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The Loop
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👩🏾‍💻 A political science blog site from ECPR, the European Consortium for Political Research.

🔲 Showcasing political science at its best. Get your research noticed beyond the academy http://theloop.ecpr.eu

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❓ How do small and medium-sized states safeguard their sovereignty and national interests amid intensifying great-power rivalry and fragmented international order?
💭 John Karlsrud, Maryna Rabinovych & Marianne Riddervold introduce the concept of diplomatic resilience.
👉 bit.ly/47PazOw
Diplomatic resilience: what is it, and how can states achieve it?
How do small and medium-sized states safeguard their sovereignty and national interests amid intensifying great-power rivalry and a fragmented international order? To answer this question, John Karlsr...
bit.ly
November 10, 2025 at 9:25 AM
💥 Few moments captured the volatility of transatlantic relations better than the explosive #OvalOffice meeting between Trump + #Zelenskyy in Feb.
🔎 Sebastian Jäckle et al study its impact on German public opinion using online survey data in their @prxjournal.bsky.social research.
👉 bit.ly/4nOIUmF
How the Trump-Zelensykyy Oval Office meeting shifted German views of the US
Few moments captured the volatility of transatlantic relations better than the explosive Oval Office meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy on 28 February 2025. Sebastian Jäckle, Ronald ...
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November 7, 2025 at 11:44 AM
📰 Many PR firms work for brutal regimes — polishing their image, attacking critics + helping dictators cling to power.
🚫 @alexdukalskis.bsky.social, Christian Gläßel & @ascharpf.bsky.social ask: why does this happen, and what can democratic societies do to stop it?
👉 bit.ly/496GA6Y
PR firms are working for brutal regimes, and getting away with it
Many PR firms work for brutal regimes — polishing their image, attacking critics, and helping dictators cling to power. Alexander Dukalskis, Christian Gläßel, and Adam Scharpf ask: why does this happe...
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November 6, 2025 at 10:17 AM
Reposted by The Loop
My piece for @ecprtheloop.bsky.social 's 🦋#ScienceofDemocracy series. On the two things that I think are both overused and under-theorised in the social sciences: democracy, and (multi)disciplinarities.
🦋 #ScienceOfDemocracy No.123
We need to break democracy out of the disciplinary boundaries of political studies. Reimagining it using a multidisciplinary approach, argues @pandapoliticus.bsky.social, could be the antidote to the global democratic anxiety we are facing.
👉 bit.ly/3WtGb71
🦋 Breaking democracy out of its box
We need to break democracy out of the disciplinary boundaries of political studies. A fresh, multidisciplinary approach to reimagining democracy, argues Mouli Banerjee, could be the antidote to the gl...
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October 31, 2025 at 11:50 AM
Reposted by The Loop
In this recent blog post I show how publicly available technologies like satellite imagery and SAR can be used to "fact check" aggressive nuclear rhetoric.
November 5, 2025 at 10:10 AM
🦋 #ScienceOfDemocracy No.124
Institutional theories rooted in the works of #Schumpeter + #RobertDahl still dominate the study of democracy.
Ryusaku Yamada argues this series reveals the emergence of another current: scholars who engage democracy from critical perspectives.
👉 bit.ly/4ojSkHQ
🦋 The times have changed: beyond conventional studies of democracy
Institutional theories rooted in the works of Joseph Schumpeter and Robert Dahl still dominate the study of democracy. But, argues Ryusaku Yamada, this Science of Democracy 2.0  discussion reveals the...
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November 6, 2025 at 9:22 AM
☢️ #NuclearPoliticsParadox No.26
💻 Technology isn't a cure-all. But it can help reduce the risk of #NuclearWeapons crises.
🔍 @jamiewithorne.bsky.social shows how increasingly accessible information can harness transparency and 'fact check' the credibility of nuclear threats.
👉 bit.ly/4qEPq29
☢️ Using emerging technology for escalation management
Technology is not a cure-all. But it can help reduce the risk of nuclear weapons crises. Jamie Withorne shows how increasingly accessible information can harness transparency and 'fact check' the cred...
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November 5, 2025 at 10:08 AM
🏥 The promise of revolutionary advances in #healthcare is now a mainstay of the EU’s #AIstrategy.
🤖 @jasonetucker.bsky.social explores how the outcomes of the EU’s instrumentalisation of healthcare in the AI race doesn't look good for waning #EU political legitimacy.
👉 bit.ly/4qGnR8m
The EU’s AI gamble with healthcare
The promise of revolutionary advances in healthcare is not a mainstay of the EU’s artificial intelligence policies. Jason Tucker explores how the outcomes of the EU’s instrumentalisation of healthcare...
