Manès Weisskircher

📢 Exciting news! Check out the new publication by C-REX director @arjupskas.bsky.social and affiliate @jacravn.bsky.social: "Extremism and Counter-Extremism in Norway" featured in The Oxford Handbook of Norwegian Politics! #NorwegianPolitics #Extremism global.oup.com/academic/pro...

New co-edited book on pedagogy in PoliSci is out!

Why most polls overstate support for political violence Misperceptions about the popularity of violence increase public support for it — but you can help change that.

Terrific piece from @gelliottmorris.com this morning.

Whenever you ask if something “might” happen or “may” be necessary, it’s very easy for respondents to think of scenarios where the answer is yes, no matter how unlikely.

@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:

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New SI "Cleavage Politics in Western
Democracies" @wepsocial.bsky.social!

If you're interested in transforming social & political divides in advanced democracies, this is for you.

The intro by @davidattewell6.bsky.social & me maps contributions around 3 challenges for contemp. cleavage research.

This Thursday, we celebrate the retirement and work of Michael Minkenberg, one of the most underrated scholars of far-right politics. I will give an online keynote but there is also a great in-person panel with, among others, @andreapirro.it & @veghzsuzsanna.bsky.social

Sign up here! 👇

Abstract

New paper out with @dasalgon.bsky.social: “Far-Right Agenda Setting: How the Far Right influences the Political Mainstream” doi.org/10.1017/S1475676525100066 #openaccess in @ejprjournal.bsky.social🧵

Why social movements struggle to change the EU: the ‘EU mobilization package’ and the case of DiEM25 - Comparative European Politics Social movement scholarship has emphasized that progressive ‘Europeanization from below’ may be a breeding ground for major EU reform and democratization. Empirically, however, activists have found it difficult to make gains when targeting the EU. To understand the challenges that activists face in the context of transnational EU mobilization, our article draws from agency-oriented approaches in social movement studies to propose an ‘EU mobilization package’, comprising three recurring strategic dilemmas that activists encounter: (a) the formulation of goals that both address the transnational level and appeal to national or local constituencies, (b) the building of a transnational political organization that is both inclusive and effective, and (c) whether and how to interact with EU institutions, particularly in the context of European Parliament elections. We apply this framework to the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 (DiEM25), an organization founded by Yanis Varoufakis in 2016, which is a key example of social movement dissensus to EU politics. Methodologically, we rely on comprehensive interview data, the analysis of a large corpus of DiEM25 online and offline publications, and participant observation of three public events. A discussion of the group’s strategic challenges provides important general lessons for our understanding of social movement mobilization targeting EU politics as well as transnational activism.

Building transnational parties seems to be a key ingredient for democratising the EU,but efforts have not succeeded so far. Looking at @diem25.bsky.social, @manesweisskircher.bsky.social & I just published this piece on why social movements struggle to change the EU link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Screenshot of an academic article titled “Rally and Recalibrate: Political Dynamics of Audience Expectations of Journalism During Times of Crisis” published in The International Journal of Press/Politics (OnlineFirst, Sage Journals). Authors: Claire Roney, Daniel Wiesner, Andreas A. Riedl, and Jakob-Moritz Eberl. The abstract explains that the study examines how audience expectations of journalism in Austria evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic. It identifies shifts toward emerging journalistic roles such as Fact Checker and Science Communicator, based on data from three waves of the Austrian Corona Panel Project. Findings show fluctuating audience expectations tied to changes in public trust and crisis dynamics, emphasizing journalism’s need for adaptability. Keywords listed: journalism, audience expectations, trust in institutions, crisis attitudes, survey research, COVID-19. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612251375203

New publication out in #IJPP! 📑
We study how audience expectations of journalism 📰 shifted during COVID-19 in Austria 🇦🇹 – showing both short-term rally effects & longer-term recalibration 🔄.
Led by @clmron.bsky.social & @danielwiesner.bsky.social , w/ @andreasriedl.bsky.social & me. 1/n

Wir suchen Wahlhilfenhelfer zur #Kommunalwahl in #Hessen 2026.
👉 Anmeldung zur Infoveranstaltung: tudaipol.limesurvey.net/994956?lang=de

A. Pelinka. “Die FPÖ im internationalen Vergleich. Zwischen Rechtspopulismus, Deutschnationalismus und sterreich-Patriotismus”. In: conflict & communication online 1 (2002), pp. https://web.archive.org/web/20230315030559/http://www.cco.regener-online.de/2002 1/pdf 2002

Anton Pelinka : Niemand hat Österreich besser erklärt Mit Anton Pelinka verliert das Land seinen bekanntesten Politikwissenschaftler. Der ORF-Moderator Armin Wolf erinnert sich an seinen Lehrer – und an sein Vorbild.

