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Reposted by Kristian Frederiksen

Peter Egge Langsæther @peterla.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

For some reason the (rather long) appendix to @chknutsen.bsky.social and my paper on gender and political attitudes was never published by the journal, but following popular demand (that is, two e-mails...) I've now uploaded it. Available here: drive.google.com/file/d/1nBEp...

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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

We have lots of people to thank for their comments to this manuscript, but in particular participants at our presentations at the Political Behavior and Inst. Section at AU, the workshop on America's Contested Democratic Creed at Yale, the workshop on Political Elites at UiO, APSA, DPSA, and EPSS.

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Kristian Frederiksen @kristianvsf.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Specifically, "the political foundations of democracy" or the model of the public as a "democratic check" build upon the idea that democracy is safe when politicians fear violating its institutions. But now, they have come to fear defending it against a strongman.

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Kristian Frederiksen @kristianvsf.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

The observation that anticipation among elites is important for democratic stability is not new - seminal studies by Weingast and Graham & Svolik made the same observation. But anticipation is rarely studied in its own right. In the case we study, anticipation works against democracy, not for it.

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Kristian Frederiksen @kristianvsf.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

We analyze narratives in open-ended answers using a hand-coded approach and an automated embedding-based approach. Focusing on the Trump-Biden comparison in the automated approach below, a retaliation narrative structures the semantic difference in beliefs about opposing Biden and Trump.

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Kristian Frederiksen @kristianvsf.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

We study anticipatory beliefs and compare narratives about opposing Trump versus Joe Biden or Kamala Harris. We show that opposing Trump is seen as costlier, but what really sets him apart from the other leaders is that elites expect him to personally retaliate against dissenters.

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Kristian Frederiksen @kristianvsf.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

From the viewpoint of the individual politician, what happens to those who cross strongmen cannot be verified in advance of acting. Strongmen can exploit this by cultivating narratives that dissent invites retaliation. We study these narratives in an elite survey of 1,596 politicians across the US.

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Kristian Frederiksen @kristianvsf.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Even though "democracy erodes from the top" (quoting Bartels), we know little about elite dynamics. But the deeper problem is that we tend to study only observed effects of elite behavior, setting aside a longstanding insight about how power operates (before decisions are made, through anticipation)

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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

These insights may be useful for future governments seeking to rehabilitate democratic institutions in other currently backsliding democracies, too (say, the United States).

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Kristian Frederiksen @kristianvsf.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

The results show that public opinion paved the way for democratic restoration following the 2023 election (i.e., anti-democratic sentiment did not increase), but elites might jeopardize this positive response by attempting to restore democracy in a confrontational, aggressive manner.

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Kristian Frederiksen @kristianvsf.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

We study the crucial case of Poland and demonstrate important policy implications for how the current government led by Donald Tusk can best go about rebuilding democratic institutions.

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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

Not sure about that, but huge thanks! Hope you're doing well too ☺️

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Kristian Frederiksen @kristianvsf.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

🎉 tusind tak! Næsten så stort som at vinde eliteworkshoppen!

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Kristian Frederiksen @kristianvsf.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

Many, many thanks Valentin! I hope you are doing well 😊

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Kristian Frederiksen @kristianvsf.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

Thanks Tobias! After the lift at your defense I knew nothing was impossible 😉

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Kristian Frederiksen @kristianvsf.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

🙌🏼 grateful for your mentorship

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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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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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