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Jack Dean

@jackddean.bsky.social
257 followers 197 following 256 posts

UCL SSEES PhD Candidate | Political Sociologist researching Populism, Political Parties and the Politics of Health | Views are my own | Focus on CEE

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Jack Dean @jackddean.bsky.social · 7h
In the current climate, news stories like this are a welcome reprieve.
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Jochen Müller @jocmuel.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Thinking about doing a PhD in political science? We are looking for people interested in studying politics in the Baltic Sea Region (the Nordic countries, the Baltics, Poland, etc.). Projects may come from a range of subfields, including gender & politics, legislative studies, and party politics.
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Jack Dean @jackddean.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Never a dull day in Romanian politics.
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Jack Dean @jackddean.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Do we think Merz considered the possibility they wouldn't cross the threshold before going so early with the statement?
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Jack Dean @jackddean.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Conspiracy theories pose a significant risk to public health, as shown in the pandemic, but also to the health of democracy. I'm not yet sure much of the political sphere has grasped either how widespread they are or where they are emerging from.
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Jack Dean @jackddean.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
SSEES has been a fantastic place to spend the last few years, first for MA then PhD - something to be said about being surrounded by incredibly passionate people, from the staff to the undergrads I taught.
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Jack Dean @jackddean.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Very, very pleased to announce that I have today passed my Viva with minor corrections! Looking forward to implementing the changes proposed by my examiners and discovering what comes!
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Jack Dean @jackddean.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Broadly, I agree with Eliot here, albeit I think the answer is more nuanced still. We know anti-vax movements skew right, but in certain contexts, shouldn't that be expected for those distrustful of authority? Hofstadter's Paranoid Style comes to mind here - the American left is not going to appeal.
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Jack Dean @jackddean.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Fantastic to return to Krakow for a week of panels, conversations, and talks. Looking forward to catching up with old friends and hopefully future colleagues and collaborators! #ecprgc26
Krakow, just prior to sunset.
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Jack Dean @jackddean.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
The story of British politics over the last few years can be characterised by an obsessive focus on the far right's polling, whilst never confronting its social manifestations. The riots after Southport, the pogroms in NI, now Dover and Portsmouth. This is not going away.
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Will Jennings📉🗳️ @drjennings.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Ngl, I am increasingly cranky about what seems to be a complete lack of rigour, curiosity, depth of thought across many domains of public life in Britain today. What is going on with far right disorder raises really fundamental questions for the state and society, but nobody seems interested.
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Alexander Clarkson @aphclarkson.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
The "legitimate concerns" framing also normalises networks and individuals who are often from the more violent and socially dysfunctional fringes of many communities
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Tarik Abou-Chadi @tabouchadi.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
In the 90s S-A saw the best result of a far-right party in Germany before the AfD. 13% for the DVU in 1998. S-A should not be the basis for sweeping conclusion about the electoral sociology of the AfD. The consequences might be far-reaching but your reporting will contribute to these consequences.
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Jack Dean @jackddean.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Of simple public health measures about drinking, this may be one of my favourites thus far. Free breathalyser, available for public use at Brussels Beer Festival, allowing for a quick and easy way to estimate your blood alcohol level. A reminder that good interventions don't have to be complex.
Public Breathalyser at Brussels Beer Festival
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Jack Dean @jackddean.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Nearly four months on, still no government. Yet again, an example of AUR, SOS, and PSD collaborating: this time on parliamentary appointments. PSD increasingly not discounting the possibility of further support from AUR, whilst George Simion of AUR continues calling for new elections.
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Jakub Jaraczewski @jakubjaraczewski.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
🇭🇺🇪🇺 Pretty safe to say that we won't be hearing any more from the "Democracy Interference Observatory" that MCC Brussels set up to "monitor Brussels-backed attempts to interfere in European democracy" after my organisation sued X over access to data ahead of the Hungarian elections.
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Gabriela Greilinger @gabrielagreilinger.com · 28/08/2026
There is this narrative that far-right actors, when in power, will do certain things, but "through legal means". When they say they will act in line with the rule of law, that means they will change the law in specific ways beforehand to suit their interests. Ortbán is a prime example here too. 1/
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Notes from Poland @notesfrompoland.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
The split in Poland’s main opposition party is a serious self-inflicted wound which complicates the right’s path back to power. While it provides a boost for the Tusk government, effective cooperation could lead to a comeback, writes @aleksszczerbiak.bsky.social notesfrompoland.com/2026/08/21/h...
notesfrompoland.com
How will the Law and Justice split affect Polish politics?
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Jack Dean @jackddean.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
In my new article in the European Politics and Society Journal, I focus on a specific aspect of Orbán’s illiberal project: Tusványos. I suggest articulation of the nation can build upon and take emphasis from the location it is performed, using Transylvania as a case. Now available Open Access:
tandfonline.com
Tusványos and nation-building: Orbán’s populist performance in Transylvania
This article analyses how Viktor Orbán’s annual speeches at the Tusványos summer school in Transylvania construct a transnational Hungarian political community through populist performance. While s...
