@sldelange.bsky.social
Professor of Dutch Politics at Leiden University | Extremism, populism, radicalism scholar | Board member IISG Amsterdam and Wiardi Beckman Foundation | Allotmenteer | Zeeuws meisje |
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).
01.03.2026 14:07 — 👍 60 🔁 27 💬 2 📌 0Thought-provoking read by Aurelien Mondon. Should be of interest to centrists, liberals, and lefties concerned about the far right.
28.02.2026 17:08 — 👍 27 🔁 9 💬 1 📌 3
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....
27.02.2026 09:46 — 👍 39 🔁 12 💬 0 📌 1
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
27.02.2026 08:00 — 👍 999 🔁 134 💬 20 📌 11how it started / how it’s going
27.02.2026 09:03 — 👍 18 🔁 7 💬 1 📌 0So much Schadefreude waking up to a certain by-election result
27.02.2026 07:53 — 👍 22 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0🇮🇹⚖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/
26.02.2026 09:53 — 👍 24 🔁 20 💬 1 📌 0
🚨🚨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
26.02.2026 13:47 — 👍 9 🔁 5 💬 0 📌 6(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.
26.02.2026 13:26 — 👍 39 🔁 14 💬 1 📌 1As 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.
26.02.2026 13:46 — 👍 71 🔁 32 💬 2 📌 1
🌊 #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
🔮 #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...
Truly shocking, if not entirely surprising. This isn't flirting with the extreme right, it's legitimizing and normalizing it.
26.02.2026 07:02 — 👍 138 🔁 58 💬 14 📌 7"well, the sex tape didn't work, what else have we got?"
25.02.2026 16:10 — 👍 94 🔁 35 💬 4 📌 0
#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.
📊 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!
25.02.2026 07:28 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
📢 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!
24.02.2026 19:45 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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
24.02.2026 17:07 — 👍 10 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 0