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@wepsocial.bsky.social

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Editors: Klaus H. Goetz, Dorte Sindbjerg Martinsen, Wolfgang C. Müller. Posts by social media editor @martingross.bsky.social

WEP on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/west-european-politics/

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Reposted by Marina Costa Lobo

WEP Journal @wepsocial.bsky.social · 2d

💥 Online first:

"The irresistible populist force: the Portuguese 2025 snap elections" by Luís Russo

🔗 doi.org/10.1080/0140...

Abstract of the article "The irresistible populist force: the Portuguese
2025 snap elections" by Luís Russo.

Figures 2 (upper panel) and 3 (lower panel), displaying yearly change in frequency of the two most important issues facing Portugal (2024-2025; Figure 2) and the three most important concerns facing Portuguese respondents (Figure 3).

Figure 4, displaying political party account engagements in Facebook (left panel) and Instagram (right panel).

Figure 10, displaying vote switches from different parties in 2024 (left) into Chega in 2025 (right).

Reposted by Simon Hix

WEP Journal @wepsocial.bsky.social · 13d

💥 OUT NOW: Volume 49, Issue 1 (2026)

Lots of exciting research on:
👉 Polarisation: climate change, immigration, democratic deficit
👉 EU politics & voters/citizens
👉 Working class politicians
👉 Political protest
👉 Housing policy
👉 Symposium 2024 EP Elections

🔗 www.tandfonline.com/toc/fwep20/c...

West European Politics

Volume 49, Issue 1 of West European Politics

www.tandfonline.com

Reposted by Robert Huber, Swen Hutter

WEP Journal @wepsocial.bsky.social · Oct 25

💥OUT NOW!

"Cleavage size and stability in turbulent times: introducing the bloc volatility and fragmentation dataset" by @jacobgunderson.bsky.social

Part of SI "Cleavage Politics in Western Democracies", edited by @dpzollinger.bsky.social & @davidattewell6.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1080/0140...

Abstract of the article "Cleavage size and stability in turbulent times: introducing the bloc volatility and fragmentation dataset" by Jacob R. Gunderson. Published online first in West European Politics.

Figure 2, displaying the Loess curves showing trajectory of bloc-weighted cleavage salience index (WCS) over time for transnational (lower curve) and traditional (upper curve) cleavage types from 1951 to 2023 for 14 west european countries.

Figure 3, displaying the Loess curves of WCS pooled across 15 West European countries from 1951 to 2023.

Figure 4, displaying the effective number of bloc parties for the left and right camps in 15 west european countries from 1951 to 2023.

Reposted by Klaus H. Goetz

Paolo Chiocchetti @pchiocchetti.bsky.social · Oct 21

It was great to be back at @eui-schuman.bsky.social
for a workshop on "The EU between differentiation, disintegration, and enlargement". Find most papers on @wepsocial.bsky.social (tinyurl.com/bdz7arw7) and @jeppjournal.bsky.social (tinyurl.com/4htxs4hk). Thanks to all organisers and participants!

Reposted by Klaus H. Goetz

Reto Mitteregger @indubioproreto.bsky.social · Oct 15

2) "Overlooked de- and realignment? Cohort differences in consideration sets", Single-authored, published @wepsocial.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Overlooked de- and realignment? Cohort differences in consideration sets

While it is established that core values and voting behaviour persistently differ between birth cohorts, less is known about the consideration set stage that lies between those two points of the el...

www.tandfonline.com

Reposted by Simon Otjes, Robert Huber

WEP Journal @wepsocial.bsky.social · Oct 14

💥Online first:

"How populist citizens see the people and their place in representative democracy"

by Rosa Kindt @robert-a-huber.bsky.social & @kristofjacobs1.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1080/0140...

Abstract of the article "How populist citizens see the people and their place in representative democracy" by Rosa Kindt, Robert A. Huber and Kristof Jacobs. Published online first in West European Politics.

Figure 2, displaying the comparison of high and low populists' marginal means on whether politicians belong to the people.

Figure 3, displaying the comparison of marginal means per attribute on the economical dimension in relation to 'belonging to the people'.

