Max Grömping
@maxgroemping.bsky.social
Political Scientist at @griffith.edu.au, Brisbane / Assoc. Editor @democratization.bsky.social/. Interest groups, authoritarian politics, disinformation, electoral integrity, trust.
Please share widely! Great #PostDoc opportunity at one of Australia's top #PoliticalScience departments, on a #FutureFellowship on electoral resilience. 3yrs, great pay, and a workplace practically next to the Great Barrier Reef!
Closing date is 1 Oct 2025
jobs.smartrecruiters.com/GriffithUniv...
Closing date is 1 Oct 2025
jobs.smartrecruiters.com/GriffithUniv...
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Grade 1
Company Description: Every institution values excellence. What matters most is why.
Griffith was created to be a different type of university. You’ll find we’re about leading research, academic excel...
jobs.smartrecruiters.com
September 16, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Please share widely! Great #PostDoc opportunity at one of Australia's top #PoliticalScience departments, on a #FutureFellowship on electoral resilience. 3yrs, great pay, and a workplace practically next to the Great Barrier Reef!
Closing date is 1 Oct 2025
jobs.smartrecruiters.com/GriffithUniv...
Closing date is 1 Oct 2025
jobs.smartrecruiters.com/GriffithUniv...
Great work on democratic resilience by my @larslott.bsky.social & Aurel Croissant
Why are some democracies more resilient than others? How can their resilience be improved? Together with Aurel Croissant, I’ve developed a conceptualization of democratic resilience as resilience performance and resilience capacity.
Read the full article here (Open Access): doi.org/10.1177/0032...
Read the full article here (Open Access): doi.org/10.1177/0032...
Democratic Resilience in the Twenty-First Century: Search for an Analytical Framework and Explorative Analysis - Aurel Croissant, Lars Lott, 2025
Why are some democracies more resilient than others? How can their resilience be improved? Answering these questions requires valid conceptualization and reliab...
doi.org
July 1, 2025 at 9:07 AM
Great work on democratic resilience by my @larslott.bsky.social & Aurel Croissant
Wow, Princeton UP got bamboozled into this like a travel vlogger.
This is just an incredible story. A leadership team from Princeton University Press went on a propaganda tour in Xinjiang (strangely, in a subsequent public statement the press described some of the basic mechanics of a propaganda tour when defending its actions).
not looking good for Princeton University Press is it @princetonupress.bsky.social
the video can be found on Facebook
www.facebook.com/share/v/16Rv...
the video can be found on Facebook
www.facebook.com/share/v/16Rv...
June 30, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Wow, Princeton UP got bamboozled into this like a travel vlogger.
Reposted by Max Grömping
🧵 THREAD: Why the Cato Institute’s new paper on “misinformation panic” is dangerously wrong, and why it completely misunderstands the real crisis we face.
www.cato.org/policy-analy...
www.cato.org/policy-analy...
The Misleading Panic over Misinformation
People can’t agree on how to define misinformation and its related terms, making regulation nearly impossible. Instead, free expression serves as a better tool for discovering truth.
www.cato.org
June 27, 2025 at 6:50 AM
🧵 THREAD: Why the Cato Institute’s new paper on “misinformation panic” is dangerously wrong, and why it completely misunderstands the real crisis we face.
www.cato.org/policy-analy...
www.cato.org/policy-analy...
