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Kristian Frederiksen

@kristianvsf.bsky.social
1.4K followers 561 following 127 posts

Associate professor at Aarhus University. Democratic erosion, citizens & elites. Webpage: sites.google.com/view/kristianfrede…

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Reposted by Kristian Frederiksen
Danbischof @danbischof.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Postdoc position within my group 3 years (100% TVl-13): stellen.uni-muenster.de/jobposting/2... ⏱️ 06.11.2026 If you have questions: get in touch!
stellen.uni-muenster.de
Postdoctoral Research Associate (Wissenschaftliche*r Mitarbeiter*in, salary level E 13 TV-L)
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Danbischof @danbischof.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
📄 And another working paper: **Pretty much all citizens say they support democracy.** But what do they mean by that? We ask whether voters from different partisan camps mean the same thing when they talk about "democracy." Paper: osf.io/preprints/so...
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Kristian Frederiksen @kristianvsf.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
New public pre-print with @aarslew.bsky.social and Martin Bisgaard 🧵 We introduce a perspective on democratic erosion that focuses on quiet anticipation among political elites: what do they think happens to those who cross a strongman that challenges democracy? www.researchgate.net/publication/...
researchgate.net
(PDF) The Imagined Strongman: How Elites Anticipate the Cost of Opposing Trump
PDF | What happens to politicians who speak up against a strongman that challenges democracy? Political scientists typically answer this question using... | Find, read and cite all the research you ne...
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Mirko Wegemann @mwegemann.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Great @epssnet.bsky.social so far! Today, I am presenting ongoing work w. @elenaleuschner.bsky.social, @timallinger.bsky.social, @danbischof.bsky.social, @kristianvsf.bsky.social, and @morganlcj.bsky.social on citizen's conceptualisations of democracy. 📍 CP09, Lagan B (Hilton) ⏰ 15:20
Abstract: "What Citizens Mean By Democracy: Evidence from Open- and Closed-Ended Survey Responses"

Why do citizens report high support for democracy in standard survey questions even as democratic backsliding advances in many countries? We address this puzzle by comparing two ways of measuring democratic orientations: an open-ended question asking respondents to define democracy in their own words and closed-ended items asking whether they endorse specific democratic principles. Drawing on more than 25,000 survey responses from representative samples in 14 countries, we use a fine-tuned language model to classify open-ended answers into substantive dimensions. First, across countries, citizens most often define democracy in terms of individual and civil rights, while multidimensional conceptions are rare. Second, open- and closed-ended measures diverge systematically. Center-right voters invoke liberal-democratic language at rates similar to the center-left, yet they are less supportive of minority rights and electoral norms when prompted. Far-right voters stand out more clearly in open-ended responses, where majoritarian conceptions are more prevalent than among other electorates.
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Tore Wig @torewig.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
We're hiring 2 postdocs at @uio.no on my ERC-Cog project on how authoritarian regimes shape scientific knowledge. 3–4 years, U. of Oslo. Deadline: 10 Sept 2026. Great dept., terms, well funded, bustling & green Scandi capital. Apply! 👉 jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/303060/postdoctoral-fello
jobbnorge.no
Postdoctoral Fellow  (303060) | University of Oslo
Job title: Postdoctoral Fellow  (303060), Employer: University of Oslo, Deadline: Thursday, September 10, 2026
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davidbroska.bsky.social @davidbroska.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Americans say they want less inequality. Why don’t they support policies to reduce it? New paper: across 31 nationally representative survey waves (N=384,248) and a preregistered experiment (N=1,009), Americans favor PREdistributive over REdistributive policies 🧵 osf.io/preprints/so...
