Chris Hanretty
chanret.bsky.social
Chris Hanretty
@chanret.bsky.social
I teach politics at a university in the UK. I'm interested in electoral systems, public opinion, and the politics of non-majoritarian institutions like courts and regulators.

ORCID: 0000-0002-8932-9405
Reposted by Chris Hanretty
This very interesting paper raises a broader questions: why do some scandals stay contained while others discredit an entire political class? Part of the answer, I think, lies in diffeences in the clarity of accountability across democratic political systems. A well-established line of research
November 10, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Reposted by Chris Hanretty
NEW -

Political Scandals and Vertical Contagion in Multilevel Systems - cup.org/47wHeJB

- @jaclarner.bsky.social, Robert Johns, @ailsahenderson.bsky.social, @frasmcm.bsky.social & @cjcarman.bsky.social

#OpenAccess
November 9, 2025 at 4:30 PM
So excited about this, hashtag pre-ordered.
November 10, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Intriguing suggestion that ballot complexity means people learn more about the mechanics of voting, leaving less time to learn about how to achieve substantive change www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
The story behind Australia's incredible democratic system
Behind the quirks of Australia's incredible democratic system are a series of complex human backstories.
www.abc.net.au
November 9, 2025 at 10:58 AM
Reposted by Chris Hanretty
One of those co-incidences: the top of the 8 Nov entry on Wikipedia's notable deaths list

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deaths_...
November 8, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Reposted by Chris Hanretty
We have just published the call for the Nuffield Postdoctoral Prize Research Fellowships in Politics. These are 3-year fully-funded postdocs that will allow you to focus on your research in a great academic environment. (And with excellent food)

www.nuffield.ox.ac.uk/the-college/...
Postdoctoral Prize Research Fellowships in Politics - Nuffield College Oxford University
www.nuffield.ox.ac.uk
November 6, 2025 at 1:27 PM
It's good that it will become easier to move to whole council elections. Whole council elections boost turnout compared to elections by thirds chrishanretty.co.uk/posts/stagge...
November 7, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Yes, copy-editor, I did mean to describe an "electric field of research" rather than an "eclectic field" *facepalm*
November 7, 2025 at 9:26 AM
Is there etiquette for matching cowboy hats to business suits? Black suit means black hat, no? But maybe there is no @dieworkwear.bsky.social for cowboy hats
"I unequivocally reject identity politics" i scream, right before selecting my five gallon cowboy hat for my Fox Business interview.
i hate it when you have to go directly from the rodeo to a TV hit
November 6, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Reposted by Chris Hanretty
Yes, celebrities do play Traitors differently from regular contestants... and here's the political science to prove it

https://hardboardscrookedtimbers.org/yes-celebrities-do-play-traitors-differently-from-regular-contestants-and-heres-the-political-science-to-prove-it/
November 6, 2025 at 7:01 AM
Reposted by Chris Hanretty
For me, it is objectively ridiculous that the UK left knows and cares a lot more about Zohran Mamdani than it does about Pedro Sánchez - the left-wing Prime Minister of Europe's fastest growing economy.
November 5, 2025 at 9:32 AM
I liked this story more than most people on my timeline. The reasons I liked it are mostly to do with how it shows that much of the UK state exercises a purely notional control over anything. Trading Standards? Pfft. Companies House? Don't make me laugh. www.bbc.com/news/article...
Crime network behind UK mini-marts is enabling migrants to work illegally
Undercover reporters were told how easy it was to make big profits selling illegal vapes and cigarettes.
www.bbc.com
November 5, 2025 at 8:43 AM
Reposted by Chris Hanretty
This is an incredible and very specific hater energy substack.com/home/post/p-...
Dick Cheney, ABD
Remembering the greatest alt-ac of them all
substack.com
November 4, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Reposted by Chris Hanretty
If you know anyone considering doing a PhD in political science or sociology, encourage them to apply to the EUI PhD program and join the institute's landmark 50th cohort of PhD researchers in the SPS Department! Applications from Central and Eastern Europe are particularly welcome!
🚨 Applications Now Open for the EUI PhD Programmes 2026-2027!