Figure 4, displaying the comparison of marginal means per attribute on the cultural dimension in relation to 'belonging to the people'.

Reposted by Klaus H. Goetz

Davide Vampa @davidevampa.bsky.social · Oct 7

Publication 3, recently in @wepsocial.bsky.social

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

From nations to regions: electoral volatility in European multi-level politics

European politics has experienced increasing turbulence, with much focus on the volatility of national elections. However, it remains unclear whether such instability extends to the sub-national le...

www.tandfonline.com

Reposted by Dorte Sindbjerg Martinsen

WEP Journal @wepsocial.bsky.social · Oct 7

💥Out now: The introduction to the Special Issue "Cleavage Politics in Western Democracies"

"Updating cleavage theory for the twenty-first century" by @dpzollinger.bsky.social & @davidattewell6.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1080/0140...

Abstract of the article "Updating cleavage theory for the twenty-first century" by Delia Zollinger and David Attewell. Published online first in West European Politics.

Reposted by Robert Huber

WEP Journal @wepsocial.bsky.social · Oct 7

Structural unemployment drives support for income redistribution in Europe, while cyclical unemployment shows no general effect.

👉 Discover how welfare state size moderates the effect of cyclical unemployment in the latest study by Ivan Petrúšek & Kristyna Basna

doi.org/10.1080/0140...

Abstract of the article "Structural and cyclical unemployment and redistribution support in Europe: the moderating role of welfare state size" by Ivan Petrúšek and Kristyna Basna. Published online first in West European Politics.

Figure 3, displaying point estimates and confidence intervals for the effects of contextual variables.

Figure 4, displaying marginal effects of cyclical unemploymemt at different levels of average public social expenditure.

Reposted by Vincent Tiberj, Swen Hutter, Klaus H. Goetz

David Attewell @davidattewell6.bsky.social · Oct 7

2/@dpzollinger.bsky.social and I set out 3 puzzles: How does a new cleavage work without strong intermediary orgs? How to reconcile cleavage theory w fragmented party systems? How are structural divides (e.g. ed) mobilized indirectly in political conflict today?

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Updating cleavage theory for the twenty-first century

Contemporary cleavage research has linked ‘socio-cultural’ conflicts mobilised by new left and far right parties to structural divides in post-industrial knowledge societies. Contributions in this ...

www.tandfonline.com

Reposted by Cas Mudde, Ruth Dassonneville, Robert Huber , and 7 more Cas Mudde, Ruth Dassonneville, Robert Huber, Benjamin Braun, Swen Hutter, Markus Wagner, Dorte Sindbjerg Martinsen, Klaus H. Goetz, Stuart J. Turnbull‐Dugarte, Tarik Abou‐Chadi

David Attewell @davidattewell6.bsky.social · Oct 7

@dpzollinger.bsky.social and I are thrilled "Cleavage Politics in Western Democracies" is out as an SI at @wepsocial.bsky.social!

Its papers explore the foundations of the cleavage pitting new left against radical right parties, and how it compares to the classic cleavages of Lipset & Rokkan:

🧵⬇️

WEP Journal @wepsocial.bsky.social · Oct 7

Online first:

"Women’s descriptive representation in multi-level political systems: (almost) no pyramids found"

The new research note by @adamgendzwill.bsky.social & Stanislaw Mazur

doi.org/10.1080/0140...

Abstract of the research note "Women's descriptive representation in multi-level political systems: (almost) no pyramids found" by Adam Gendzwill and Stanislaw Mazur. Published online first in West European Politics.

Figure 1, displaying different patterns of the descriptive representation of women at national, regional, and local levels.

Figure 2, displaying (a) levels of women's descriptive representation in two-tier countries (left panel), and (b) inter-level gaps in women's representation in three-tier countries (right panel).

Tables 1 (upper panel) and 2 (lower panel), presenting the assignment of countries with three or two levels of political representation to specific patterns of women's descriptive representation.

Reposted by Mikael Persson

WEP Journal @wepsocial.bsky.social · Oct 6

What matters more to politicians: the quantity or quality of public opinion signals?

