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simonhix.bsky.social
Simon Hix
@simonhix.bsky.social
11K followers 3.6K following 460 posts

Stein Rokkan Chair in Comparative Politics, EUI. President-Elect, @epssnet.bsky.social. FBA, FRSA. Democracy, parties, elections, electoral systems etc. Live music. COYI

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Simon Hix is a British political scientist, holder of the Stein Rokkan chair in comparative politics at the European University Institute in Florence. His main areas of research are voting in parliaments, democratic institutions, and EU politics. .. more

Political science 79%
Economics 10%
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Reposted by Simon Hix

davidheniguk.bsky.social
David Henig @davidheniguk.bsky.social · 3h
On the perils of centrism or deliverism in the UK and France as per @rafaelbehr.bsky.social today, my high-level take (part of a long piece on modern globalisation to be published tomorrow).

We've forgotten governments cannot deliver it all, they must make and explain choices.
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simonhix.bsky.social
Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 1d
Agree. Alternatively, there just isn’t much political room between a liberal/pro-European party (LibDems) and a radical right/anti-everything party (Reform). LibDems could easily occupy the “sensible on tax” plus “progressive on social policies” space.

Reposted by Simon Hix

timbale.bsky.social
Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 1d
If you think this proposed organisational model will work (or, indeed, last very long in reality rather than appearance), then you might want to google 'Robert Michels and "iron law of oligarchy"'.
Voters' voices are being shut out of British politics. Your Party has a radical plan to change that | Jeremy Corbyn
At our conference in November we will use a jury service-type model to allow members to discuss and decide policy, strategy and even the name of our party, says Your Party co-founder Jeremy Corbyn
www.theguardian.com
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Reposted by Tim Bale, Sascha O. Becker

simonhix.bsky.social
Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 1d
Brilliant insight by @stephenkb.bsky.social: if the Tories keep insisting that Brexit was a good thing, they will never find enough talented people to join their party
on.ft.com/4qeqPkw
How Brexit drained the Tories’ talent pool
The party can’t keep expecting successful people to pretend that leaving the EU was a good idea
on.ft.com
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Reposted by Patrick Dunleavy, Catherine E. De Vries, Nicolai von Ondarza

simonhix.bsky.social
Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 1d
Increasingly, politics in West Europe is a mirror of East Europe, with a large radical right party against a rag-tag of centrist/liberal, centre-left, green and radical left parties and a rapidly declining centre right. The challenge is to coordinate the progressive opposition to the radical right.
catherinedevries.bsky.social
Catherine E. de Vries @catherinedevries.bsky.social · 1d
Scholars & pundits have focussed a lot on the electoral demise of center left, but in doing so we paid to little attention to the electoral problems of the center right.

Case-in-points here not only British conservatives or center right in France, but increasingly also the center right in Spain.
CIS
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Reposted by Cas Mudde, Simon Hix, Julia Lynch , and 1 more

catherinedevries.bsky.social
Catherine E. de Vries @catherinedevries.bsky.social · 1d
Scholars & pundits have focussed a lot on the electoral demise of center left, but in doing so we paid to little attention to the electoral problems of the center right.

Case-in-points here not only British conservatives or center right in France, but increasingly also the center right in Spain.
CIS
6 48 110

simonhix.bsky.social
Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 2d
Doh 🤦‍♂️
www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/country-and-...
Michael Gove admits that post-Brexit trade deals were bad for farmers
Michael Gove has admitted for the first time that the Australia and New Zealand trade deals negotiated by the former Tory government did not protect Britain’s farmers.
www.yorkshirepost.co.uk
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Reposted by Simon Hix

alemanno.bsky.social
Alberto Alemanno @alemanno.bsky.social · 2d
Wow. Last minute lobbying by 46 French & German companies led by TotalEnergies to fully scrap the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive

Isn’t what Trump asked for?

EU leaders set to cave in after 5 years crafting #CSDDD ⁦‪ netzerocompare.com/articles/maj...
TotalEnergies and Siemens lead corporate call to repeal EU climate due diligence law
European industrial leaders urge the EU to scrap its corporate sustainability due diligence directive, warning it hurts competitiveness and deters investment.
netzerocompare.com
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Reposted by Simon Hix

reuters.com
Reuters @reuters.com · 2d
BREAKING: Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt win the 2025 Nobel Prize in economics for having explained innovation-driven economic growth, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said reut.rs/4olW4bE
Mokyr, Aghion and Howitt win 2025 Nobel economics prize
Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt won the 2025 Nobel economics prize for "having explained innovation-driven economic growth", the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said on Monday.
reut.rs
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Reposted by Simon Hix

