iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Chiara Vargiu @cvargiu.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

It's been a long and winding road, and I'm so happy to see this piece finally out - in spite of a *fundamental disagreement* that nearly ended an otherwise great collaboration with the awesome @alessandronai.bsky.social and Diego Garzia!

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Chiara Vargiu @cvargiu.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

@andreavik.bsky.social is living proof that hard work pays off! So proud of her for this great achievement 🔥🔥 Go check her research out!!

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Andrea Vik @andreavik.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

New publication! Unelected representation may influence how satisfied people are with democracy, opening up important discussions on the role activists play in shaping the legitimacy of liberal representative democracies. You can find out more below 👇

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Marta Vukovic @martav.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

I’d especially like to encourage women to apply. We’re a fantastic department with excellent scholars, in beautiful Vienna. Data shows that women are less likely to apply for positions than equally qualified men (Muriel Niederle & Lise Vesterlund 2011), so if you’re considering it, please go for it!

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Chiara Vargiu @cvargiu.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

🚨 New piece forthcoming @poqjournal.bsky.social w/ @alessandronai.bsky.social Does violence beget more violence? We answer this question using the #Mangione case (assassination + arrest) as a natural experiment. Results ⬇️ Accepted manuscript: tinyurl.com/4mwh6rt6 Data & code: osf.io/y5mn3

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Chiara Vargiu @cvargiu.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

⏰ Last day to send your abstract (max 500 words) to our @ecpr.bsky.social Joint Session workshop on 𝖍𝖔𝖘𝖙𝖎𝖑𝖊 𝖕𝖔𝖑𝖎𝖙𝖎𝖈𝖘 (U. Innsbruck, 7-10 April)! Submit here by midnight: tinyurl.com/yjcaa3ay

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Alessandro Nai @alessandronai.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

🤖 AI chatbots can persuade voters 🗳️ @cvargiu.bsky.social and I were recently asked to review a piece for @nature.com, now out, and wrote a short digest about it TLDR: chatting with a LLM can change your mind, even if facts provided are not always accurate check it out 👇 #chatbots #persuasion

nature.com

AI chatbots can persuade voters to change their minds

Conversations with AI can sway people’s political views. Concerningly, a chatbot’s facts are not always accurate, especially when it supports right-wing positions.

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Chiara Vargiu @cvargiu.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

⏱️ One more week to apply to our #ecprjs26 workshop on hostile communication styles! Come join us in Innsbruck to discuss the shady business of hostile politics 😶‍🌫️ Send your abstract by 10 Dec (link below). @ecpr.bsky.social @ecpr-polcom.bsky.social

media.tenor.com

a bald man with a ring on his finger is pointing at the camera

ALT: a bald man with a ring on his finger is pointing at the camera

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Chiara Vargiu @cvargiu.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

🎬 Excited to co-direct a #ecprjs26 Workshop w/ J. Dedeigne on hostile communication styles 🤬 Working on uncivil 🙄, intolerant 🙅🏻‍♀️, or violent 🤜 political rhetoric and its effects across countries, contexts, or media? Join us! 📅 Submit by 10 Dec: tinyurl.com/yjcaa3ay

ecpr.eu

The Rise of Hostile Communication Styles and their Consequences for the Functioning of Modern Democracies

European Consortium for Political Research

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Chiara Vargiu @cvargiu.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

We are finally out!! Thanks to my fantastic co-authors, the anonymous reviewers, and @thejop.bsky.social editorial team. Publishing my first registered report has been an incredibly instructive and rewarding experience 🤓 Much has been said about political incivility, but does it actually exist? 🤷‍♀️

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Stuart Turnbull-Dugarte @turnbulldugarte.com · 05/09/2025

Radical right accommodation really does not work. New paper out with this exceptionally talented team @katharinalawall.bsky.social @robjohns75.bsky.social @drjennings.bsky.social @sarahobolt.bsky.social @zachdickson.bsky.social @danjdevine.bsky.social & @jack-bailey.co.uk doi.org/10.31235/osf...