Find out in the new article by @bart-maes.bsky.social Stefaan Walgrave Emmi Verleyen Frédéric Varone @annerasmussen.bsky.social & @professormpersson.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1080/0140...

Abstract of the article "What matters more to politicians: the quantity or quality of public opinion signals?" by Bart Maes, Stefaan Walgrave, Emmi Verleyen, Frédéric Varone, Anne Rasmussen and Mikael Persson. Published online first in West European Politics.

Figure 1, displaying average (reversed) importance of each public opinion criterion aggregated across countries.

Figure 3, displaying the frequency distribution of the quantity vs. quality public opinion criteria scale.

Figure 4, displaying predicted values of politicians' ranking of the criteria.

WEP Journal @wepsocial.bsky.social · Oct 6

Part of the Symposium: European Parliament Elections 2024, guest edited by @simonhix.bsky.social

Reposted by Simon Hix, Robert Huber, Simon Usherwood

WEP Journal @wepsocial.bsky.social · Oct 6

What explains the rising turnout in recent EP elections?

@filipkostelka.bsky.social & @evakrejcova.bsky.social find that it's the strength of Eurosceptic parties at the national level. The more seats they hold in national parliament, the more mobilizing the EP election is

doi.org/10.1080/0140...

Abstract of the article "Awakening the sleeping giant: rising Euroscepticism and turnout in European Parliament elections" by Filip Kostelka and Eva Krejcova. Published online first in West European Politics.

Figure 1, displaying voter turnout in EP elections between 1979 and 2024.

Figure 2, displaying Euroscepticism in national elections between 1974 and 2024.

Figure 3, displaying predicted turnout at different levels of euroscepticism in national parliament.

Reposted by Ruth Dassonneville, Anne Rasmussen, Klaus H. Goetz

Bart Maes @bart-maes.bsky.social · Oct 3

Politicians don’t just care how many people hold an opinion — they care how good that opinion is. In our new (open-access) article in West European Politics, based on survey data from 900+ politicians across 11 countries, we show: quality > quantity. Read more: doi.org/10.1080/0140...

WEP Journal @wepsocial.bsky.social · Sep 25

💥 Online first:

"Easier said than done: the European Parliament’s entrepreneurs in the treaty change discourse"

by @karolinaboronska.bsky.social & @krotky.bsky.social

🔗 doi.org/10.1080/0140...

Abstract of the article "Easier said than done: the European Parliament’s entrepreneurs in the treaty change discourse" by Karolina Borońska-Hryniewiecka and Jan Kotýnek Krotký. Published online first in West European Politics.

Table 2, displaying the distribution of entrepreneurial positions in the sample.

Figure 1, displaying the distribution of entrepreneur positions within political groups.

Figure 2, displaying the distribution of entrepreneur positions by the level of country decentralisation.

Reposted by Davide Vampa

WEP Journal @wepsocial.bsky.social · Sep 25

New article by @davidevampa.bsky.social

👉 Regional elections across Western Europe are becoming more unstable, often mirroring national turbulence. But the link weakens where regionalist parties are strong, institutions are powerful, or regions are more prosperous.

🔗 doi.org/10.1080/0140...

Abstract of the article "From nations to regions: electoral volatility in European multi-level politics" by Davide Vampa. Published online first in West European Politics.

📊 Figure 1
Regional elections in Europe often mirror national instability – but only for national parties.
✅ RTV (national parties) volatility closely follows GE volatility
❌ RSV (regional parties) volatility depends on past regional dynamics, not national ones
👉 Multi-level de-institutionalisation is real, but region-specific politics follow their own path.

📊 Figure 3 – Regionalist parties and electoral volatility
Across Europe, regional elections often reflect national volatility – but the association is weaker where regionalist parties are strong.
🔹 When regionalist parties are weak → national volatility is more clearly echoed regionally
🔹 When they are strong → the link is much less evident
👉 Regionalist strength is linked to weaker connections between national and regional electoral turbulence.