patrickdunleavy.bsky.social
Patrick Dunleavy @patrickdunleavy.bsky.social · 2d
Revealing the wage gap makes far-right voters much more supportive of redistribution blogs.lse.ac.uk/inequalities...
The wage gap and far-right support for redistribution
New study on beliefs and preferences about the wage gap (CEOs vs average worker). When the true gap is revealed, far right voters change their policy views most.
blogs.lse.ac.uk
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Reposted by Simon Hix, Benjamin Braun

fgenovese.bsky.social
Federica Genovese @fgenovese.bsky.social · 2d
Going through some history of climate politics notes from last week, I realize we dont appreciate enough the climate mobilization of mid2010s and subsequent electoral green wave of late 2010s.

That moment was never really meant to be in the cards and we need to better study how we got there

🪡 1/n
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Reposted by Simon Hix, Tom Louwerse

maartenpvink.bsky.social
Maarten Vink @maartenpvink.bsky.social · 3d
I just sent off my voting ballot for the upcoming general elections in the Netherlands 🇳🇱.

Did you know that while there must be 100 thousands of Dutch citizens abroad, surprisingly few of those are voting. In the 2023 elections, about 70k of us voted from abroad. That’s one (1!) seat in parliament.
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Reposted by Simon Hix

timbale.bsky.social
Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 3d
Et tu, Gordon (and @theguardian.com)! Enough with this euphemistic neologism. Call a spade a spade! Far right, not 'hard right'. 🤬
Don’t fall for the authoritarian hype – Reform and the hard right can be stopped in their tracks | Gordon Brown
From the US to Europe and Asia, grievances are being exploited to gain power. But moderate voices are still in tune with the majority, says former prime minister Gordon Brown
www.theguardian.com
6 13 71

simonhix.bsky.social
Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 3d
Calvin’s Geneva?
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simonhix.bsky.social
Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 4d
Thank you Lauren. It was a joy and a privilege to supervise you. Good luck with the new projects.
2

Reposted by Simon Hix, Michael H. Whitworth

benansell.bsky.social
Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 4d
What with all this the UK should emulate Dubai stuff, following hot on the heels of Singapore model, are there any other niche authoritarian city states we could go for? Brunei? Machiavelli’s Florence? Ancient Sparta?
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Reposted by Simon Hix

laurenleek.eu
Lauren Leek @laurenleek.eu · 4d
What’s next? Living my life in London: combining being an academic postdoc with getting some industry experience. But I’ll also keep up the many side quests on my data Substack open.substack.com/pub/laurenleek - keep an eye out for some stuff that’s currently in the pipeline👀
Lauren’s data Substack | Lauren Leek | Substack
My (mostly not too serious) personal data Substack in which I share data visualisations and insights linking to current world events or trends. Click to read Lauren’s data Substack, by Lauren Leek, a ...
open.substack.com
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Reposted by Simon Hix

laurenleek.eu
Lauren Leek @laurenleek.eu · 4d
I have to thank many people (see my thesis for a very long multiple page list), but most importantly my amazing supervisor @simonhix.bsky.social and co-supervisor Waltraud Schelkle. And also my fantastic committee @carogarriga.bsky.social and @kenbenoit.bsky.social
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simonhix.bsky.social
Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 4d
Groundhog Day in Paris 🤦‍♂️
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Macron reappoints Lecornu as French PM after days of turmoil
Sébastien Lecornu resigned on Monday after 26 days in the job and he said two days later his
www.bbc.co.uk
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Reposted by Lisa Dellmuth

simonhix.bsky.social
Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 5d
Bravo! 👏
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c1...
Nobel Peace Prize 2025 live updates: Venezuelan democracy activist María Corina Machado wins
Nominations closed in January but US President Donald Trump had led a public campaign to win the award.
www.bbc.co.uk
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Reposted by Simon Hix, Stefan Müller

epssnet.bsky.social
EPSS @epssnet.bsky.social · 6d
▶️ Political Methodology

👉🏽 Section chairs:
Andy Eggers
&
@stefanmueller.bsky.social

📢 Our section welcomes submissions for lightning rounds, author-meets-critics panels, and topical roundtables on political methodology.

/end
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Reposted by Simon Hix

epssnet.bsky.social
EPSS @epssnet.bsky.social · 6d
▶️ Political Communication

👉🏽 Section chairs:
Ken Benoit
&
@kgattermann.bsky.social

📢 Our section welcomes submissions on contents & effects of political communication, broadly conceived, & media-politics relations.

Submissions: papers, panels, topical roundtables, or author-meets-critics.

