Jack Dean

As someone for whom coding is the stuff of nightmares, applications like this raise great opportunity for quant/mixed-methods work that otherwise would take an unbelievable time investment.

Think so much of the way it has been used thus far has been replacing thinking rather than a tool to assist.

Exposing the political foundations of Eastern Europe and Eurasia during the pandemic - CEU Review of Books In The Politics of the Pandemic in Eastern Europe and Eurasia (Routledge, 2024), edited by Margarita Zavadskaya, the contributors provide an overview of the political impact of COVID-19 in the region ...

In The Politics of the Pandemic in Eastern Europe and Eurasia (Routledge, 2024), edited by Margarita Zavadskaya, the contributors provide an overview of the political impact of COVID-19 in the region with a focus on Russia. Jack Dean reviews the volume.

ceureviewofbooks.com/review/expos...

Supply and Demand of Regional Populism in Bavaria: Explaining the Regional Success of the CSU and Free Voters This article tests the concept of regional populism to explain the electoral success of the CSU and the Free Voters in Bavaria, two parties that together have governed the state since 2018. It brid...

🚨Publication Alert🚨

Supply & Demand of Regional Populism in Bavaria: Explaining the Regional Success of the CSU & Free Voters in German Politics

📑TL;DR: Regional populism is distinct from AfD's general populism and predicts CSU/FW voting well.

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

A short 🧵 1/n

Selective Irredentism in Populist Radical Right Discourse in Romania This article introduces selective irredentism to explain why Romanian populist radical right actors emphasize some territorial claims but not others. Romania’s history involves both territorial gai...

Much of what we know of Irredentism is based on it in practice. Much also assumes a logical consistency.

Yet how do we explain the use of Irredentism in discourse but not practice, and with inconsistent application?

In my first paper, I attempt to tackle this:
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Why not both?

There is much more that can be said, but short-form only allows for a limited extent. I will update semi-frequently on here with any further important developments as the situation progresses, but I would be open to discussing this long-form should the possibility arise.

This is the first significant challenge for Dan and Bolojan, and may prove to be a defining one: how do you fix a system suffering from undue influence? How do you restore public trust? How do you avoid this from affecting other aspects of society? This is unlikely to be quick or simple.

Closer to today, concerns about the electoral commission and judiciary featured heavily in the rhetoric of populist actors in the aftermath of the cancelled presidential election of 2024, and the prohibition of various candidates both before and after. This has a key impact on belief in democracy.

President Dan and PM Bolojan have each called for action: but this has to be quick to avoid a complete collapse in trust in the courts.

Romania's judiciary has long faced concerns of corruption, with it being one of the main barriers to EU accession in the early 2000s.

This was pushed further when one of Bucharest's judges, Raluca Morosanu, warned of the threat of disciplinary actions for judges who do not bow to pressure from those within and outside of the judiciary itself. A joint statement from many judges last night warns that this is just the beginning.

These protests this week though have a different source: Recorder's publication of a documentary featuring judges, prosecutors, and others has proved explosive. It includes criticism of the growing politicisation of the judiciary, and allegations of acquittals in dubious circumstances.

The first of these was commonplace in 2015 in the protests following Colectiv and the uncovering of Hexipharma's watering down of antiseptics. The last, All for Justice, was present in the protests against OUG13, an attempt in 2017 to try and water down the criminal code against corruption.

Many of the slogans on signs will be familiar to anyone who has observed Romanian politics since 2015: "Corupția ucide" (Corruption kills), ""Justiție, nu corupție!" (Justice, not corruption), "Toți pentru justiție" (All for Justice).

Another night, another set of protests in Romania calling for judicial reform.

In the following thread, I am going to provide brief summary of how we have got here, and of where some of these slogans have been seen before.

The worst thing about these misinformed stories about ‘exodus’ of #PolesinUK - not really backed by data - is that they STILL have a whiff of awful sense of superiority of “how bad Britain must be if they’re going back to their poor, awful countries,” as per this poll.

This is a reminder, if it were ever needed, that this isn't just Ukraine's war. If the ever increasing number of drone incursions isn't proof enough, this should be.

European security, both militarily and economically, is at stake. It may be a long, long winter for Europe's east.

To an extent it feels like the USR acting like your standard Western political party, rather than the localised movement they were originally.

It feels very strange to suggest the PNL made a smart political decision, but I think you're spot on.

Especially with the current attitudes towards politics and politicians, it feels like a great call by the PNL and a horribly poor one from USR.

Energy integration and economic integration are inherently tied, and this has the potential to have a massive impact on Moldova's journey towards Europe and the EU. It will also do no harm to Romanian-Moldovan relations, which will be a key part of any integration into continental systems.

Personally, I think this is overly simplistic: there's much more at play in Transnistria and Tiraspol than just gas.

I would caution to remember the same here: gas is not going to lead to unification between Romania and Moldova.

What it will do is further push Moldova's outlook west.

Energy politics are becoming a key battleground in Moldova. With the massive issues faced in Transnistria throughout this year in terms of gas supply, many international sources suggested this was a route for eventual reintegration.

Away from Bucharest, which I'll keep updating, it is worth looking at Chișinău.

With the heavy Russian bombardment of Ukraine, and the strikes on the power grid, much of Moldova was left reliant on emergency power supply from Romania over the last 24hrs.

This is a lesson that you think wouldn't need to be learned in a Romanian context. Local connections are and have always been the key factor, whether its clientelism or a genuinely positive brand.

Definitely, its a case of political complacency ignoring that Dan had a relatively strong personal brand - he wasn't some parachute candidate by the end.

Admittedly expected her candidacy and that of SENS to raise turnout, not to see such a poor showing across the board.

Much had been made in the international press about Alexandrescu that was unlikely to pan out. This is a testament to lack of local knowledge: it was always an unlikely outcome, and suggestions of "first far right capital" didn't stand up to interrogation at all.

An unsurprising result if it stands up in reality.

Two immediate notes:
- AUR backed candidate getting 1/5th of the vote in the capital (albeit on a poor turnout)
- that is a bad result for USR.

Turnout like this is not surprising in many respects, but it is poor.

With yesterday being the 6th anniversary of the first confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis and last week's publication of the COVID inquiry, this event comes at a great time to learn more about political communication in such moments.

Looking forward to my first time presenting at the PSA Conference, a wonderful way to kick off a hopefully busy schedule for 2026's conference season! #PSA26