Die ZEIT hat mich gebeten, etwas über den großen Anton Pelinka zu schreiben - dessen Nachfolger ich werden wollte, als ich vor genau 40 Jahren seinetwegen begann, Politikwissenschaft zu studieren:

Politikwissenschafter Anton Pelinka: "Im 'Club 2' konnte man frei ausreden" Der bekannte österreichische Politikwissenschafter Anton Pelinka zieht im Gespräch mit seinem ehemaligen Moderatorenkollegen Peter Huemer politisch Bilanz

Anton Pelinka was Austria's most prominent political scientist, who was also one of my inspirations, combining insightful research with important public outreach. I met him a few times and was always humbled by his kind support.

He gave this interview less than 3 months ago.

R.I.P. Anton! 💔

† Univ. Prof. Dr. Anton Pelinka (1941–2025) Ein Nachruf von Univ.-Prof. DDr. Günther Pallaver.

Mit Anton Pelinka (1941–2025) verliert Österreich eine Stimme des kritischen Denkens.

Ein Nachruf seines langjährigen Kollegen am Institut für Politikwissenschaft Günther Pallaver:
www.uibk.ac.at/de/politikwi...

Sozialwissenschaftler Claus Offe gestorben Claus Offe prägte die Sozialwissenschaften mit scharfsinnigen Analysen und gesellschaftskritischen Perspektiven. Als Grenzgänger zwischen Soziologie und Politologie bleibt sein Werk wegweisend.

Ein von Michael Zürn und mir verfasster Nachruf auf Claus Offe. Ein bemerkenswerter Mensch und Wissenschaftler www.faz.net/aktuell/feui...

35 years ago, on October 3, 1990, Germany was reunified. Just two months later, voters in the former GDR went to the polls in the first free federal election since the Weimar era. Despite decades of socialist dictatorship, East German voting behavior displayed marked regional differences. Thread🧵

Thank you, Markus :) It was a pleasure to discuss your excellent paper - it studies such an urgent question of real-world politics. Looking forward to future exchange!

The Strength of Far‐Right AfD in Eastern Germany: The East‐West Divide and the Multiple Causes behind ‘Populism’ This article sheds light on one of the key developments in recent German politics and relates it to the broader debate on the electoral success of the far right. The rise of the Alternative für Deuts...

🇩🇪 German Reunification Day!

In 2020, I wrote about how Germany's east–west divide links to #AfD success. Today, the article remains relevant — but the AfD’s rise across Germany shows that this is not only an east-west story.

➡️ onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... @politicalquarterly.bsky.social

Glad that you participated, dear Jakub - much appreciated!

It has been a real pleasure to discuss my work on support for the green transition among conservative voters with this great crowd of scholars! Thanks for the invitation @manesweisskircher.bsky.social 🙏

Had a chance to hear about a lot of great and inspiring research these past couple days, as well as to see some old friends and colleagues and meet some new ones! Kudos to @manesweisskircher.bsky.social and the @rexklima.bsky.social team for organizing and bringing this fantastic lineup to Dresden!

I’m glad that the 2nd #REXKLIMA workshop in Dresden brought together so many insightful presentations and lively discussions - with a great mix of quantitative and qualitative manuscripts. Looking forward to seeing these papers published! 💫📑

hait.tu-dresden.de/ext/veransta... @rexklima.bsky.social

Glad that you joined us in your hometown, ASH 😎 Great project that Gefjon and you have developed!

It was a pleasure to have you here in Dresden, dear Julius. Looking forward to seeing your great manuscript published! 🚂🚄

What a pleasure it was to participate in the 2nd #REXKLIMA workshop & to present some work on the #mainstreaming & #normalisation of the #farright (🤝 @gefjonoff.bsky.social). Thanks to @manesweisskircher.bsky.social et al. for bringing together so many great minds & kind souls from across Europe! ✨

I had a fun time at the REXKLIMA workshop in Dresden. Big thanks to @manesweisskircher.bsky.social & the whole team for the invite, the interesting panels, and the smooth organization! 🚂

🍊 Fresh out!

@kai-arzheimer.com introduces The Radical Right Research Robot (RRRR) 🤖 to demonstrate how 'bots' can play an important role on social media by sharing research, building connections and posting references.

👇

🗒️ buff.ly/NfTWBSY

📺 buff.ly/e2nsJmc

Far-Right Normalization and Democratic Erosion: A Pre-Election Update from the Netherlands - C-REX – Center for Research on Extremism Just a month ahead of the Dutch elections, Léonie de Jonge and Iris B. Segers raise concerns about the growing normalization of extreme-right ideologies and actions, highlighted by the unprecedented v...

📢 New Blog Post! 🚨 Just a month before the Dutch elections, Iris Beau Segers and @leoniedejonge.bsky.social highlight the troubling normalization of far-right ideologies, the democratic erosion, and the recent violence at an anti-immigration demo in The Hague. www.sv.uio.no/c-rex/englis...

📣 Together with Iris Beau Segers, I wrote about the recent far-right violence at an anti-immigration demo in The Hague in the Netherlands. If you are curious about what is happening in the run-up to the elections, this blog is for you 👇🇳🇱

Great new paper by Phil Howe, @davidsteinecke.bsky.social & Christina Zuber on voting behavior of deputies in the Imperial Austrian Reichsrat: doi.org/10.1111/lsq....