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Svend-Erik Skaaning @skaaning.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
New book on democracy. #OpenAccess Seven Myths about Democracy by Jørgen Møller & Svend-Erik Skaaning, Routledge taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-mon.... Challenges (full or partial) misunderstandings about the meaning, trajectory, causes, and consequences of democracy.
taylorfrancis.com
Seven Myths about Democracy | Jørgen Møller, Svend-Erik Skaaning | Tay
This timely book challenges seven widespread misconceptions about democracy that continue to shape public and academic debates about its past, present, and
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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Just in past 24 hours: -Criminal investigation of E. Jean Carroll -Subpoenas seeking info of ICE critics -Former judges demand inquiry into IRS "deal" -White House intervention leads to $600+M deal to family-linked firm -Monuments, pictures on currency Turning us into a tinpot authoritarian state
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Carl Henrik Knutsen @chknutsen.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Why I don't expect liberal democracy to go away any time soon: My article on the resilience of liberal democracy, published in @jeppjournal.bsky.social. Perfectly timed to the day after Orbáns defeat and a small spike in "democracy-optimism". There are, I argue, good reasons for such optimism.
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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
New Bright Line Watch report! -Expert ratings of U.S. democracy largely stable at lowest levels measured (since 2017) -Record partisan divide in public ratings of democracy driven by Republicans whose evaluations are highest since 2017 -Experts near-unanimous on many threats to democracy 🧵 below
brightlinewatch.org
The Persistence of Diminished Democracy in a Second Trump Presidency | Bright Line Watch
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Rahel Freiburghaus @rfrbrghs.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Von Budapest bis Washington: Die Wiederherstellung der Demokratie kann gelingen, sofern die siegreiche pro-demokrati. Allianz Mass hält. Kurz vor der Wahl in Ungarn, bietet Polen wichtige Learnings, zeigt die super Studie v @kristianvsf.bsky.social, @robbwiller.bsky.social @m-b-petersen.bsky.social
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Laurits Aarslew @aarslew.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Much research concludes that partisans tolerate anti-democratic behavior, such as electoral subversion, because they rarely punish it at the ballot box. But refusing to vote against your party and actively supporting democratic subversion are not the same thing. My new paper in @bjpols.bsky.social:
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Department of Political Science, University of Oslo @statsvitenskap.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
📢 New article 🌟 👥 @anjaneundorf.bsky.social , @sirianned.bsky.social (ISV), @kristianvsf.bsky.social, @aykutozturk.bsky.social 👉 Elections Without Constraints? The Appeal of Electoral Autocracy Across the World 📗 Open Access in British Journal of Political Science 🔗 doi.org/10.1017/S000...
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James Feigenbaum @jamesfeigenbaum.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
Effects of Accurate Data on Firm Decision-Making: Evidence from AI Hallucinations (QJE 2029)
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Kristian Frederiksen @kristianvsf.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
Thrilled about our first DEMNORM paper and that it has been conditionally accepted at @thejop.bsky.social!
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Robb Willer @robbwiller.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
🚨New WP: Can an AI voter guide (grounded in information from a nonpartisan, fact-checked source) help voters’ decision making? 🚨 We built and evaluated an LLM-based chatbot that provided voting info in CA & TX (N=2,474) right before the 2024 election. 🧵👇
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Kristian Frederiksen @kristianvsf.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
Great to see "The Way Back After Backsliding: Public Opinion and the Restoration of Democracy" with @robbwiller.bsky.social and @m-b-petersen.bsky.social out in @cpsjournal.bsky.social journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...
journals.sagepub.com
The Way Back After Backsliding: Public Opinion and the Restoration of Democracy - Kristian Frederiksen, Robb Willer, Michael Bang Petersen, 2026
Abundant prior research has analyzed the mass public’s role in democratic backsliding. Comparatively little research has studied democratic restoration, the reh...
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Rahel Freiburghaus @rfrbrghs.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
I still remember vividly reading this NYT headline in October 2024, sitting in a coffee shop in Boston, a fortnight before the presidential election #Minneapolis
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Kristian Frederiksen @kristianvsf.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
Extremely happy and relieved to share that I've been hired as an Associate Professor in Political Science in Aarhus from February 1. Time to go get these ba⭐ds trying to undermine democracy and/or the sovereignty principle. And teach a whole lot of course. I will keep you posted!
