtse student Thomas D. krijgt 2 jaar cel voor wapenbezit, waarvan 1 jaar voorwaardelijk

(Google translated from Dutch) "Conviction for possessing a large quantity of firearms, ammunition, and parts and accessories for firearms and ammunition, and for converting a gas pistol into a working firearm and manufacturing 100 corresponding cartridges. These offenses occurred against the backdrop of the defendant's political activism. The defendant's interests and beliefs will also determine the sentence and the special conditions to be imposed. Despite the defendant's young age and clean criminal record, the court considers a lengthy prison sentence appropriate. However, given the negative consequences of this criminal case for his future and the removal of the previous suspicion of terrorism, the court will not impose a longer prison sentence than the one requested by the public prosecutor."

In the Netherlands, Thomas D., a leader in far-right group Geuzenbond, was sentenced today in a Rotterdam court to 24 months in prison (12 months suspended/conditional, ~6 months time served) for firearms and weapons offenses

uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl/details?id=E...

This article by Joep van Lit and Carolien van Ham is very useful for those interested in empirically studying democratic erosion in all its complexities.

As we (rightly) focus on the threat of U.S. government funding far-right parties and "think tanks", this excellent @veghzsuzsanna.bsky.social report is an important reminder of the crucial role that the Orbán government already plays in developing and financing a far-right infrastructure in Europe.

🌊 How democratic erosion became administratively normal in Greece Vera Tika argues that contemporary illiberalism rarely arrives through dramatic democratic rupture. Instead, it advances quietly through routine governance and administrative practices that normalise ...

🌊 #IlliberalWave No.45
🧨 Contemporary #illiberalism rarely arrives through dramatic democratic rupture.
📉 Examining #Greece’s regulation of civil society, Vera Tika shows how democratic erosion can occur incrementally — through law, procedure, and bureaucratic control.
👉 bit.ly/4kTEL11

🔮 Can local independents block the rise of populism in ‘left-behind’ communities? Independent local lists are often seen as a sign of democratic community organisation. More than that, write Fred Paxton and Eliška Drápalová, their rise may actually limit the success of populist par...

🔮 #FutureOfPopulism No.102 
📃 Independent local lists are often seen as a sign of democratic community organisation.
📈 @fredpaxton.bsky.social & Eliška Drápalová argue that their rise may also limit the success of populist parties among voters disenchanted with mainstream politics.
👉 bit.ly/46w3G4O

NEW FROM 55(1)

"Branding the white nation: Platform capitalism and the semiotics of far-right organizing" by @cat-tebaldi.bsky.social & Alfonso Del Percio

#Far-RightSemiosis #Branding #PlatformCapitalism
doi.org/10.1017/S004...

UK far-right activist Tommy Robinson visits US state department Trump administration is cultivating links with conservative groups across Europe

Truly shocking, if not entirely surprising. This isn't flirting with the extreme right, it's legitimizing and normalizing it.

"well, the sex tape didn't work, what else have we got?"

#februaristaking
Het is vandaag 85 jaar geleden dat duizenden mensen staakten vanwege de anti-Joodse maatregelen van de nazi's. Dit protest, geïnitieerd door de Communistische Partij Nederland, was het enige massale en openlijke protest tegen de Jodenvervolging in bezet Europa.

What political violence does to citizens Violence against politicians is a part of politics, but experimental studies find that its effect on citizens is muted. Rozemarijn van Dijk and Joep van Lit argue those null results are nevertheless m...

📊 Experimental studies find that violence against politicians barely affects citizens, but @rozemarijnvandijk.bsky.social & Joep van Lit argue those null results are still meaningful: they should push scholars to study how #PoliticalViolence can result in (de)mobilisation.
👉 bit.ly/4aBYj6A

Next Friday, 6 March, at 3.30 p.m. CET, professor @leoniedejonge.bsky.social will give a lecture in the Extreme Beliefs team on change and continuity in recent far-right ideologies and actors. Can't wait! 😀 It's hybrid, please register via the email address.

extremebeliefs.com/event/lectur...

Very nice!

Call for applications for a 3 years doctoral contract For the ERC GREENLOSS Project - Application deadline: May 17, 2026

📢 JOB ALERT! Fully funded 3-year PhD in Climate & Comparative Politics at @sciencespo-cee.bsky.social. Starting in September.
The project is on the political consequences of climate policies in carbon-intensive communities across Europe.
🗓 Deadline: May 17
www.sciencespo.fr/centre-etude...

Dank voor de complimenten!

Far-right against green: the re-emergence of geographically defined voting patterns and the new environment cleavage in Western Europe | European Political Science Review | Cambridge Core Far-right against green: the re-emergence of geographically defined voting patterns and the new environment cleavage in Western Europe - Volume 18 Issue 1

18.1🌹

Far-right against green 🌳

@dafnoukos.bsky.social @chvrakopoulos.bsky.social & C.Arndt find that rural groups are more likely to push back against green policy as they 'lose' compared to cities, highlighting how climate issues can/are creating new social & geographic divides

Het rapport laat duidelijk zien dat niet alleen wettelijke maatregelen de ruimte voor het maatschappelijk middenveld verkleinen, maar dat ook democratische normvervaging in de politiek hier een belangrijke bijdrage aan leveren