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Cristina Maza @cmaza.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
A Russian plot to kill a Ukrainian-American citizen in Warsaw was thwarted by Poland before it could be carried out, Poland's PM said, marking the first time in decades that a Western leader has publicly accused Moscow of plotting to kill a U.S. citizen. www.cbsnews.com/news/russian...
cbsnews.com
Russian plot to kill American citizen thwarted by Poland, prime minister says: "First situation of its kind"
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the suspect was allegedly recruited by Russia's secret services.
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Ruth Deyermond @ruthdeyermond.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
I can strongly recommend a holiday in Poland. And if you're in Gdansk (brilliant city), visit the European Solidarity Museum - a fascinating museum of the Solidarity movement and its role in the end of European communist regimes, which also shows solidarity with Ukraine.
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Jack Dean @jackddean.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
I'd started to see social media posts from Romania regarding 'baby stealing ambulances', but presumed it was something fringe or completely nonsensical. In Cluj County, an ambulance crew has been attacked after rumours online (particularly on Tiktok) about its supposed ulterior motive.
m.digi24.ro
Ambulanţă atacată cu topoarele într-o comună din Cluj, după ce într-un clip pe TikTok s-a afirmat că „fură copii”. Șoferul a fost rănit
Medicii chemaţi să acorde îngrijiri unui pacient în comuna Recea-Cristur, judeţul Cluj, au fost atacaţi cu bâte, topoare şi pietre, pe fondul unor zvonuri propagate pe TikTok despre o presupusă „ambul...
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Jakub Jaraczewski @jakubjaraczewski.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
🇭🇺⚖️ Famously, after ousting Baka from the seat of the president of the Hungarian Supreme Court, the Fidesz majority renamed the court to Kuria, so that in case the ECtHR ruled in his favour (as it did), he wouldn't be able to return to the post because new name, new court, who dis? Quite a comeback.
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Jack Dean @jackddean.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
After six years of debating the merits of gain-of-function research, this feels like a step off the cliff and into the abyss.
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CEU Review of Books @ceureviewofbooks.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
The Aesthetics of Populism (Brill, 2025), edited by Leszek Koczanowicz, Michał Stambulski, Wojciech Ufel, and Rafał Włodarczyk, explores not only what populism says and does, but what it looks like in post-1989 Poland. @jackddean.bsky.social reviews the volume. ceureviewofbooks.com/review/what-...
ceureviewofbooks.com
What does populism look like? - CEU Review of Books
The Aesthetics of Populism (Brill, 2025), edited by Leszek Koczanowicz, Michał Stambulski, Wojciech Ufel, and Rafał Włodarczyk, explores not only what populism says and does, but what it looks like in...
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Jack Dean @jackddean.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
The infighting in PiS has been an admittedly entertaining subplot of Polish politics for the last few weeks, but today's news has really blown the issue up into a major news story. After years of Kaczynski dominating the party through a selection of loyalist candidates, change is happening.
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Nicolai von Ondarza @nvondarza.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
This will also have repercussions on the European level - Morawiecki, who has just been expelled, is the head of the European Conservative and Reformer (ECR) party, the party that brings together PiS, Meloni's FdI and other national conversatives across the EU.
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Jack Dean @jackddean.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
It has been a very poor week for news regarding health in Romania. From high profile figures promoting vaccine conspiracies, to strikes, to anticorruption investigations, there are few signs that health has improved since Dan's presidency began. Below, I outline several of these news stories.
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Jack Dean @jackddean.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Duda appears alongside a cast of the European radical right, including Romania's George Simion and former British PM Liz Truss. For an event supposedly focused on the 'future' of the European sovereigntist right, there's a lot of faces from the past.
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Jack Dean @jackddean.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Former Hungarian FM Szijjártó getting a job at BYD and leaving politics. It's almost too on the nose: it's the type of post-politics position you'd jokingly suggest for him, but I didn't expect him to actually do it.
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Tarik Abou-Chadi @tabouchadi.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Le Pen, Farage, and yet another day where the news cycle won't let me do any actual work
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British Association for Slavonic and East European Studies @basees.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
'Polish Studies: Today and Tomorrow' - 8th Annual Conference of the BASEES Polish Studies Group and SSEES Polish Studies Research Group (3-4 September, Zoom) Please send your title and an abstract of up to 250 words to anne.white@ucl.ac.uk by 10 July. basees.org/study-group-...
basees.org
SD Study Group Polish — Basees
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Jack Dean @jackddean.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Latest Romania update: 47 days and counting without a functioning government. The vote for the Veștea government has unsurprisingly failed. After days of the PSD courting the far-right AUR, Simion brought an ultimatum: they will vote for Veștea if Dan withdraws calling AUR extremists.
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Jack Dean @jackddean.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
If anyone is curious as to how Veștea's candidacy is being received, his latest Facebook post in which he announces he's planning to run for PNL leader might give some indication. Every second comment is suggesting he goes to the PSD, and a few people are comparing him to Dragnea and Ponta.
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Jack Dean @jackddean.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
I've been largely offline for a couple of days, but Romania's political developments warrant discussion and what can only be described as an attempt at explanation given how much has gone on.