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November 5, 2025 at 9:14 AM
🔀 Intersectionality is already shaping Europe's fight against gender-based violence in higher education.
📝 Using evidence from the #UniSAFE project and new #EUpolicy frameworks, Lut Mergaert & Marcela Linkova reveal the impact of intersectional initiatives.
👉 bit.ly/4nAuXII
Tackling gender-based violence in European universities — through intersectionality
Intersectionality is already shaping Europe’s fight against gender-based violence in research and higher education. Using evidence from UniSAFE, new EU policy frameworks, and the next generation of Ge...
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November 4, 2025 at 9:34 AM
📆 Every September, world leaders gather at the UN high-level meetings to confront the most pressing #GlobalHealth crises.
😷 In 2024, the spotlight fell on #AntimicrobialResistance. But, asks Frank Tu Ngo, will the 2024 meeting lead to real change? #AMR
👉 bit.ly/47ARv6t
Can UN high-level meetings on health deliver real change?
Every September, world leaders gather at the UN high-level meetings to confront the most pressing global health crises. In 2024, the spotlight fell on antimicrobial resistance – a silent pandemic thre...
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November 3, 2025 at 9:05 AM
Reposted by The Loop
Earlier this month, Paul Biya, the world’s oldest head of state, ran for a record 8th term. What are Cameroon’s prospects for peace and democracy in Africa’s turbulent coup belt? Read the assessment by John Chin and Julien Derroitte, today in @ecprtheloop.bsky.social. theloop.ecpr.eu/re-electing-...
Re-electing Cameroon’s forever president
Paul Biya, the world’s oldest head of state and the second-longest ruling leader in Africa, ran for a record eighth term earlier this month. John Chin and Julien Derroitte assess Cameroon’s prospects ...
theloop.ecpr.eu
October 24, 2025 at 4:18 PM
🦋 #ScienceOfDemocracy No.123
We need to break democracy out of the disciplinary boundaries of political studies. Reimagining it using a multidisciplinary approach, argues @pandapoliticus.bsky.social, could be the antidote to the global democratic anxiety we are facing.
👉 bit.ly/3WtGb71
🦋 Breaking democracy out of its box
We need to break democracy out of the disciplinary boundaries of political studies. A fresh, multidisciplinary approach to reimagining democracy, argues Mouli Banerjee, could be the antidote to the gl...
bit.ly
October 31, 2025 at 11:45 AM
🧵 Penelope, in Homer’s #Odyssey, who spent 20 years weaving + unweaving a shroud to delay remarriage, has come to symbolise fidelity & endurance. Serena Fraiese of @ecprsgir.bsky.social argues her story reveals characteristics now central to diplomacy in an age of uncertainty.
👉 bit.ly/4hx6uCM
Penelope’s web and the politics of patience
Penelope, wife of Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey, who spent twenty years weaving and unweaving a shroud to delay remarriage and preserve her household, has come to symbolise fidelity, cunning, and endura...
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October 31, 2025 at 11:02 AM
☢️ #NuclearPoliticsParadox No.25
🌏 Syeda Saba Batool argues that the #NuclearSuppliersGroup needs clear rules for admitting countries outside the #NPT, and to ensure that climate-vulnerable developing states gain fair access to civilian #NuclearEnergy.
👉 bit.ly/3JvlbtE
☢️ Rebuilding nuclear credibility through fair energy access
The Nuclear Suppliers Group faces new tests from great-power rivalry, climate change, and the spread of nuclear technology. Syeda Saba Batool argues the Group needs clear rules for admitting countries...
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October 31, 2025 at 9:32 AM
📈 After almost 20 years of democratic decline, in 2023, liberal democracy in #LatinAmerica appeared to be regaining strength. But, Tim Pires Alves asks, has it managed to sustain the trend? 🌩️ Or was 2023 the calm before an even harsher autocratic storm?
👉 bit.ly/4hwVKVh
Is Latin American democracy showing signs of recovery?
After almost twenty years of democratic decline, in 2023, liberal democracy in Latin America appeared to be regaining strength. But has it managed to sustain the trend? Tim Pires Alves assesses whethe...
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October 27, 2025 at 8:37 AM
🦋 #ScienceOfDemocracy No.122
💭 In a time of anthropogenic existential crises, writes @ioannisrz.bsky.social, this new stage in the Science of Democracy conversation highlights how plural thinking can help rejuvenate democracy.