Reposted by Max Grömping
Are tailored ads in political campaigns as persuasive as conventional wisdom holds? 📢
In joint work w/ @heikekluever.bsky.social we present evidence from a field experiment with the German Greens ahead of the 2024 European Elections calling this into question 🤔
#epsa2025
⏰: Friday, 16:50
📍: 0A.10
In joint work w/ @heikekluever.bsky.social we present evidence from a field experiment with the German Greens ahead of the 2024 European Elections calling this into question 🤔
#epsa2025
⏰: Friday, 16:50
📍: 0A.10
June 26, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Are tailored ads in political campaigns as persuasive as conventional wisdom holds? 📢
In joint work w/ @heikekluever.bsky.social we present evidence from a field experiment with the German Greens ahead of the 2024 European Elections calling this into question 🤔
#epsa2025
⏰: Friday, 16:50
📍: 0A.10
In joint work w/ @heikekluever.bsky.social we present evidence from a field experiment with the German Greens ahead of the 2024 European Elections calling this into question 🤔
#epsa2025
⏰: Friday, 16:50
📍: 0A.10
Reposted by Max Grömping
🚨In PNAS🚨
The right often accuses fact-checkers of political bias
But we analyzed Community Notes on Musk's X and found posts flagged as "misleading" are 2.3x more likely to be written by Reps than Dems!
The issue is Reps sharing misinformation, not fact-checker bias...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
The right often accuses fact-checkers of political bias
But we analyzed Community Notes on Musk's X and found posts flagged as "misleading" are 2.3x more likely to be written by Reps than Dems!
The issue is Reps sharing misinformation, not fact-checker bias...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
June 17, 2025 at 12:51 PM
🚨In PNAS🚨
The right often accuses fact-checkers of political bias
But we analyzed Community Notes on Musk's X and found posts flagged as "misleading" are 2.3x more likely to be written by Reps than Dems!
The issue is Reps sharing misinformation, not fact-checker bias...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
The right often accuses fact-checkers of political bias
But we analyzed Community Notes on Musk's X and found posts flagged as "misleading" are 2.3x more likely to be written by Reps than Dems!
The issue is Reps sharing misinformation, not fact-checker bias...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Check out this great work by @griffith.edu.au colleague @ammassarisofia.bsky.social on women's party engagement on the radical right.
Thrilled that my article on women's activism in PRR parties has been published open access today in @cpsjournal.bsky.social 💫
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
This is my favourite article from my PhD thesis. I love the topic, its findings, and the literature it draws on.
A quick 🧵:
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
This is my favourite article from my PhD thesis. I love the topic, its findings, and the literature it draws on.
A quick 🧵:
June 18, 2025 at 3:36 AM
Check out this great work by @griffith.edu.au colleague @ammassarisofia.bsky.social on women's party engagement on the radical right.
Friends in Germany interested in #deliberative #democracy, this is THE event for you. "Can citizen councils strengthen representative democracy?".
I wish I could make it to Berlin for this one.
I wish I could make it to Berlin for this one.
Können Bürgerräte die repräsentative Demokratie stärken?
Wir diskutieren Ergebnisse aus vier praxisnahen Forschungsprojekten auf einem Roundtable mit
@polenz.bsky.social,
@kliesenberg.bsky.social,
Felix Arndt, Stabstelle Bürgerräte @bundestag.de
und @heikekluever.bsky.social
1/4
Wir diskutieren Ergebnisse aus vier praxisnahen Forschungsprojekten auf einem Roundtable mit
@polenz.bsky.social,
@kliesenberg.bsky.social,
Felix Arndt, Stabstelle Bürgerräte @bundestag.de
und @heikekluever.bsky.social
1/4
June 14, 2025 at 10:30 AM
Friends in Germany interested in #deliberative #democracy, this is THE event for you. "Can citizen councils strengthen representative democracy?".
I wish I could make it to Berlin for this one.
I wish I could make it to Berlin for this one.
Reposted by Max Grömping
Re-upping this as I continue to find it helpful for normalizing rejection: I need to remember it’s the modal outcome! Plus didn’t @mirya.bsky.social have a thing about rewarding X number of rejections, as a way of marking how much you’re putting your work out there?
The most popular thing I did on the old site was telling people about my rejections. Failure and rejection is a big part of academic life. It happens to all of us -- well, at least everyone I know. This thread lists mine and is founded on the hope it helps other people cope better with their own.
June 12, 2025 at 11:28 AM
Re-upping this as I continue to find it helpful for normalizing rejection: I need to remember it’s the modal outcome! Plus didn’t @mirya.bsky.social have a thing about rewarding X number of rejections, as a way of marking how much you’re putting your work out there?