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Anja Neundorf @anjaneundorf.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Joint work with the brilliant @kristianvsf.bsky.social @sirianned.bsky.social @aykutozturk.bsky.social Open access article here 👇 www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
Elections Without Constraints? The Appeal of Electoral Autocracy Across the World | British Journal of Political Science | Cambridge Core
Elections Without Constraints? The Appeal of Electoral Autocracy Across the World - Volume 56
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Kristian Frederiksen @kristianvsf.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
Our 32-country conjoint study on which societal characteristics citizens prioritize is now published at @bjpols.bsky.social w. excellent @anjaneundorf.bsky.social @sirianned.bsky.social @aykutozturk.bsky.social
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British Journal of Political Science @bjpols.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
From October 2025 - Interstate Conflict Increases the Appeal of Undemocratic Candidates - cup.org/3Lx7bjx "undemocratic candidates are evaluated more positively under conflict compared to peace" - @kristianvsf.bsky.social & Lasse Laustsen #OpenAccess
BJPolS abstract discussing how threats of interstate conflicts affect American voters' support for candidates who violate democratic principles.
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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
I mean, this is an execution
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Kristian Frederiksen @kristianvsf.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
Experimental evidence that *randomly varying the severity of democratic norm violations* is 1) as good as incrementally increasing severity (re subversion by stealth), and 2) better than incrementally decreasing severity (re reference point theory) for would-be authoritarians
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Svend-Erik Skaaning @skaaning.bsky.social · 15/11/2025
Does ethnopolitical exclusion cause civil war onset via grievances? In a new article, @lleipziger.bsky.social, Lasse Lykke Rørbæk, and I reassess this relationship based on 15 case studies. Six of the cases followed the grievance/mobilization/rejection pathway proposed by the general theory.
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Chris Hanretty @chanret.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
An expert survey I was contacted by exposed its recipient list and now I'm in a "remove me too please" snowball. Don't people ever learn not to "reply all"?
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Jacob Edenhofer @jacobedenhofer.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
Fascinating paper by @grattonecon.bsky.social, @bartonelee2.bsky.social, and Hasin Yousaf! The paper addresses a fundamental question: Why do some democracies chronically avoid ambitious, long-term reforms even when they have decent institutions? They argue that what matters is not only
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Sara Hobolt @sarahobolt.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
🚨 EPSS Belfast 2026 Call for Papers - One week to go! 🚨 Don't forget to submit your paper or panel proposal to the European Political Science Society @epssnet.bsky.social 2026 conference - just one week to go before the deadline: epssnet.org/belfast-2026...
epssnet.org
Call for Papers | EPSS Belfast 2026 Conference
Submit your abstract or full paper for EPSS Belfast 2026. Share cutting‑edge political science research, network with peers & contribute to academic impact.
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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
"the increase in appeal of an undemocratic presidential candidate during interstate conflict is strongest among Republicans. Republicans’ preferences for a democratically compliant candidate are completely eroded during threats of interstate conflict."
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Kristian Frederiksen @kristianvsf.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
How do contemporary challenges of backsliding and war interact? We show that interstate conflict boosts support for undemocratic candidates, especially among Republicans who *do not prefer democratic Rs over undemocratic Rs* during interstate conflict. Out in @bjpols.bsky.social with Lasse Laustsen
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Kristian Frederiksen @kristianvsf.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
Super excited to get started with this research!
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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
When authoritarians tell you they like authoritarianism, over and over and over and over and over again, believe them
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Kristian Frederiksen @kristianvsf.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
Arrived and all set for #APSA2025 with two papers: Public Opinion and the Restoration of Democracy with @robbwiller.bsky.social and @m-b-petersen.bsky.social (Thur at 12) What Elites Believe About Opposing Trump with @aarslew.bsky.social and Martin Bisgaard (Sun at 8) See you at the conference!
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𝙅𝙖𝙘🍩𝙗 𝙉𝙮𝙧𝙪𝙥 @jacobnyrup.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
I am honored to have been awarded an ERC Starting Grant towards my project "Governing elites since the dawn of modern democracy" (GETGOV). It allows me to continue to advance this research agenda; the goal is to build a database on governing elites from 1789 and up to today + much more. #ERCStG
sv.uio.no
Jacob Nyrup awarded EU funds to research political elites - Department of Political Science
Jacob Nyrup from the Department of Political Science has been granted a substantial 18 million Norwegian kroner by the EU's research council to examine political elites in countries before and after d...