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Claire Burchett @cburchett.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
My 2nd PhD publication is out today in @pop-jrnl.bsky.social ! 🎉 We know the far right largely claims to be "anti"-antisemitic, but this paper looks at how a party's online community responds when it encounters these narratives. Do individuals agree? www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
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Szabolcs Panyi @szabolcspanyi.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
.atlatszo.hu obtained contracts from the Danube Institute, a key node in Orbán's network linking European right-wing populists with MAGA. Just before the election, it signed record-value deals, using public funds to court Anglo-American right-wingers. VSquare.org
vsquare.org
Orbán's Foreign Payroll: How Hungary Spent a Fortune to Buy Influence on the Western Right - VSquare.org
Átlátszó has been granted access to contracts signed by the Danube Institute, a key component of the Orbán government’s attempt to build a network between European right-wing populists and the MAGA world just before the election.
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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Turns out, Lowe (was).
theloop.ecpr.eu
🔮 Who is Reform UK's most populist voice?
Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, dominates headlines as the face of the party’s populism. However, Tutku Zengin's analysis of 1,108 statements from all five Reform UK parliamentarians elected in...
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Jack Dean @jackddean.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
That sound you can hear is the furious googling of the name "James Murray", from all the correspondents and pundits trying to work out who he is.
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Jack Dean @jackddean.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
PSD has for a long time not fit within the PES. For them to post this yesterday, the same day PSD collaborated with the far right AUR to bring down a pro-EU government, pushes them from parody into farce.
X Post by the Party of European Socialists that reads: "Following the no-confidence vote, the PES stands firmly with @PSD_RO_OFICIAL in calling for a stable, pro-European government in #Romania. 
At this critical moment, Romania needs leadership that delivers - protecting jobs, securing EU funding and tackling the cost of living while putting social fairness first.
Social democrats are ready to help rebuild stability, restore trust and ensure that people come first."

This comes alongside a photo of the Romanian flag, with a caption of "Romania: for a stable Pro-EU government focused on people"
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UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies @uclssees.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
🔊 One week until Prof. @allansikk.bsky.social's Inaugural Lecture 'All Tomorrow’s Parties: What Central and Eastern Europe Teaches Us About Party Politics'. Free and open to all! 🗓️ 13 May at 6pm BST 📍 Gustave Tuck LT ➡️ www.ucl.ac.uk/arts-humanit...
Event poster for 'All Tomorrow’s Parties: What Central and Eastern Europe Teaches Us About Party Politics'. In person event.
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The Loop @ecprtheloop.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
🌊 #Illiberal Wave No.46 💪 @plutscher.bsky.social, @draege.bsky.social, @karstendonnay.bsky.social & @chknutsen.bsky.social draw on 3 experiments across Venezuela, Türkiye + the US to show that visual strongman #Propaganda can deter opposition movements + mobilise supporters. 👉️ bit.ly/48vkRV3
bit.ly
🌊 The dark logic of visual strongman propaganda
Philipp Lutscher, Jonas Bergan Dræge, Carl Henrik Knutsen and Karsten Donnay draw on three survey experiments across Venezuela, Turkey and the United States to show that visual strongman propaganda ca...
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Jack Dean @jackddean.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
I have linked here to a very good article on the dangers a measles outbreak would (again) pose in Romania. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
theguardian.com
‘It’s a powder keg’: Romania leads EU measles cases as vaccination rates collapse
Bottlenecks in the system and parents’ suspicions mean doctors expect another serious outbreak soon
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Seán Hanley @drseanhanley.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
Look out for our upcoming @uclssees round table on Hungary’s elections and their consequences: turning point or false dawn? www.ucl.ac.uk/arts-humanit... Monday 20 April, 6pm (UK time). In-person and online.
ucl.ac.uk
A turning point for Hungary?
A SSEESing roundtable on the results and implications of the parliamentary elections
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Review of Democracy @revdem2020.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
✍️ Hungarian PM Orbán’s defeat in last Sunday’s election rings in a new era for the country, but also for its partners to the East and West. Still, some challenges will remain, @gabrielagreilinger.com argues in her op-ed. 🇭🇺🗳️ 🧑‍💻 Read it now: 👉 tinyurl.com/8av6bdmv
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Jack Dean @jackddean.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
Romanian media continues to disappoint on coverage of Hungary's election. The amount of places referring to exit polls is infuriating.
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Jack Dean @jackddean.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
Thoroughly enjoyed a trip to sunny Oxford for the @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social conference presenting my working paper on media framing of militant democracy in Romania and Moldova. A very strong range of panels and keynotes, would highly recommend!
PSA Name Badge of Jack Daniel Dean, UCL SSEES
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Jack Dean @jackddean.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
This is an important point. There has been so much of a focus on the youth and social media influence that it is easy to think it is limited to the young - but when you look at the role of Facebook etc and how its user base skews, this has likely obscured a worrying trend in older age groups.
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Jack Dean @jackddean.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
Great thread on the upcoming elections in Hungary. In short, apprehension is necessary.
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