Reposted by Max Grömping
Here's me saying it like it is regarding Elon Musk and X as a propaganda tool that is increasingly biased towards the far right.
The article is in French - in this thread are some auto-translated excerpts from my comments. Shout out to @markandrejevic.bsky.social
www.rtbf.be/article/comm...
The article is in French - in this thread are some auto-translated excerpts from my comments. Shout out to @markandrejevic.bsky.social
www.rtbf.be/article/comm...
Comment Elon Musk utilise son réseau X pour faire monter l'extrême droite en Europe - RTBF Actus
Voici un extrait du compte X (anciennement Twitter) de Dries Van Langenhove, ex-député Vlaams Belang condamné en 2024 à...
www.rtbf.be
May 13, 2025 at 4:33 AM
Here's me saying it like it is regarding Elon Musk and X as a propaganda tool that is increasingly biased towards the far right.
The article is in French - in this thread are some auto-translated excerpts from my comments. Shout out to @markandrejevic.bsky.social
www.rtbf.be/article/comm...
The article is in French - in this thread are some auto-translated excerpts from my comments. Shout out to @markandrejevic.bsky.social
www.rtbf.be/article/comm...
Two in three Australians say they have encountered misinformation in the lead up to the election. How concerned should we be? Read about the results of our recent survey w @acarson.bsky.social theconversation.com/fake-news-an...
Fake news and the election campaign - how worried should voters be?
New research reveals a growing number of Australians are encountering political misinformation and disinformation in the election campaign and are worried about it.
theconversation.com
May 2, 2025 at 9:19 AM
Two in three Australians say they have encountered misinformation in the lead up to the election. How concerned should we be? Read about the results of our recent survey w @acarson.bsky.social theconversation.com/fake-news-an...
Reposted by Max Grömping
🚨 New book alert!
Policy Preparation Inside the European Commission is out with OUP @oxfordacademic.bsky.social
It’s about the behind-the-scenes stage of EU policymaking that shapes everything—yet rarely gets the spotlight: how the Commission prepares its proposals.
Link: doi.org/10.1093/9780...
Policy Preparation Inside the European Commission is out with OUP @oxfordacademic.bsky.social
It’s about the behind-the-scenes stage of EU policymaking that shapes everything—yet rarely gets the spotlight: how the Commission prepares its proposals.
Link: doi.org/10.1093/9780...
May 1, 2025 at 8:39 AM
🚨 New book alert!
Policy Preparation Inside the European Commission is out with OUP @oxfordacademic.bsky.social
It’s about the behind-the-scenes stage of EU policymaking that shapes everything—yet rarely gets the spotlight: how the Commission prepares its proposals.
Link: doi.org/10.1093/9780...
Policy Preparation Inside the European Commission is out with OUP @oxfordacademic.bsky.social
It’s about the behind-the-scenes stage of EU policymaking that shapes everything—yet rarely gets the spotlight: how the Commission prepares its proposals.
Link: doi.org/10.1093/9780...
What a well-argued thread about the benefits of semi parliamentarism.
Some thoughts on institutional reform in the UK, spurred by the upcoming Australian elections. Australia has traditionally been classified, with Britain other former colonies, as a "Westminster democracy" - characterised by a majoritarian system and fusion of legislative and executive powers. 🧵
April 24, 2025 at 6:50 PM
What a well-argued thread about the benefits of semi parliamentarism.
I highly recommend following @adamprz.bsky.social's substack.
"I am stuck with the prediction that the Trump historical episode will end in costly, probably violent, conflict."
From @adamprz.bsky.social, the US's leading scholar on democracy/elections, and far from an alarmist.
adamprzeworski.substack.com/p/week-10
From @adamprz.bsky.social, the US's leading scholar on democracy/elections, and far from an alarmist.
adamprzeworski.substack.com/p/week-10
WEEK 10
WEEK 10
adamprzeworski.substack.com
April 23, 2025 at 9:08 AM
I highly recommend following @adamprz.bsky.social's substack.