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𝙅𝙖𝙘🍩𝙗 𝙉𝙮𝙧𝙪𝙥 @jacobnyrup.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
Thank you to everyone who joined us for this year's WhoGov workshop on Political Elites! It is amazing to see so much great research presented on political elites and meet so many great people. And thank you to @inalkristiansen.bsky.social and @jonaswschmid.bsky.social for co-organizing the event
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Danbischof @danbischof.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
Can banning political ideologies protect democracy? 🛡️🆚🗣️ Our (w. @valentimvicente.bsky.social) paper finds: punishing individuals might backfire. We study a West German policy banning "extreme left" individuals from working for the state. #Democracy #PoliticalScience 🧵 url: osf.io/usqdb_v2
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Roman Senninger @rsenninger.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
Do campaigns make voters less vulnerable to framing? Our study of Denmark’s 2022 EU referendum suggests they can. Framing effects declined as voters became more informed and drew on their own EU attitudes. Happy to share it's now accepted in the EJPR! Pre-print: osf.io/preprints/os...
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Kristian Frederiksen @kristianvsf.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
Emphasizing that democracy itself is at risk is quite ineffective in reducing support for undemocratic behavior - experimental evidence from 10 countries now open access in @polbehavior.bsky.social AND this adds a satisfying *The End* to my dissertation. link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com
Does Priming Democratic Vulnerability Make Citizens Punish Undemocratic Behavior? - Political Behavior
Recent instances of public support for democracy-violating political leaders have sparked an important stream of research suggesting that such leaders may gain support by representing citizens’ politi...
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Danbischof @danbischof.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
🚨 working paper (w. @morganlcj.bsky.social @markuswagner.bsky.social): Protesters are not judged equally - even if tactics of groups are similar. We ran an experiment in 🇩🇪 testing how people react to farmers vs. climate activists blocking roads. What we find is disturbing: osf.io/preprints/os...
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Morgan Le Corre Juratic @morganlcj.bsky.social · 15/05/2025
Our new paper with team DEMNORM! We show that while using hypothetical scenarios helps us isolate causal effects, this may have led us to underestimate real world support for democratic transgressions, but also the efficiency of interventions against it! ▶️Check out Kristian's summary thread 👇👇
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Kristian Frederiksen @kristianvsf.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
🛎️New WP with @morganlcj.bsky.social @timallinger.bsky.social and @danbischof.bsky.social Against the surge of conjoints and other hypothetical experiments in relation to democratic backsliding, we study the consequences of using hypotheticals versus real-world scenarios. osf.io/preprints/os...
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British Journal of Political Science @bjpols.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
From February 2025 - Educating for Democracy? Going to College Increases Political Participation - cup.org/4iapbva - @andreasvijensen.bsky.social #OpenAccess
BJPolS abstract from a scholarly article discussing the impact of higher education on civic engagement, suggesting that attending college leads to a significant increase in voter turnout and proposing a positive correlation with sustained civic returns.
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Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
This is the most incredible commentary on what is happening in the US, by one of the most eminent political scientists on the planet. You have to read this. open.substack.com/pub/adamprze...
open.substack.com
Diary
WEEK 8
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Svend-Erik Skaaning @skaaning.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
Who supports free speech, and how consistent is the support? Together with @suthank.bsky.social, I’ve conducted a survey of citizens in 33 countries for The Future of Free Speech. A lot of interesting findings (see 🧵 + link): futurefreespeech.org/wp-content/u...
futurefreespeech.org
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Kristian Frederiksen @kristianvsf.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
En route to @ispsyale.bsky.social to present "The Power of Spectacle: What Political Elites Believe About Breaking with Donald J. Trump", which is joint work with Martin Bisgaard and @aarslew.bsky.social. Honored to be invited to present at this workshop on America's Contested Democratic Creed!
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Kristian Frederiksen @kristianvsf.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
🛎️WP with @robbwiller.bsky.social and @m-b-petersen.bsky.social While US democracy burns, we study public opinion dynamics during democratic restoration led by @donald-tusk.bsky.social in Poland with lessons for current (e.g Poland) & future (US, hopefully) democratic forces. osf.io/preprints/os...
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