📊 Figure 7 – National volatility and regional disparities
Instability in national elections is more strongly reflected in regional election outcomes in poorer regions.
In more prosperous regions, the association weakens or disappears.
(And as Figure 5 shows, strong regional institutions also reduce the connection with national turbulence.)
👉 Economic prosperity & institutional strength condition how national and regional volatility are linked.

Reposted by Klaus H. Goetz

Jan Kotýnek Krotký @krotky.bsky.social · Sep 22

Curious about who in the #EuropeanParliament is driving (or blocking) the EU #Treatychange (reform)? Together with @karolinaboronska.bsky.social, we’ve just published a new open-access article in #WestEuropeanPolitics. tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

https://tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…

Reposted by Klaus H. Goetz

Davide Vampa @davidevampa.bsky.social · Sep 19

6/📌 Key takeaway: Electoral volatility is increasingly a multi-level phenomenon.

National instability is often reflected in regional arenas - but regional parties, institutional autonomy & economic prosperity can act as buffers

Full article (open-access) here ⬇️
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

From nations to regions: electoral volatility in European multi-level politics

www.tandfonline.com

Reposted by Klaus H. Goetz

Davide Vampa @davidevampa.bsky.social · Sep 19

🚨 New article out in @wepsocial.bsky.social !
📄 From nations to regions: electoral volatility in European multi-level politics
Open access👉 doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2025.2557768

National politics in Europe is growing more electorally unstable - does this volatility also reach the regions? Thread 🧵

Reposted by Klaus H. Goetz

Vincenzo Emanuele @vincenzoemanuele.bsky.social · Sep 18

🎯New publication out in @wepsocial.bsky.social
'Lipset and Rokkan meet data': a 🧵on our study (with Bruno Marino) on the electoral structuring of traditional cleavages (1870–1967) across 17 Western European countries 👇

Read the full article (open access):
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

www.tandfonline.com

Reposted by Jochen Müller, Robert Huber, Mirya R. Holman , and 1 more Jochen Müller, Robert Huber, Mirya R. Holman, Klaus H. Goetz

Andreas Küpfer @ankuepfer.bsky.social · Sep 13

👏Applause offers a revealing lens on party competition! In a recent article @wepsocial.bsky.social (w/@[email protected]), we study how applause reflects party and coalition unity, ideological agreement, political exclusion, issue ownership, and the electoral cycle! (1/6)

Cover page of the article:
"The sound of party competition: how applausereflects unity, disagreement, and the electoralcycle in parliamentsAndreas Küpfera , Jochen Müllerb and Christian Steckeraatechnical university of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany; buniversität Greifswald, Greifswald,GermanyABSTRACTThis article studies how applause reflects the dynamics of party competitionduring parliamentary debates. While legislative scholars often emphasise theselection of speakers and content of debates, spontaneous reactions from fel-low MPs remain understudied. Analysing 750,000 instances of applause in thedebates of the German Bundestag (1976–2020), it was found that applausepatterns, although largely spontaneous and immediate by nature, systemati-cally reflect incentives from party competition such as signalling party andcoalition unity, ideological (dis)agreement, and ostracising specific parties.Applause also indicates issue emphasis, especially near elections. The findingssuggest that applause can serve as a nuanced and abundant indicator in thestudy of party competition, complementing more static measures derived frommanifestos and expert judgements. By analysing applause patterns over fourdecades, this study opens new avenues to explore nonverbal reactions asmarkers of party competition in other parliaments."

Reposted by Klaus H. Goetz

Uwe Puetter @uwepuetter.bsky.social · Sep 12

Read about the intricate politics of moving decisions on EU climate policy between the European Council and the Council depending on political circumstances in our @wepsocial.bsky.social piece on the EU core executive and the Green Deal
@cterranova.bsky.social

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Reposted by Jochen Müller, Marc Debus, Robert Huber , and 2 more Jochen Müller, Marc Debus, Robert Huber, Mirya R. Holman, Thomas M. Meyer

WEP Journal @wepsocial.bsky.social · Sep 12

💥Online first:

"The sound of party competition: how applause reflects unity, disagreement, and the electoral cycle in parliaments"

by @ankuepfer.bsky.social @jocmuel.bsky.social & @pluggedchris.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1080/0140...

