Ian O'Flynn
@delibnet.bsky.social
Promoting work on deliberative democracy
This isn't a case of whataboutery -- there's little real equivalence here. But what is at stake in the core deliberative concept of an informed citizenry -- with all that that entails for democratic legitimacy.
As Alan Rusbridger points out, the cabal of "news" organisations attacking the BBC have far greater shortcomings and are already delighted to skew our information environment:
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/media/...
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/media/...
November 10, 2025 at 12:13 PM
This isn't a case of whataboutery -- there's little real equivalence here. But what is at stake in the core deliberative concept of an informed citizenry -- with all that that entails for democratic legitimacy.
An absolutely massive moment for Britain's deliberative democracy. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Katie Razzall: A seismic moment that shows rift at top of BBC
There may be more to this than meets the eye, says the BBC's culture and media editor.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 10, 2025 at 7:50 AM
An absolutely massive moment for Britain's deliberative democracy. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Latest BJPolS: Kramon on "Are Democratic Innovations Legitimate to the Broader Public? Evidence from Survey Experiments in Ghana." www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Are Democratic Innovations Legitimate to the Broader Public? Evidence from Survey Experiments in Ghana | British Journal of Political Science | Cambridge Core
Are Democratic Innovations Legitimate to the Broader Public? Evidence from Survey Experiments in Ghana - Volume 55
www.cambridge.org
November 9, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Latest BJPolS: Kramon on "Are Democratic Innovations Legitimate to the Broader Public? Evidence from Survey Experiments in Ghana." www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
PolCom early view: Forestal on "How Should We Study Multiple Platforms? Lessons from Deliberative Systems Theory." www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
How Should We Study Multiple Platforms? Lessons from Deliberative Systems Theory
Despite agreement that political communication research should move beyond single-platform studies, there is no existing consensus on precisely how to do so. What does it mean to study social media...
www.tandfonline.com
November 8, 2025 at 12:22 PM
PolCom early view: Forestal on "How Should We Study Multiple Platforms? Lessons from Deliberative Systems Theory." www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
New Routledge edited book: Public Deliberation in the Digital Age: Platforms, Participation and Legitimacy, ed. Emilien Paulis, Raphaël Kies and Alina Östling www.routledge.com/Public-Delib...
Public Deliberation in the Digital Age: Platforms, Participation, and Legitimacy
This book provides a comprehensive examination of how digital platforms shape deliberative processes and democratic engagement, combining theoretical insights with empirical evidence.
It draws on typo...
www.routledge.com
November 8, 2025 at 9:31 AM
New Routledge edited book: Public Deliberation in the Digital Age: Platforms, Participation and Legitimacy, ed. Emilien Paulis, Raphaël Kies and Alina Östling www.routledge.com/Public-Delib...
Reposted by Ian O'Flynn
Looking for postdoc funding? Markus Häggrot has put together this very useful database of opportunities: pt-postdoc-funding.com
It is aimed at political theorists, but lots of the schemes are open to other disciplines, so helpful for others too. #polisky
It is aimed at political theorists, but lots of the schemes are open to other disciplines, so helpful for others too. #polisky
Political Theory Postdoc Funding: Grants & Fellowships for Early Career Researchers
Grant and fellowship schemes for early-career researchers in political theory. Browse a comprehensive database of international funding sources for your postdoc in political philosophy. Grant applicat...
pt-postdoc-funding.com
October 28, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Looking for postdoc funding? Markus Häggrot has put together this very useful database of opportunities: pt-postdoc-funding.com
It is aimed at political theorists, but lots of the schemes are open to other disciplines, so helpful for others too. #polisky
It is aimed at political theorists, but lots of the schemes are open to other disciplines, so helpful for others too. #polisky
A nice piece. Wether AV works well when there are only three candidates and one really has no chance is debatable. AV can also produce results that are highly disproportionate. But it's great to see some work on deliberation and electoral systems.
theconversation.com/how-zohran-m...
theconversation.com/how-zohran-m...
How Zohran Mamdani’s ‘talent for listening’ spurred him to victory in the New York mayoral election
Zohran Mamdani has become New York City’s first Muslim mayor, after securing more than 50% of the vote.
theconversation.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:19 PM
A nice piece. Wether AV works well when there are only three candidates and one really has no chance is debatable. AV can also produce results that are highly disproportionate. But it's great to see some work on deliberation and electoral systems.
theconversation.com/how-zohran-m...
theconversation.com/how-zohran-m...
A useful guidebook, but the conception of deliberative engagement on offer here is incredibly narrow. Mini-publics certainly have their place, but given all that's going on in the world right now, we really need a far broader conception.
