Stefan Hee

Danke dir Yannick! Und danke auch für die wichtige Vorarbeit, das Paper wäre sonst so nicht möglich gewesen 🙏

Personally, I am thrilled to have added my little contribution to this exciting discipline, which I still believe offers a great perspective on today's problems. I encourage everyone to study globalization and its effects.
Stay tuned for more updates. #PhDLife #EarlyCareer #PolSci #Globalization

Is this study perfect? No. No study is flawless. Accepting that was a big PhD lesson. It is liberating to accept that imperfection is Okay. But solid findings deserve attention. Replication, innovation, and incremental progress will build on this.

Why? I attribute this result to the effects of contact with foreigners in everyday life, which reduces stereotypes. Moreover, right-wing populists promote policies against ethnic minorities. Hence, left-wing populism offers protectionism with less xenophobic content.

Key findings: 1. Less competitive places showed more populist voting, dominantly right-wing. 2. Zooming in: The share of foreigners matters. Places under economic pressure and with more foreigners, turned relatively more to left-populists. With fewer foreigners, relatively more right-populist.

In my contribution, I concentrated on the French presidential elections, analyzing voting patterns at the local/regional level—where people live, work, and interact daily. Not only do voting results vary on that level, but also competitiveness.

The publishing process showed me: There can also be happy coincidences. A workshop at Warwick University on space and globalization turned into a special issue—an opportunity I never expected!
Grateful to Özlem Atikcan, @achimhurrelmann.bsky.social and @gabrielsilesb.bsky.social for their support. 🙏

Choosing a topic you care about makes the PhD grind so much easier. The doubts about your work will come anyway, so be prepared by not losing faith in the value of research on your topic in general. This can be an anchor.

I am still fascinated by the political ramifications of the distributional effects of trade. The "left-behind" narrative is powerful, but I wanted to dig deeper: How does economic pressure translate into voting behavior? Can we divert polarization and other consequences with smart policy making?

Do people differ in their reaction to economic pressures from globalization?
Short answer: Yes, reactions differ a great deal, depending on local & regional labour market impacts, but also cultural factors.
Let me tell you about the process & some important details.

Career update 2/4, following my last post:
One of my proudest PhD moments: publishing my first peer-reviewed article. "When Trade Hits Home" 🤯
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Here are my struggles, the lessons learned, the results, and why I believe this matters 🧵
#openaccess
#earlycareer

And of course, my brilliant colleagues:
@alexboegner.bsky.social @alirisgandar.bsky.social @callegall.bsky.social @hanaattia.bsky.social @nzwiener-collins.bsky.social @sosomakaradze.bsky.social
Thank you all!
More reflections to come soon. #PhDLife #AcademicChatter #AcademicSky
(10/10)

I’m proud of this journey and grateful for the people who shaped it. Thank you to:
My Supervisors:
@andduer.bsky.social @robert-a-huber.bsky.social
My external examiner:
@stefwalter.bsky.social
My co-authors:
@sofiavasilopoulou.bsky.social @jessfortin-ritt.bsky.social
(9/10)

Finally: embrace post-Covid life.
Meet colleagues, share beers, step out of the ivory tower.
Especially having family & friends at my defense makes me very proud. They got a better idea what I am doing and they can tell a story of the trip to Salzburg for the defense of the first Dr. Hee. 🤯
(8/10)

But most rewarding by far: teaching.
There are many passionate teachers in Salzburg and I learned that this is not a given.
The market doesn't reward teaching efforts. Instead it is often seen as a burden at the cost of research. Therefore, cherish those who invest themselves into teaching!
(7/10)

Over 4 years, conferences (Chicago, Glasgow, …), workshops (Antwerp, Konstanz, …) & a research stay in Ottawa show: in academia you can truly travel the world. 🌍✈️
My highlight: the @isanet.bsky.social convention in Chicago shortly after Trump’s reelection. The shock was still present.
(6/10)

The value of a supportive community can’t be overstated.
Thus, colleagues and I created the #PhDForum for early career scholars — a safe space to discuss early research ideas and share struggles.
I highly recommend such low-stakes formats to every department. It was super helpful.
(5/10)

Starting without a concrete research idea was tough. The impostor syndrome hit hardest as others published excellent work while I was still reading, brainstorming, and getting feedback.
I felt unproductive — but it turned out to be the crucial foundation for my research of #Globalization.
(4/10)

My journey began in Oct 2021 in Salzburg, with a 4-year position at the Chair of International Politics — the subject that always fascinated me most.
The #Polsci community at @unisalzburg.bsky.social proved both globally competitive and wonderfully supportive for early-career scholars.
(3/10)

I met amazing scholars, and learned a lot about #AcademicLife. Maybe this can help anyone considering a #PhD or #EarlyCareer scholars.
Reading about others’ experiences helped me to feel understood in periods of doubt, so here’s my contribution.
More details will follow in the coming weeks.
(2/10)

My defense: Niklas, Nikolai, me, Rahel, Michael, and Victor

Me after my defense.

4 years in Salzburg — many challenges, many successes, and a written, submitted & defended #PhD thesis 🎓🎉
As this exciting period of my life ended in September, I’d like to share some impressions & learnings from my 4 year PhD journey with you. 🧵
(1/10)

New York Times: For Mamdani, Winning Is One Thing. Governing Will Be Quite Another.

Mamdani Won. South Florida Expects a Real Estate Bump. Some brokers and developers in the region are waiting eagerly to see if the election of a democratic socialist will drive more wealthy New Yorkers south.

Right-Wing Media Warns of Socialism and Chaos After Mamdani Victory

Mamdani’s Victory Is Less Significant Than You Think New York’s next mayor won’t save the Democrats. Nov. 5, 2025, 5:04 a.m. ET

New York Times having a totally normal one

YouTube video by Cambridge Law Faculty Reflections on the Brexit Revolution: 2025-26 Mackenzie-Stuart Lecture

I did a lecture on the impact of Brexit on British politics. Watch it here if you're really bored www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztqL...

“We All Ended Up in Islington”: The Hidden Multi-Dimensionality of UK Segregation This post introduces a new Composite Segregation Index combining ethnicity, class, and education to capture spatial sorting - and shows why UK's census architecture hides the social dynamic beneath.

"gentrification looks like integration in the data" New ways to look into segregation.

Last day to apply! 👇

This 👇 administration was still running on 39% approval ratings when I last checked.

Future generations will struggle to comprehend.

This is how destruction of freedom of speech & media independence looks like, it’s autocratization & unlevelling the playing field.

Yet again, it is not surprising what Trump does, but shocking how weak resistance by civil society & media is. Democratic society in the U.S. is not up to the task.

Excited to announce the publication of my article in Comparative Political Studies on how crises shape the ideological legitimation strategies of authoritarian regimes. journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

🌊 Join us at a beautiful lakeside retreat with @apbtutzing.bsky.social! Exchange about current IR debates.
Connect with fellow #EarlyCareerResearchers and explore exciting new research.

📢 #CfP open — submit your abstracts now!
🗓 Deadline: 30.09.2025

#InternationalRelations #PoliticalScience

Regular reminder to 🇩🇪 parties who see such numbers:

That AfD got strong bc nobody represented right-wing populist positions does not mean that AfD will lose if you adopt such positions.

Often it may just make things worse: you acknowledge you were wrong, AfD was right & now you appear spineless.