Reposted by Max Grömping
My department at Southampton is offering a 2 day summer school June 23-24 on “Declining democratic health: Methods for diagnosis, treatment and recovery.” Not only is this free to attend, but travel support may be available. Spots are limited.
www.southampton.ac.uk/politics/new...
www.southampton.ac.uk/politics/new...
PAIR Methods Summer School 2025
PAIR Methods Summer School 2025
www.southampton.ac.uk
April 20, 2025 at 8:33 AM
My department at Southampton is offering a 2 day summer school June 23-24 on “Declining democratic health: Methods for diagnosis, treatment and recovery.” Not only is this free to attend, but travel support may be available. Spots are limited.
www.southampton.ac.uk/politics/new...
www.southampton.ac.uk/politics/new...
Congrats, @breznaunate.bsky.social @emrinke.bsky.social @kunkakom.bsky.social and team. Taking part in this project was not only eye-opening in terms of #metascience but also great fun. Even with shared data and code, reproducibility is not a given. royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
April 14, 2025 at 10:38 AM
Congrats, @breznaunate.bsky.social @emrinke.bsky.social @kunkakom.bsky.social and team. Taking part in this project was not only eye-opening in terms of #metascience but also great fun. Even with shared data and code, reproducibility is not a given. royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
What a fantastic opportunity to talk with Alex Fischer and Selen Ercan about the role of research for democratic practice. I learned about communicating democracy research for better impact + suggested we listen to scholars of #authoritarianism to address the current moment @deldemucan.bsky.social
This week we welcomed Alex Fischer (Australian Department of Home Affairs) and @maxgroemping.bsky.social from
@griffith.edu.au to our Centre for a rich and insightful discussion on the relevance of democracy research for practice, expertly moderated by Selen Ercan.
Recording will be available soon!
@griffith.edu.au to our Centre for a rich and insightful discussion on the relevance of democracy research for practice, expertly moderated by Selen Ercan.
Recording will be available soon!
April 6, 2025 at 6:38 AM
What a fantastic opportunity to talk with Alex Fischer and Selen Ercan about the role of research for democratic practice. I learned about communicating democracy research for better impact + suggested we listen to scholars of #authoritarianism to address the current moment @deldemucan.bsky.social
🚨 @newscientist.com SCOOP: I've exclusively obtained Peter Kyle's interactions with ChatGPT using FOI laws - in what I believe may be a world-first transparency release. The chatbot said "Lack of Government or Institutional Support" slowed UK AI adoption www.newscientist.com/article/2472...
Revealed: How the UK tech secretary uses ChatGPT for policy advice
New Scientist has used freedom of information laws to obtain the ChatGPT records of Peter Kyle, the UK's technology secretary, in what is believed to be a world-first use of such legislation
www.newscientist.com
March 13, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Reposted by Max Grömping
Exhibit #1099: The most dangerous disinformation isn’t spread by anonymous accounts on the internet—it’s the disinformation crafted & amplified by elites through legacy media. When those in power distort facts, they shape public perception & influence policy on a scale no anonymous troll ever could.
RFK Jr on the measles vaccine: "There are adverse events from the vaccine. It does cause deaths every year. It causes all the illnesses that measles itself cause."
March 12, 2025 at 6:27 AM
Exhibit #1099: The most dangerous disinformation isn’t spread by anonymous accounts on the internet—it’s the disinformation crafted & amplified by elites through legacy media. When those in power distort facts, they shape public perception & influence policy on a scale no anonymous troll ever could.
Reposted by Max Grömping
New, from me: you were told that the threats to free speech came from wokeness. Some compared it to Maoist China.
Now we are witnessing government power being used to silence dissent and censor ideas. Now we know what real society-wide chilling effects look like. 🧵
open.substack.com/pub/donmoyni...
Now we are witnessing government power being used to silence dissent and censor ideas. Now we know what real society-wide chilling effects look like. 🧵
open.substack.com/pub/donmoyni...