🚀 Launched on Wednesday, you can now download our Guidebook for Deliberative Engagement: Key Features and Practical Insights 👉 researchprofiles.canberra.edu.au/en/publicati...
We’re grateful to the NSW Government and the Australian Government for supporting the development of this Guidebook.
We’re grateful to the NSW Government and the Australian Government for supporting the development of this Guidebook.
November 1, 2025 at 4:43 PM
A useful guidebook, but the conception of deliberative engagement on offer here is incredibly narrow. Mini-publics certainly have their place, but given all that's going on in the world right now, we really need a far broader conception.
Reposted by Ian O'Flynn
Don't Expose Yourself! Discretionary Exposure to Political Information - By Gaurav in Social Science — 10 Oct 2018 Don't Expose Yourself! Discretionary Exposure to Political Information As the options have grown, so have the fears. Are the politically disinterested taking advantage of…
Read more →
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October 31, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Don't Expose Yourself! Discretionary Exposure to Political Information - By Gaurav in Social Science — 10 Oct 2018 Don't Expose Yourself! Discretionary Exposure to Political Information As the options have grown, so have the fears. Are the politically disinterested taking advantage of…
Read more →
Read more →
EJPT early view: Lever on "Lottocracy: For and Against." journals.sagepub.com/eprint/DWJX2...
Lottocracy: For and Against - Annabelle Lever, 2025
This article reviews two contrasting books on lottocracy that came out in 2024 – Alexander Guerrero's, Lottocracy: Democracy Without Elections and Cristina...
journals.sagepub.com
October 30, 2025 at 9:23 AM
EJPT early view: Lever on "Lottocracy: For and Against." journals.sagepub.com/eprint/DWJX2...
Reposted by Ian O'Flynn
Elon Musk launched Grokipedia – his version of Wikipedia – as the richest man in the world further seeks to create an alternative information and media ecosystem molded to his views. https://cnn.it/431eRAL
October 28, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Elon Musk launched Grokipedia – his version of Wikipedia – as the richest man in the world further seeks to create an alternative information and media ecosystem molded to his views. https://cnn.it/431eRAL
Comparative Constitutional Studies early view: O'Flynn on "Constitutional referendums and randomly selected constitutional conventions." www.elgaronline.com/view/journal...
www.elgaronline.com
October 28, 2025 at 8:21 AM
Comparative Constitutional Studies early view: O'Flynn on "Constitutional referendums and randomly selected constitutional conventions." www.elgaronline.com/view/journal...
Reposted by Ian O'Flynn
There is a moment at this time of year when the word ‘apricity’ really comes into view. For those who don’t know it, it was recorded only once, in 1623, before slipping out of view. Apricity is the warmth of the sun on a chilly day.
October 24, 2025 at 11:35 AM
There is a moment at this time of year when the word ‘apricity’ really comes into view. For those who don’t know it, it was recorded only once, in 1623, before slipping out of view. Apricity is the warmth of the sun on a chilly day.
Representation early view: Geisler on "The Ebb and Flow: Examining the Promises and Pitfalls of the ‘Deliberative Wave’ Metaphor." www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
The Ebb and Flow: Examining the Promises and Pitfalls of the ‘Deliberative Wave’ Metaphor
This article critically examines the ‘deliberative wave’ metaphor, a popular term describing the rise of deliberative mini-publics and democratic innovations. While acknowledging its value in commu...
www.tandfonline.com
October 20, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Representation early view: Geisler on "The Ebb and Flow: Examining the Promises and Pitfalls of the ‘Deliberative Wave’ Metaphor." www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Ian O'Flynn
”Falsehood flies & truth comes limping after it.”
Jonathan Swift, Anglo-Irish satirist, Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral Dublin, author of A Tale of a Tub, Gulliver's Travels, died #OTD 1745; champion of liberty, whose Saeva Indignatio inspired Voltaire, Yeats, Joyce, Orwell.
Trinity College Dublin
Jonathan Swift, Anglo-Irish satirist, Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral Dublin, author of A Tale of a Tub, Gulliver's Travels, died #OTD 1745; champion of liberty, whose Saeva Indignatio inspired Voltaire, Yeats, Joyce, Orwell.
Trinity College Dublin
October 19, 2025 at 5:06 AM
”Falsehood flies & truth comes limping after it.”
Jonathan Swift, Anglo-Irish satirist, Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral Dublin, author of A Tale of a Tub, Gulliver's Travels, died #OTD 1745; champion of liberty, whose Saeva Indignatio inspired Voltaire, Yeats, Joyce, Orwell.
Trinity College Dublin
Jonathan Swift, Anglo-Irish satirist, Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral Dublin, author of A Tale of a Tub, Gulliver's Travels, died #OTD 1745; champion of liberty, whose Saeva Indignatio inspired Voltaire, Yeats, Joyce, Orwell.