Abstract of the research article "The sound of party competition: how applause reflects unity, disagreement, and the electoral cycle in parliaments" by Andreas Küpfer, Jochen Müller and Christian Stecker. Published online first in West European Politics.

Figure 1, displaying the occurences of different types of reactions in the German Bundestag between 1976 and 2020.

Figure 3, displaying the heatmap of predicted applause per 1000 words based on a Poission regression model.

Figure 5, displaying expected applause for interaction terms government and opposition.

WEP Journal @wepsocial.bsky.social · Sep 11

💥OUT NOW! Volume 48, Issue 7 (2025)

Lots of superb research on:
👉different parties
👉social democracy
👉support for democracy
👉regional coalitions
👉populism & radical right parties
👉group appeals
👉elections: Belgium 2024

www.tandfonline.com/toc/fwep20/4...

West European Politics

Volume 48, Issue 7 of West European Politics

www.tandfonline.com

Reposted by Mikael Persson

WEP Journal @wepsocial.bsky.social · Sep 10

🌟Online first:

"Ideological bias in policy implementation: public opinion and policy outcomes in 43 democracies"

Research Note by @professormpersson.bsky.social & Anders Sundell

doi.org/10.1080/0140...

Abstract of the research note "Ideological bias in policy implementation: public opinion and policy outcomes in 43 democracies" by Mikael Persson and Anders Sundell. Published online first in West European Politics.

Figure 2, displaying triangles of representation, showing congruence (y-axis) and under-/over-provision of policy (x-axis).

Figure 3, displaying public support for and implementation of leftist and rightist proposals.

Figure 4, displaying policy provision and congruence. Leftist and TAN proposals are the most under-provided relative to public support.

WEP Journal @wepsocial.bsky.social · Sep 10

💫Online first:

"How we think about the political stances of others: evidence on projection from Canada, Germany, and the UK"

by @seonghuilee.bsky.social & @avkevins.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1080/0140...

Abstract of the article "How we think about the political stances of others: evidence on projection from Canada, Germany, and the UK" by Seonghui Lee and Anthony Kevins. Published online first in West European Politics.

Figure 2, displaying perceived ideological distances when a hypotheical individual does and does not share partisanship.

Figure 3, displaying perceived ideological distances by the number of shared socio-demographic characteristics.

Figure 4, displaying the substantive effect of socio-demographic characteristics on perceived ideological proximity.

WEP Journal @wepsocial.bsky.social · Sep 9

📉 New study by Veronika Patkós & Bendegú Plesz: Political polarisation weakens democratic accountability across 28 European democracies.

Both ideological & partisan divides reduce citizens’ ability to hold leaders accountable.

🔗 Read more: doi.org/10.1080/0140...

Abstract of the article "Does political polarisation undermine democratic accountability? Evidence from 28 European democracies" by Veronika Patkós and Bendegúz Plesz. Published online first in West European Politics.

Figure 1, displaying the relationship between partisan and ideological polarisation and accountability.

Figure 2, displaying the relationship between partisan polarisation and accountability over time in six countries.

Figure 3, displaying the predicted relationship between types of polarisation and accountability.

WEP Journal @wepsocial.bsky.social · Sep 9

New expert survey on prime ministerial power in 21 parliamentary democracies by @alexmarland.bsky.social Eoin O'Malley & @galapalavicini.bsky.social

‼️Findings challenge assumptions about growing executive centralization and trends toward presidentialism ‼️

doi.org/10.1080/0140...

Abstract of the research note "The power of prime ministers: evidence from 21 parliamentary democracies" by Alex Marland, Eoin O'Malley and Gala Palavicini. Published online first in West European Politics.

Figure 1, displaying the distribution of prime ministerial power over policy (2002-2023).

Figure 2, displaying the distribution of prime ministerial power to hire and fire ministers (2002-2023).

Figure 3, displaying the distribution of prime ministerial styles, collegial or controlling (2002-2023).

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