Tom Theuns

Pure anarchy at Leiden this morning

reminds me of the horrible fact that in several European countries women's suffrage was delayed by 'progressives' fearing women would vote as their priest instructs (i.e. conservative)

Sarah de Rijcke appointed Rector Magnificus of Leiden University Professor Sarah de Rijcke will become the new Rector Magnificus on the Executive Board of Leiden University on 15 January 2026. She will succeed Professor Hester Bijl, who will become Rector Magnificu...

www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...

Sarah de Rijke is appointed the new Rector of Leiden University.

Prof. de Rijke is one of the leading voices for recognizing diverse contributions to academic excellence and for open science. A strong appointment, though we will miss her at FSW!

It was totally worth it. The postman came back with gifts

November infringements package: key decisions Overview by policy area\n\nIn its regular package of infringement decisions, the European Commission takes legal action against Member States that fail to comply with their obligations under EU law. T...

At long last, some enforcement by Commission re Slovakia's backsliding with letter of formal notice sent yesterday for breach of several fundamental principles of EU law, particularly the principles of primacy, autonomy, effectiveness and uniform application of EU law
ec.europa.eu/commission/p...

Came home to discover my wife’s been flirting with the postman

LEES HIER ALLES OVER DE LANGE ARM VAN @leol.bsky.social!!!

www.mareonline.nl/opinie/de-ba...

A short PhD advice dialogue

PhDer: "Can you recommend a book about academia?"

Me: "Lord of the Flies."

PhDer: "Really?"

Me: "It focuses on a group of academics in a Faculty and their disastrous attempt to govern themselves."

Stop de Mona-rchie

It's pretty easy to point out a problem with something in less than 300 characters, but much harder to present the solution - hence the general tendency towards critique and negativity on these platforms, and in turn our wider political culture. Presumably though all we need to do to fix this is....

or of some parties to be in some groups

Party positions in the European Parliament 2024. Based on the CHES expert survey. Political space in the European Union 2024.

🤩 Party positions in the 2024 European Parliament 🇪🇺!
I merged the CHES expert survey with EP composition data to visualize the political space of the current EP. The graphs make the center of gravity in the EP quite clear, on multiple dimensions and policy issues.
dimiter.shinyapps.io/ches/

The spread of renew positions here is pretty wild

Hi everyone, my colleague from contemporary history, Jason Resnikoff, and I are recruiting a PhD student for a position in International Union Politics.
Please send us your students interested in strikes, unions and labor politics!
werkenbij.rug.nl/vacature/phd...

Expect Hungarian access to Russian oil and gas to be an election talking point in Hungary as Orban fights for his political survival.

(I won’t link the article because Döpfner is dangerous and Axel Springer owns Politico)

makes sense!

Odd names are in!

”The situation is tense” – How Orbán has tried overcome Fidesz’s internal crisis - Direkt36 Fidesz underestimated opposition leader Péter Magyar so much that they realized too late that he posed a real threat to them. Direkt36 reveals how Viktor Orbán launched his spring offensive against Magyar and how this caused tensions within the government.

🇭🇺 EXCLUSIVE: An in-depth look at how Viktor Orbán and Fidesz underestimated Péter Magyar until it was too late. Direkt36 reveals how Orbán’s spring offensive against him backfired—fueling internal tensions and exposing cracks inside the government.

Return to who? Better put it to use for some good maybe?

Big kudos to this economist for calling out sexism in his discipline.

Obviously, political science has its own well-known prominent sexists and institutional sexism. So much work still to be done — and, importantly, this work should be done (also) by men!

*For those who like precision, KOZP will formally stop on December 5th. They had planned two final protests today (the arrival of Sinterklaas), in Texel and Yerseke. The Texel protest was cancelled after the planning committee chose not to use blackface Pieten. Yerseke cancelled it's official event.

The anti-racist Kick Out Zwarte Piet activist group ceased operations today. Heroes. This is what winning looks like.

Far-right support helps EPP win Parliament vote to slash industry red tape | Euractiv The vote is the first significant alignment between centrist and right-wing MEPs

Cordon insalubre

www.euractiv.com/news/far-rig...

😭

My 9yo told me he’d done his homework at the daycare. I told him this was impossible. He showed me his finished work. I told him the problem was conceptual not empirical. Now he’s annoyed at me.

Back on NU.nl ( www.nu.nl/321468/video... ) who have been following Péter Magyar’s rise from the very beginning - @umceehub.bsky.social @ceudeminst.bsky.social

AI and assessment in higher education:

Notwithstanding all the lengthy reports, committees, and handwringing, are we any further than “back to on-campus exams”?

Evenheidskabinet

If you are a student (or staff member) at Sciences Po Paris, please join us Friday to discuss the outcome of the Dutch elections