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Peter Luca Versteegen @versteegenluca.bsky.social · 04/08/2025

🚨Pre-print alert🚨 Research shows citizens in many Western democracies are increasingly affectively polarized––they feel warm toward their own party but quite cold toward opposing parties. But how does it feel to “feel warmly”? @katharinalawall.bsky.social, @mtsakiris.bsky.social & I asked. 🧵1/8

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Lukas Otto @lukotto.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

⚡️⚡️⚡️ Interested in… …negativity, incivility, intolerance? …comparative and experimental data on the perception and effects of attack politics? … personality, contextual influences? Get all this with a discount! 📚📚📚🤩🤩🤩

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Chiara Vargiu @cvargiu.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

📕 *The Psychology of Attack Politics* is coming out next month. With @alessandronai.bsky.social and @lukotto.bsky.social we discuss how negativity isn't always what you think 🤔 and why some of us may even enjoy it 😈 Pre-order now with 20% off (paperback ~£32). Discount code + link in the flyer 👇

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Alessandro Nai @alessandronai.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

Looking forward to present tomorrow our paper with @cvargiu.bsky.social about shifts in support for #PoliticalViolence driven by the #Mangione attack Come say hi if you are in Ghent or thereabouts! ➡️ preprint: osf.io/preprints/os...

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Alessandro Nai @alessandronai.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

New piece at @cogitatiopag.bsky.social w L Aaldering @kgattermann.bsky.social @fredericofs.bsky.social D Garzia The capper of our “dark leaders” trilogy, we show that negative traits matter the most Come for the cool theory, stay for the #GameofThrones experiment treatments ➡️ tinyurl.com/mvn7np2e

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Michael Bang Petersen @m-b-petersen.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

Pundits are - in vain - looking to economics and politics when trying to explain Trump's behavior. But, in reality, the central place to look if we want to understand Trump and his policies is this: The psychology of dominance. 🧵(1/5)

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Alessandro Nai @alessandronai.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

🚨 New piece at @polbehavior.bsky.social w @chiaravalli.bsky.social @timgravelle.bsky.social @mikemikemed.bsky.social Céline Murri & Beatrice Eugster TLDR: In 🇨🇭 visible mosques increases support for the #FarRight in elections and in referenda (~ +3-5%) Paper: tinyurl.com/5xk6ydv9 Data: osf.io/27pkj

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Chiara Vargiu @cvargiu.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

Prompted by news of prosecutors seeking death penalty for Luigi #Mangione, we share findings from a natural experiment based on his case. We find that Mangione's arrest led to a small rise in support for #PoliticalViolence among Dems. 📝 Preprint: osf.io/preprints/os... 📊 Data & code: osf.io/y5mn3/

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Chiara Vargiu @cvargiu.bsky.social · 29/03/2025

So cool to see this taking shape 🥹 Thanks to @alessandronai.bsky.social & @lukotto.bsky.social for bringing me on board, it’s been great working on this together!

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Alessandro Nai @alessandronai.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

🚨 New paper out in @electoralstudies.bsky.social w Patrick van Erkel & @lindabos.bsky.social What drives changes in radical partisanship over time? TLDR: #NeedforChaos and #ExpressivePartisanship drive radicalisation & slow down de-radicalisation Paper tinyurl.com/mr46r35u Data 🇳🇱 osf.io/ma6u7

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Conflict & Society RPA • University of Amsterdam @rpa-cs-uva.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

Why can’t Americans agree on the concept of equality? And how did Trump’s election victory influence this? Chiara Vargiu examines the starkly different ways Republicans and Democrats view social equality and how these differences put American democracy at risk.

conflictstudies.uva.nl

Why Americans can't agree on social equality - The Amsterdam Centre for Conflict Studies

The gap between Democrats and Republicans on social equality deepens. Diversity vs. tradition fuels polarisation, while extreme views and us-vs-them thinking threaten American democracy.

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Conflict & Society RPA • University of Amsterdam @rpa-cs-uva.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

First an intro by PIs Abbey Steele and Alessandro Nai. Followed by: - Conversation with Enilda Jiménez on resisting political violence in Colombia. - Panel on aggressive rhetoric and its consequences. - Keynote by Leonie Huddy (Stony Brook) on news sharing as expressive partisanship.

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