Peter Allen
@peterallen.bsky.social
1.8K followers 580 following 190 posts

Professor of Politics & Co-Director of the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Bath, U.K. / British politics, representation, public sphere / HOW TO THINK ABOUT POLITICS out Feb(US) March(UK) w/OUP / http://www.peter-allen.co.uk .. more

Political science 76%
Sociology 10%
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My book is now available to pre-order from OUP ahead of a March 27th UK release date. Use the code AUFLY30 to get it for £11.89 — global.oup.com/academic/pro...

This is one of academics working on British Politics that might be of interest, I put it together back when everyone initially moved so might be missing newer arrivals go.bsky.app/EqXUQbt

Reposted by Peter Allen

I’ve written a response to @samuelmoyn.bsky.social’s recent essay in Democracy Project - agreeing with him about the problem of gerontocracy, but suggesting his advocacy of weighted votes for the young ignores an obvious egalitarian alternative: compulsory voting
An egalitarian answer to gerontocracy
Debates about gerontocracy often focus on the age of leaders, but the deeper issue lies in the age of electorates. Older citizens vote far more than the young, skewing democratic outcomes. This blo…
blogs.bath.ac.uk

Really enjoyed this, especially the contemporary references you included for the young audience such as mentions of Monty Python and Mystic Meg. Reminds me of talking to my UG students about their CD collections.
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!

In this special live episode recorded in front of pupils from schools in Doncaster, David talks to political scientist @robfordmancs.bsky.social about whether Nigel Farage is really going to be the UK’s next Prime Minister.

Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com

This was the front of the card #eighties
A very eighties Christmas card that has a picture of a candle and reads “Season’s Greetings”

Reposted by Philip Cowley

A delightful but poignant find in a second-hand copy of Ulysses that bought this weekend. I doubt that someone today would think that they could ‘make their life useful again’ after a divorce by getting more involved in politics.
A card that reads: Dear Name and Name, How are you both? I are still in Shropshire , inspite of one valiant attempt fo get back to Oxfordshire , my parents’ home county. Name and I finally parted for good and all last July (1982)
He met someone in the Psychology Dept at Keele and they are now living together in Sussex. I was very upset, as you can imagine, and I am still not properly back to my old self. Such is life though and I try to make my life useful in other respects. I am once again involned in the L.P. and C.N.D. I would love to hear from you and hear how life treats you in South Wales. Have a lovely time at Christmas. Take care, Name XX
Print and send this chart (from your newsletter on Tuesday) to every household in the country.
A graph from the FT showing government spending by age cohort. Over-70s have more spent on them than any other age cohort.

Reposted by Peter Allen

Reposted by Peter Allen

📣 New #openaccess #BJPIR article out now!

'Does independent regulation of MPs’ pay and expenses improve political trust? Evidence from a survey experiment' by Helen Bramah.

🔗 buff.ly/FPMxXzL

@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social

Reposted by Peter Allen

Reposted by Peter Allen

New article out in @bjpir.bsky.social that investigates the #WWE + Welsh Government 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 deal to host “Clash at the Castle 2002” in Cardiff.

Mixing nation branding & pro-wrestling literature it analyses how WWE fit the Cymru Wales Brand into its broadcasts. (1/?)

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
National gimmicks as soft power strategy: WWE’s Clash at the Castle and the performance of the Cymru Wales Brand


This article introduces the concept of the national gimmick – a performative, stylised persona derived from professional wrestling – as an effective lens for analysing government nation branding and soft power strategies. Using WWE’s Clash at the Castle and its 2022 partnership with the Welsh Government as a case study, the article demonstrates how governments employ entertainment spectacles to project curated national identities to global audiences. It argues that professional wrestling’s emphasis on stereotype, performance, and narrative makes it an especially potent medium for understanding how states simplify and disseminate nation brands. By examining the portrayal of the Cymru Wales Brand through WWE media, and the tensions surrounding Welsh representation at the event, the article highlights both the potential and the limitations of such partnerships. This interdisciplinary contribution bridges political communication and pro-wrestling studies to advance the study of government’s soft power strategies and the politics of branding.
It was a very great pleasure to appear on one of my favourite podcasts, and to talk with David Runciman about the Past, Present, and Future (!) of electoral reform & proportional representation
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!

For the first episode in a new series about the ideas that could help democracy work better David talks to @dmk1793.bsky.social of the Constitution Society about proportional representation. When will we get serious electoral reform in the UK?

Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!

For the first episode in a new series about the ideas that could help democracy work better David talks to @dmk1793.bsky.social of the Constitution Society about proportional representation. When will we get serious electoral reform in the UK?

Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com

A different kind of Oxford union

Congratulations, if that’s the word(?)

Reposted by Justin H. Kirkland

The persistence of New Labour ideas and people was something @ntmatthews.bsky.social and I discussed in our paper from last year titled “New Labour and Political Myth”, free to read www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Possibly the only place in London with smaller offices than SPIR?

An aside, but which podcast app do you use? The transcripts are easier to read than the Spotify ones.

Thanks for this, I love it. Aside from the obvious referents, it’s a bit reminiscent of an Irish band who did (I think) one album and then no more called HAL youtu.be/X1RTvpuyAog?...
Worry About the Wind
YouTube video by Hal - Topic
youtu.be

Agreed — I have subscribed for a decade, so I do pay. The point is that they have changed what you get in return for that subscription.

Ok, to be fair I just checked and they are now giving me The Athletic (sports) as part of my subscription so I partly take that back.

The premiumisation of their subscription model is quite something— to see recipes (understandable-ish) and then sports coverage (less understandable) I would need to pay extra. Both were included when I first subscribed a decade ago (so far as I can recall).
This moment never ceases to excite. Out in shops on 9 Sept...

This article is refreshing not least because it starts from the point of thinking about voters as they actually are, not as we might wish them to be. The key idea — that voters aren’t pundits and political science shouldn’t expect them to be — is crucial.
I have a new article out at @polstudies.bsky.social. In "Electoral Hope", I make the case that supposedly irrational "wishful thinking" is actually a crucial part of how voters make rational sense of their role in democracies.

OA link: doi.org/10.1177/0032...
Title page of article "Electoral Hope" in journal Political Studies.

Yes, aiming for PSA so see you there!

This looks great, congratulations.
🚨New book alert!🚨

Thrilled to announce that my @britishacademy.bsky.social Monograph, 'Capital, Privilege, and Political Participation,' will be published via @livunipress.bsky.social later this month.

Find details and pre-order (with discount) here: liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10....