👉 bit.ly/478VF6B
🦋 The pluriverse of democracy
In a time of anthropogenic existential crises, writes Ioannis Rigkos-Zitthen, this new stage in the Science of Democracy conversation highlights how plural thinking can help rejuvenate democracy
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October 24, 2025 at 11:10 AM
💻 #HybridWarfare is no longer speculative. Daphna Canetti, Gal Dor & Tal Mimran argue the Iran-Israel clash marks a strategic turning point — where democracies must defend minds as fiercely as borders.
👉 bit.ly/4o7nhPy
From missiles to malware, hybrid war is rewriting global security
With missiles in the sky and malware in the wires, hybrid warfare is no longer speculative. Daphna Canetti, Gal Dor, and Tal Mimran argue the Iran-Israel clash marks a strategic turning point — where ...
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October 24, 2025 at 10:25 AM
🌍 #PaulBiya, the world’s oldest head of state and the 2nd longest ruling leader in Africa, ran for a record 8th term earlier this month.
🕊️ John Chin & Julien Derroitte assess #Cameroon’s prospects for peace and democracy in Africa’s turbulent coup belt.
👉 bit.ly/4nndHa6
Re-electing Cameroon’s forever president
Paul Biya, the world’s oldest head of state and the second-longest ruling leader in Africa, ran for a record eighth term earlier this month. John Chin and Julien Derroitte assess Cameroon’s prospects ...
bit.ly
October 24, 2025 at 8:16 AM
Reposted by The Loop
🔓 #OAWeek Spotlight
🔄 ECPR is committed to sharing knowledge freely and widely
👇 Discover ✨ most accessed ✨ #OA articles in 2024 from our journals & blog
@prxjournal.bsky.social
@ejprjournal.bsky.social
@ejir.bsky.social
@epsrjournal.bsky.social
@epsjournal.bsky.social
@ecprtheloop.bsky.social
ECPR Open Access Collection
A curated collection of most accessed OA articles in 2024 from ECPR journals and blog.
linktr.ee
October 21, 2025 at 10:09 AM
🌍 Lucas Sudbrack & James F. Downes describe how growing income inequality across Europe impacts support for far-right parties. 📈 Using national + individual-level data, they find that when the poorest citizens lose a significant share of national income, far-right votes rise.
👉 bit.ly/4nYrQvb
Rising inequality is driving Europe's far-right surge
Lucas Sudbrack and James F. Downes describe how growing income inequality across Europe has strengthened support for far-right parties. Using decades of national and individual-level data, they find t...
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October 21, 2025 at 11:13 AM
🎭 #DemocraticTransformations No.20
🌎 @turkanfirinci.bsky.social argues that by embodying #HannahArendt’s ideas of freedom and action, 🪧 youth #ClimateActivists are transforming utopias from rigid blueprints into living practices of collective possibility.
👉 bit.ly/3IPFXUF
🎭 Youth climate activism prefigures just futures, not distant utopias
Despite widespread political inertia in responding to the climate crisis, youth climate activists are reshaping politics. Turkan Firinci Orman argues that by embodying Hannah Arendt’s ideas of freedom...
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October 17, 2025 at 8:37 AM
🦋 #ScienceOfDemocracy No.121
🔃 Do we need a paradigm shift in democracy research? 
↔️ Simon Bein broadens the current western-led perspective on researching democracies and asks: who says what and where democracy is?
👉 bit.ly/3W8mamk
🦋 Democracy between anywhere and nowhere
Do we need a paradigm shift in democracy research? Simon Bein broadens the current western-led perspective on searching for, and researching, democracies. Nevertheless, he warns, theorists should avoi...
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October 16, 2025 at 8:35 AM
🧭 #EUEnlargementDilemmas No.30
🗣️ War in #Ukraine has transformed how often #EUleaders talk about enlargement, but not how they frame it.
🏅 Based on @jeppjournal.bsky.social research, Nicole Scicluna shows that enlargement remains cast as a conditional, merit-based process.
👉 bit.ly/4ommRVc
🧭 Framing wartime enlargement: still a process, after all
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has transformed how often EU leaders talk about enlargement, but not how they frame it. Nicole Scicluna shows that despite geopolitical urgency and family rhetoric, enlarg...
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October 15, 2025 at 8:34 AM
🤖 #Albania has appointed an #AIminister for public procurement.
♀️ But Vera Tika argues that while '#Diella' embodies gendered symbolism and digital modernity, her appointment exposes a gap between European aspiration and democratic accountability.
👉 bit.ly/47llUGO
Albania’s AI minister: 'avatar democracy' and the spectacle of accountability
Albania has appointed an AI minister for public procurement. But Vera Tika argues that while 'Diella' embodies gendered symbolism and digital modernity, her appointment exposes a gap between European ...
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October 14, 2025 at 9:36 AM