Real chilling effects
A extraordinary pattern of government censorship and threats to speech
open.substack.com
March 9, 2025 at 5:39 PM
New, from me: you were told that the threats to free speech came from wokeness. Some compared it to Maoist China.
Now we are witnessing government power being used to silence dissent and censor ideas. Now we know what real society-wide chilling effects look like. 🧵
open.substack.com/pub/donmoyni...
Now we are witnessing government power being used to silence dissent and censor ideas. Now we know what real society-wide chilling effects look like. 🧵
open.substack.com/pub/donmoyni...
!!
"you can’t fact check your way to a win in this kind of frame game. You have create alternative frames, support people in telling stories that resonate with those frames, and make sure those stories are heard"
"you can’t fact check your way to a win in this kind of frame game. You have create alternative frames, support people in telling stories that resonate with those frames, and make sure those stories are heard"
The right’s “waste and fraud” frame is a replay of the same participatory propaganda games they played w/ “voter fraud” in 2020, “censorship” in 2022, and any number of anti-immigration frames in 2024. Set the frame, inspire the generation of “evidence” to fit it, amplify that evidence, and repeat.
February 26, 2025 at 3:22 AM
!!
"you can’t fact check your way to a win in this kind of frame game. You have create alternative frames, support people in telling stories that resonate with those frames, and make sure those stories are heard"
"you can’t fact check your way to a win in this kind of frame game. You have create alternative frames, support people in telling stories that resonate with those frames, and make sure those stories are heard"
Reposted by Max Grömping
When the autocratic past becomes frighteningly relevant: Vera Kempe, one our panelists at today's workshop on Science under Autocracy www.scibeh.org/events/works... has recorded her experiences in USSR and East Germany here: substack.com/home/post/p-.... She offers some recommendations, too.
February 25, 2025 at 8:43 AM
When the autocratic past becomes frighteningly relevant: Vera Kempe, one our panelists at today's workshop on Science under Autocracy www.scibeh.org/events/works... has recorded her experiences in USSR and East Germany here: substack.com/home/post/p-.... She offers some recommendations, too.
Reposted by Max Grömping
IN NEW ISSUE: What explains interest group prominence in parliamentary speech? D Halpin, @timothyjgraham.bsky.social, @bertfraussen.bsky.social, @maxgroemping.bsky.social & Z Zhou argue it's more aligned with policy agendas than partisanship or ideology: https://buff.ly/3EL7Kmz (OPEN ACCESS)
February 19, 2025 at 3:42 PM
IN NEW ISSUE: What explains interest group prominence in parliamentary speech? D Halpin, @timothyjgraham.bsky.social, @bertfraussen.bsky.social, @maxgroemping.bsky.social & Z Zhou argue it's more aligned with policy agendas than partisanship or ideology: https://buff.ly/3EL7Kmz (OPEN ACCESS)
Reposted by Max Grömping
Everyday authoritarianism is mostly boring and tolerable, but it is always maddening and stupid
Everyday Authoritarianism is Maddening and Stupid
Eight years ago, I wrote a post on this blog entitled “Everyday Authoritarianism is Boring and Tolerable.” A slightly edited version did some numbers when it appeared at Vox as “L…
tompepinsky.com
February 16, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Everyday authoritarianism is mostly boring and tolerable, but it is always maddening and stupid
"U.S. democracy will likely break down during the second Trump administration"
Levitsky & Way analyse the capture of the US state in comparative perspective. By far the best read on what's going on.
www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
Levitsky & Way analyse the capture of the US state in comparative perspective. By far the best read on what's going on.
www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
The Path to American Authoritarianism
What comes after democratic breakdown.
www.foreignaffairs.com
February 16, 2025 at 11:22 AM
"U.S. democracy will likely break down during the second Trump administration"
Levitsky & Way analyse the capture of the US state in comparative perspective. By far the best read on what's going on.
www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
Levitsky & Way analyse the capture of the US state in comparative perspective. By far the best read on what's going on.
www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...