📊 Economics |⚖️ Law |📘 History | 🏛 Political and Social Sciences

Join the EUI's 50th PhD cohort!

Apply by 15 January 2026 (14:00 CET) for the academic journey of a lifetime! 👉: eui.eu/phd

#EUIPhD #PhDOpportunity
November 4, 2025 at 10:27 AM
I'm in Florence for the first time in more than a dozen years, having lived there for 3+ years.

It's strange returning to a place after so long; like coming home to find someone else's smell is there, or like seeing someone you know wearing contact lenses not glasses.

Heraclitus was right!
November 3, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Reposted by Chris Hanretty
Japan's "Mundane Halloween" costume contest is back!

Each year website DailyPortalZ holds a contest where people dress up as something super duper ordinary.

Here's a thread of some of my favorites from the 2025 contest!

#MundaneHalloween
November 2, 2025 at 9:15 AM
I think this is good evidence that LLMs are more than just "next token predictors" www.quantamagazine.org/in-a-first-a...
In a First, AI Models Analyze Language As Well As a Human Expert | Quanta Magazine
If language is what makes us human, what does it mean now that large language models have gained “metalinguistic” abilities?
www.quantamagazine.org
November 1, 2025 at 8:15 AM
Reposted by Chris Hanretty
... but they were, all of them, deceived, for a seventh factor was made...
Hear me out: six factor authentication
October 31, 2025 at 1:21 PM
It's that special, scary time of year -- the time of year when lots of academics grumble about having to complete innumerable training courses before the end of year
my knowledge of Hume has unexpectedly come in handy for my fire safety training test
October 31, 2025 at 10:27 AM
Reposted by Chris Hanretty
Lord Neuberger's lectures on "Justice for All" would be taken more seriously if he didn't serve on Hong Kong’s highest court

Last August it unanimously dismissed a bid by Jimmy Lai & six other pro-democracy activists to overturn their convictions for taking part in a peaceful protest in 2019.
Justice for all?
Former top judge says improving the rule of law depends on political will
rozenberg.substack.com
October 30, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Reposted by Chris Hanretty
If you're "staying on X to fight the Nazis"...you're very much not winning
Nazis openly organize on Elon Musk’s X platform and the Nazi fundraising outfit GiveSendGo to bail out a Nazi in Georgia who donned an SS uniform and assaulted a woman with a glass pitcher. www.jpost.com/diaspora/ant...
October 29, 2025 at 4:26 PM
nope, check check check
October 29, 2025 at 2:57 PM
A true "instant classic"
Politicians’ Theories of Voting Behavior

Politicians’ Theories of Voting Behavior By Jack Lucas, University of Calgary, Lior Sheffer, Tel Aviv University, Peter John Loewen, Cornell University, Stefaan Walgrave, University of Antwerp, Karolin Soontjens, University of Antwerp, Eran Amsalem, Hebrew…
Politicians’ Theories of Voting Behavior
Politicians’ Theories of Voting Behavior By Jack Lucas, University of Calgary, Lior Sheffer, Tel Aviv University, Peter John Loewen, Cornell University, Stefaan Walgrave, University of Antwerp, Karolin Soontjens, University of Antwerp, Eran Amsalem, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Stefanie Bailer, University of Basel, Nathalie Brack, Université Libre de Bruxelles…
politicalsciencenow.com
October 29, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Reposted by Chris Hanretty
I've completed an analysis of the spoiled voter in the link below. This is a voter who will invariably come into play in the future.

kevcunningham.substack.com/p/who-are-th...
Who are the people who spoiled their ballot and why?
An initial analysis
kevcunningham.substack.com
October 28, 2025 at 5:53 PM