/3
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Reposted by Simon Hix

epssnet.bsky.social
EPSS @epssnet.bsky.social · 6d
Submissions: papers, panels, topical roundtables, or author-meets-critics.

/2
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Reposted by Simon Hix

epssnet.bsky.social
EPSS @epssnet.bsky.social · 6d
▶️ Public Opinion

👉🏽 Section chairs:
@charlottecavalie.bsky.social
&
@ronjasczepanski.bsky.social

📢 Our section welcomes individual papers and panels that engage with:

- Dynamics of public opinion

- Measurement & analysis

- Role of public opinion in politics, policy, & public debate

/1
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Reposted by Simon Hix, Sara B. Hobolt, Fabrizio Gilardi

epssnet.bsky.social
EPSS @epssnet.bsky.social · 6d
📢 Call for Papers for EPSS 2026 conference in Belfast is out: epssnet.org/belfast-2026...

This week we’ll feature three sections to provide more information about the conference.

🔝 This time: Public Opinion, Political Communication & Political Methodology

🧵
Call for Papers | EPSS Belfast 2026 Conference
Submit your abstract or full paper for EPSS Belfast 2026. Share cutting‑edge political science research, network with peers & contribute to academic impact.
epssnet.org
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simonhix.bsky.social
Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 6d
The @europarl.europa.eu just made a fool of itself with this ban. Is there evidence that consumers think a "veggie burger" contains meat? Utterly ridiculous, and just (further) undermines the credibility of the institution (at the behest of the EPP).
www.bbc.com/news/article...
EU parliament votes to ban meat names for plant-based foods
Pressure to ban meat labels for plant-based products comes from Europe's livestock farmers.
www.bbc.com
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Reposted by Simon Hix, Nicolai von Ondarza

claesdevreese.bsky.social
Claes de Vreese @claesdevreese.bsky.social · 6d
Latest poll of polls from the Netherlands with elections in 3 weeks:

- PVV/ Wilders in the lead
- CDA and Greens/Social democrats close
- VVD, D66, JA21 close as 3-5th largest

Little movement in past weeks. But >50% voters still in doubt 📈 📉

🗳️ #TK2025

Source: @peilingwijzer.bsky.social
5 9

Reposted by Carl Henrik Knutsen

simonhix.bsky.social
Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 7d
An excellent (although deeply depressing) piece by Thomas Edsall, with some great interviews with top US political scientists.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/o...
Opinion | Trump Is Not Afraid of Civil War. Neither Is Stephen Miller.
www.nytimes.com
1 5 9

Reposted by Simon Hix, John Hogan

efrenpolipsy.bsky.social
Efrén Pérez @efrenpolipsy.bsky.social · 7d
👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽
tiagoventura.bsky.social
Tiago Ventura @tiagoventura.bsky.social · 7d
How common are “survey professionals” - people who take dozens of online surveys for pay - across online panels, and do they harm data quality?

Our paper, FirstView at @politicalanalysis.bsky.social, tackles this question using browsing data from three U.S. samples (Facebook, YouGov, and Lucid):
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Reposted by Simon Hix

alvarooleart.bsky.social
Alvaro Oleart @alvarooleart.bsky.social · 8d
Building transnational parties seems to be a key ingredient for democratising the EU,but efforts have not succeeded so far. Looking at @diem25.bsky.social, @manesweisskircher.bsky.social & I just published this piece on why social movements struggle to change the EU link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Why social movements struggle to change the EU: the ‘EU mobilization package’ and the case of DiEM25 - Comparative European Politics
Social movement scholarship has emphasized that progressive ‘Europeanization from below’ may be a breeding ground for major EU reform and democratization. Empirically, however, activists have found it difficult to make gains when targeting the EU. To understand the challenges that activists face in the context of transnational EU mobilization, our article draws from agency-oriented approaches in social movement studies to propose an ‘EU mobilization package’, comprising three recurring strategic dilemmas that activists encounter: (a) the formulation of goals that both address the transnational level and appeal to national or local constituencies, (b) the building of a transnational political organization that is both inclusive and effective, and (c) whether and how to interact with EU institutions, particularly in the context of European Parliament elections. We apply this framework to the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 (DiEM25), an organization founded by Yanis Varoufakis in 2016, which is a key example of social movement dissensus to EU politics. Methodologically, we rely on comprehensive interview data, the analysis of a large corpus of DiEM25 online and offline publications, and participant observation of three public events. A discussion of the group’s strategic challenges provides important general lessons for our understanding of social movement mobilization targeting EU politics as well as transnational activism.
link.springer.com
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