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Felix Lehmann @felixlehmann.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

While I only find limited evidence for this claim, intra-party dynamics do still play an important role. Activist-dominated parties, which are presumably more focused on policy goals, tend to react more strongly to electoral decline than their leadership-dominated counterparts.

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Felix Lehmann @felixlehmann.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Across most indicators, I find that parties increase their emphasis on core manifesto issues (e.g., welfare for social democrats) after electoral decline. In contrast, parties only become significantly more extreme on these issues after losing government.

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Felix Lehmann @felixlehmann.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

What do parties do after severe and persistent electoral defeat? In a new paper recently published in Party Politics, I find that parties tend to focus more on their core issues but do not necessarily adopt more extreme positions: doi.org/10.1177/1354....

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Felix Lehmann @felixlehmann.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

I want to thank my supervisors @annkristinkolln.bsky.social and Carl Dahlström for 4 great years. I really learned a lot from both of you. I also want to thank my defence committee, Andrej Kokkonen, Annika Bergström, and @grahn.bsky.social, for taking the time to engage with my dissertation.

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Felix Lehmann @felixlehmann.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

I am really happy to share that on 12 June, I successfully defended my PhD dissertation in political science. The defence was a lot of fun. This was in large part because of my great opponent, @henrikseeberg.bsky.social , who initiated a challenging and intellectually engaging discussion.

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Felix Lehmann @felixlehmann.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

I find some tentative evidence that valence considerations, such as credibility and competence, are driving the results. Divided mainstream parties suffer from a depreciated valence image when they accommodate. Highly united parties instead improve their likability using the same strategy. 11/13

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Felix Lehmann @felixlehmann.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

Preliminary analyses suggest that similar dynamics may be at play on the issue of immigration, but data limitations prevent the paper from presenting conclusive tests. 9/13

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Felix Lehmann @felixlehmann.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

Accommodating on the EU overall does not seem to induce strong voter flows between mainstream and Eurosceptic parties, irrespective of the division level. Instead, united accommodators gain voters from other non-Eurosceptic rivals. Divided accommodators mostly lose voters to these rivals. 8/13

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Felix Lehmann @felixlehmann.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

Second, I analyze voter flows between mainstream parties and Eurosceptic/non-Eurosceptic rivals in 70 national elections. I find very similar patterns as on the election level. Highly united parties experience minor gains when accommodating, while divided parties lose voters. 7/13

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Felix Lehmann @felixlehmann.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

The results suggest that Eurosceptic shifts tend to yield little benefit for mainstream parties. United accommodators experience no significant changes in their vote share, whereas accommodation for parties with medium to high levels of divisions on the EU is associated with vote losses. 6/13

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Felix Lehmann @felixlehmann.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

Why does mainstream accommodation of far-right and Eurosceptic parties often electorally backfire? In my 3rd dissertation paper, just published in @wepsocial.bsky.social, I argue that voters specifically punish internally divided parties for accommodation: doi.org/10.1080/0140... 1/13 🧵

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Felix Lehmann @felixlehmann.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

These patterns of responsiveness even persist across mainstream/niche parties, Western/Central and Eastern Europe, and time. They are further supported across a wide range of robustness checks and additional analyses. 8/12

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Felix Lehmann @felixlehmann.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

I find evidence of party responsiveness to both the average voter and partisan supporter. However, when choosing, parties have a strong tendency to prioritize their supporters. This finding is supported within both responsiveness frameworks and across all six issues + left-right dimension. 7/12

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Felix Lehmann @felixlehmann.bsky.social · 24/10/2025

Political scientists most frequently incorporate elements of law and economics. We find no significant evidence that interdisciplinary work gets fewer (or more) citations than unidisciplinary contributions. 5/6

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Felix Lehmann @felixlehmann.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

I find that parties tend to behave in line with unity-seeking ambitions. Avoidance seems to be the go-to strategy for divided parties. Preference heterogeneity suffices to lower salience. On most issues, divided parties have blurrier positions. On some issues, they change divisive positions. 7/11

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Felix Lehmann @felixlehmann.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

Following @nilssteiner.bsky.social and Matthias Mader, I use CCS data to measure preference heterogeneity. journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1.... I then use updated CHES data to measure more public disagreements as perceived by experts. 6/11

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Felix Lehmann @felixlehmann.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

Why do parties do what they do? Excited to share my 2nd dissertation paper, just published in @jeppjournal.bsky.social In the paper, I argue that parties seek internal unity and try to keep the team together: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... 1/11 🧵

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Felix Lehmann @felixlehmann.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

Looking forward to presenting two papers at #EPSA2025. In two great panels, I will present work on 1) the state of party responsiveness in the EU and 2) the drivers of party responsiveness. If that sounds interesting, consider joining on Thursday either at 13.10 or 16.50.

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