Trinity College Dublin
What is wrong with the BBC? It's a rhetorical question, really, but the last two paragraphs of this are something else: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
No Kings protests draw huge crowds at anti-Trump rallies across US
The demonstrations against the US president - which Republicans had called
www.bbc.co.uk
October 19, 2025 at 7:44 AM
What is wrong with the BBC? It's a rhetorical question, really, but the last two paragraphs of this are something else: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Ian O'Flynn
Check out this call for two postdoctoral positions in the humanities and social sciences at Normative Orders in Frankfurt. Applications are due by the end of October
Call for Applications
Postdoctoral Fellowships
Humanities and Social Sciences
Theme: The Crisis and Future of Democracy
In the research program "Turning Points: Normative Orders in Transition?" funded by the Commerzbank Foundation Fund at Normative Orders.
More information here:
Postdoctoral Fellowships
Humanities and Social Sciences
Theme: The Crisis and Future of Democracy
In the research program "Turning Points: Normative Orders in Transition?" funded by the Commerzbank Foundation Fund at Normative Orders.
More information here:
Vacancies – Normative Orders
Postdoctoral FellowshipsHumanities and Social Sciences
buff.ly
October 15, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Check out this call for two postdoctoral positions in the humanities and social sciences at Normative Orders in Frankfurt. Applications are due by the end of October
EJPR early view: Afsahi on "When facilitation is not enough: the role of games in small-group discussions." www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
When facilitation is not enough: the role of games in small-group discussions | European Journal of Political Research | Cambridge Core
When facilitation is not enough: the role of games in small-group discussions
www.cambridge.org
October 17, 2025 at 9:05 AM
EJPR early view: Afsahi on "When facilitation is not enough: the role of games in small-group discussions." www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Yup.
(It's a good read, mind.)
(It's a good read, mind.)
It's a stupid idea, so let's discuss it at length
A Badge of Dishonour
Calls for the UK to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) have become commonplace in ...
verfassungsblog.de
October 16, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Yup.
(It's a good read, mind.)
(It's a good read, mind.)
I could be in real trouble!
All of this is being put out to placate the right wing press...
In the meantime, it's causing fear & confusion. As I understand it:
● this only applies to some people on skilled visas
● it's not "A level English" it's something called SELT
● much the same requirement exists elsewhere in EU
In the meantime, it's causing fear & confusion. As I understand it:
● this only applies to some people on skilled visas
● it's not "A level English" it's something called SELT
● much the same requirement exists elsewhere in EU
October 15, 2025 at 12:41 PM
I could be in real trouble!
National and Ethnic Politics early view: Yimenu on "The Politics of Language of Education in Ethiopia." www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
The Politics of Language of Education in Ethiopia
This article examines the politics of language of education in a multinational federal system, highlighting its role as a persistent site of political contestation. Drawing on legal texts, intervie...
www.tandfonline.com
October 10, 2025 at 1:30 PM
National and Ethnic Politics early view: Yimenu on "The Politics of Language of Education in Ethiopia." www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Ian O'Flynn
I’ve been saying this for ten years now but possibly not often enough: Ask Them What They Think The Words They’re Using Mean. And then ask them to name the ‘problematic’ people. We had ‘sovereignty’, ‘laws’ & ‘unelected bureaucrats’. The US now has ‘Antifa’, the ‘radical left’ & ‘insurrection’. Ask!
October 9, 2025 at 6:54 PM
I’ve been saying this for ten years now but possibly not often enough: Ask Them What They Think The Words They’re Using Mean. And then ask them to name the ‘problematic’ people. We had ‘sovereignty’, ‘laws’ & ‘unelected bureaucrats’. The US now has ‘Antifa’, the ‘radical left’ & ‘insurrection’. Ask!
"Yes, but which is it...?"
DDs sometimes celebrate "access to good, balanced information." But perhaps the phrase shouldn't be used so uncritically?
DDs sometimes celebrate "access to good, balanced information." But perhaps the phrase shouldn't be used so uncritically?
A pure example of BBC balance. On the one side, on the other, all the way through. This leaves a really superficial account of what's at issue with leaving the ECHR and accepts, doe-eyed, that Policy Exchange had a "really detailed proposal" on the GFA, not a hot mess:
share.google/qGXg9rHZYfPL...
share.google/qGXg9rHZYfPL...
October 9, 2025 at 6:56 AM
"Yes, but which is it...?"
DDs sometimes celebrate "access to good, balanced information." But perhaps the phrase shouldn't be used so uncritically?
DDs sometimes celebrate "access to good, balanced information." But perhaps the phrase shouldn't be used so uncritically?