Ben H. Ansell | Lightnews

Ben Ansell

@benansell.bsky.social

31K followers 1K following 6.8K posts

Professor of Comparative Democratic Institutions, Nuffield & University of Oxford, FBA. http://benansell.substack.com. BBC Reith Lecturer 2023. Host BBC Radio 4 Rethink. Columnist for Prospect. Director, Centre for Advanced Social Science Methods (CASSM). .. more

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Ben W. Ansell is Professor of Comparative Democratic Institutions at Nuffield College, University of Oxford and, with David Samuels, editor of Comparative Political Studies.

Source: Wikipedia

Political science 47%

Economics 40%

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Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 8h

People can ask what they want but since this is a rhetorical question over which the respondent has little control IMO this is all for show.

Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 8h

Broadly speaking agree.

Reposted by Ben H. Ansell

dag @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 8h

You may deride lawyers generally, and you maybe right to do so.

But sometimes, even lawyers can be pushed too far.

Well done these guys on resigning.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Federal prosecutors quit in protest over lack of investigation into ICE shooting

Six lawyers from US attorney’s office in Minnesota quit along with four leaders of DoJ’s civil rights division

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Ben H. Ansell, Patrick Stokes, Nathan P. Kalmoe

Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 8h

lol. lmao

Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 9h

Trump yells “fuck you” and flips off an auto worker in Michigan who yelled “pedophile protector” www.tmz.com/2026/01/13/t...

Reposted by Ben H. Ansell

Guy Shrubsole @guyshrubsole.bsky.social · 11h

Plaid Cymru and the Greens are surging in Wales, according to this latest poll.

Where’s the media narrative around this? Where are the stories saying Farage is failing? When will Labour try to regain ground by appealing to Plaid & Green voters, not just copy Reform?

www.itv.com/news/wales/2...

Reposted by Jonathan Portes, Ben H. Ansell, Fabián Muniesa , and 5 more Jonathan Portes, Ben H. Ansell, Fabián Muniesa, Christopher Barrie, Colm O’Cinneíde, Christina Pagel, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, Clark Gray

BeijingPalmer @beijingpalmer.bsky.social · 11h

If the figures we're getting out of Iran are in the right league, this weekend was, I think, one of the bloodiest state crackdowns of all time. People are talking 12,000-20,000 dead; for comparison Hungary in 1956 was about 2,500, Tiananmen - across country, in multiple cities - probably 1000+

Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 11h

MBS’s greatest diplomatic victory has been getting the US to ban women from driving

amanda moore 🐢 @noturtlesoup17.bsky.social · 12h

Today at 34 & Park in Minneapolis, a woman tried to drive down the street where a protest had broken out in front of a home ICE was raiding, saying she had a doctor apt to get to. ICE agents busted out her windows, cut off her seatbelt, and pulled her out before arresting her.

Reposted by Ben H. Ansell, David R. Miller, Christina Pagel

Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 11h

What is happening in America right now. The arbitrary power of a tyrant deployed against his political enemies.

Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 12h

Senedd moving to PR so shouldn‘tmatter as much

Reposted by Ben H. Ansell, Rebecca Solnit, Will Jennings , and 29 more Ben H. Ansell, Rebecca Solnit, Will Jennings, Brendan Nyhan, John Horgan, Steve Peers, Leo Lucassen, David H. Kaye, Michael A. Clemens, Caroline Krafft, Fabián Muniesa, Anders Nilsson, Melanie C. Green, Rebecca Tushnet, David R. Miller, Sebastiaan Faber, Scott A. Imberman, Michael H. Whitworth, Michael D. McDonald, James Goodwin, Anne Norton, Brian Keegan, Ann Bartow, Philipp Sarasin, Henry Jones, Sam Kamin, Christina Pagel, Daxton R. Stewart, Magda Teter, Nathan P. Kalmoe, Kevin Grant, David Darmofal

amanda moore 🐢 @noturtlesoup17.bsky.social · 12h

Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 12h

Plaid plus greens at fifty percent is quite something. Ecorepublic of Wales forthcoming

Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 13h

media focus on Reform UK has obscured the likelihood that Plaid Cymru will lead the next Welsh government

Reposted by Ben H. Ansell

Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 13h

media focus on Reform UK has obscured the likelihood that Plaid Cymru will lead the next Welsh government

Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 13h

The horrible truth of journal editing is that gatekeepers, especially editors, have always been extremely powerful. And the eye of the beholder is very subjective.

Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 15h

Not the A40!!!!

Seva @seva.bsky.social · 15h

I just finished a three-year term as an editor at an international relations journal. I began at the start of the LLM era but ended right in the middle of it. Our volume of submissions tripled and our desk reject rate rose to 75%. I have some thoughts.
open.substack.com/pub/hegemon/...

The Age of Academic Slop is Upon Us

what happens when AI automates "normal science"?

open.substack.com

Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 17h

A smart version of Labour absolutely goes after Julia Lopez’s rather unfortunate comments from yesterday.

Reposted by Ben H. Ansell, Steve Peers, Andrew Scott , and 8 more Ben H. Ansell, Steve Peers, Andrew Scott, Martin Paul Eve, Tom Griffin, Molly Scott Cato, Christopher Barrie, Brian Weatherson, Federica Genovese, Nicolai von Ondarza, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò

George Eaton @georgeeaton.bsky.social · 18h

Has there ever been any poll showing the public this united? yougov.co.uk/technology/a...

Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 18h

"It's an impossible situation. One could not possibly replace Keir Starmer with a better communicator or someone who has a sense of direction the Cabinet could follow" is a fascinating piece of learned helplessness.

Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 19h

Ok well now that sounds like a university

Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 19h

Intriguingly when we put someone from HS2 in charge of project management at Oxford, it did not erm… work out so brilliantly.

Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 19h

I think ‘Replace ICE’ is something equivalent could work

Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 20h

Bettany as Naylor is supreme casting

Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 20h

The other thing that's so great about it is its depiction of late 17C New England