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Lily Mason

@lilymasonphd.bsky.social
19K followers 3.7K following 1.1K posts

Political scientist at Johns Hopkins, author of Uncivil Agreement and co-author of Radical American Partisanship

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Reposted by Lily Mason
Dannagal Goldthwaite Young @dannagal.bsky.social · 20h
Do yourself a favor. Read these 7 pages by @lilymasonphd.bsky.social right now. It is the most concise explanation of the current situation in U.S. politics I've seen and it captures why calls to reduce "polarization" can ultimately worsen the problem 🧵 www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/pol...
journalofdemocracy.org
Polarization Is Not the Problem | Journal of Democracy
Americans have never been angrier with one another. But polarization is not the disease—it is the response to a revanchist movement seeking to roll back sixty years of social progress.
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Lily Mason @lilymasonphd.bsky.social · 20h
Mamdani is the best friend all men secretly wish they had?
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Kevin Elliott @kjephd.bsky.social · 20h
A perfect pretext for impeachment does not exis—
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Lily Mason @lilymasonphd.bsky.social · 20h
Yes but many assumed she would be stupid and he would be smart because of reasons
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
some descriptive statistics here on the civility industrial complex on college campuses that I haven’t seen analyzed before www.uncivilcollective.org/resources
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Journal of Democracy @jodemocracy.bsky.social · 23h
Polarization is not the problem. The problem: ethnonationalists threatening vulnerable citizens' rights. "The people who are the most 'polarized' in the U.S. electorate are those who are racist and sexist, and those who oppose racists and sexists." @lilymasonphd.bsky.social muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
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Tarik Abou-Chadi @tabouchadi.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
For my new research unit Politics of Democracy at the Berlin Social Science Center @wzb.bsky.social, we have 3 open research positions. 2 postdocs: 4 + 2 years (100%) 1 doc: 2 years (75%) Starting date: 1 March 2027 (negotiable) Application deadline: 1 November
Job adjob ad
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Lily Mason @lilymasonphd.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
My new JOD piece arguing against the “cure polarization” approach to saving democracy.
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Journal of Democracy @jodemocracy.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Americans have never been angrier with one another. But polarization is not the disease—it is the response to a revanchist movement seeking to roll back sixty years of social progress. 🆕 by @lilymasonphd.bsky.social muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
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Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Whenever you see a pollster or consultant give a take like this, it’s always worth following the money. In this case, Emanuel has paid Anzalone’s firm nearly $300k (maybe more but that’s what I found so far). A consultant class is devouring the Dem Party www.elections.il.gov/CampaignDisc...
John Anzalone &
@JohnAnzo
X.com
Underestimate @RahmEmanuel at your own risk.
He knows how to win. He knows how to fight.
And he knows how to message.
And no one will out work him. Regardless of whether he wins the Democratic nomination in 2028 he will make an impact on the race. You can be sure of that. Don't take your eyes off of him. At the minimum, learn from him.
Rahm Emanuel Makes His 2026 Play
Rahm Emanuel Makes His 2026 Play
From nytimes.com
6:47 AM • 9/26/26 • 274K Views
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Josh Chafetz @joshchafetz.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Having an insight in a philosophy seminar, or understanding a literary character in a way that opens up new understandings of the people and things around you, or being exposed to a new idea in the social sciences that allows you to make better sense of your shared world--these are exhilarating!
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Lily Mason @lilymasonphd.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Apply for @snfagora.bsky.social 's Postdoctoral Fellowship by November 5. See details here! snfagora.jhu.edu/fellowships-...
snfagora.jhu.edu
Postdoctoral Fellows Program
Postdoctoral Fellows Program SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University
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zeynep tufekci @zey.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Polls show people expect AI to at least advanced science. Navier-Stokes, right? AI may throttle science instead! It doesn’t always advance understanding, its glut overwhelms filters for quality, and its methods don’t fit medical research. Gift link to my NYT essay. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/22/o...
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 21/09/2026
The government moving or hiding jailed people to avoid review by courts isn't some loophole in our habeas corpus rights. This government behavior has been considered a violation of the people's habeas corpus rights since at least the Habeas Corpus Act of 1679. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habeas_...
Jailors were forbidden to move prisoners from one prison to another or out of the country to evade the writ. In case of disobedience jailers would be punished with severe fines which had to be paid to the prisoner.[5][6]
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ISPP @polpsyispp.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
📢 ISPP’s Small Grants Initiative is accepting proposals! Eligible research and network projects can receive up to $5,000 USD. ⏰ Deadline: Nov. 16, 2026 📝 Max. 1,500 words Learn more & apply: bit.ly/4hlEAKC #ISPP #PoliticalPsychology
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Abdul El-Sayed @abdulelsayed.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
This is about one thing and one thing alone. Steering our research dollars for cancer, heart disease, and new infectious diseases to Trump’s political allies and friends.
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Lily Mason @lilymasonphd.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Not sure when I’ll use this one Duolingo
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Dave Karpf @davekarpf.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Based upon their documented behavior over the past few years, the tech industry is less afraid of the potential ramifications of Artificial Superintelligence than they are of Lina Khan.
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Omar García-Ponce @garciaponce.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
We're hiring! GW’s Political Science Department is seeking a junior tenure-track professor in Comparative Politics. The search is open to any substantive or regional focus and all methodological approaches. Review of applications begins October 16. www.gwu.jobs/postings/128...
gwu.jobs
Assistant Professor of Political Science
The Department of Political Science invites applications for a tenure-track position in Comparative Politics at the rank of Assistant Professor beginning as early as Fall 2027. This position is pendin...
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Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Political party as network of factions for whom collective action is preferable than defection or going it alone 💯 www.semafor.com/article/09/1...
semafor.com
Exclusive: Slotkin, Peters urge fellow Democrats to help El-Sayed
The Michiganders are making a concerted play for party unity.
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epovb.bsky.social @epovb.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Congratulations to Lilliana Mason (Johns Hopkins), winner of the Philip E. Converse Book Award for Uncivil Agreement: How Politics Became Our Identity. Many thanks to the committee: Zeynep Somer-Topcu (chair), Sierra Davis, Stuart Turnbull-Dugarte & Hans Hassell.
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 14/09/2026
Some details: Kremlev, the Russian who sponsored Don Jr's wedding, is a former member of the Night Wolves biker gang, went to China with Putin and is personally sanctioned by Ukraine for his role in abducting children www.propublica.org/article/dona...
propublica.org
Donald Trump Jr.’s Wedding Bankrolled by Putin-Linked Russian Oligarch
The oligarch, Umar Kremlev, spent hundreds of thousands on expenses like renting out a private island. He appears to have met Trump Jr. only recently, but he attended the intimate wedding with a large...
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Lily Mason @lilymasonphd.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Because they'll stay alive?
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Matthew Gertz @mattgertz.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Naked graft, selling out the country. www.propublica.org/article/dona...
propublica.org
Donald Trump Jr.’s Wedding Bankrolled by Putin-Linked Russian Oligarch
The oligarch, Umar Kremlev, spent hundreds of thousands on expenses like renting out a private island. He appears to have met Trump Jr. only recently, but he attended the intimate wedding with a large...
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 14/09/2026
Trump's foreign policy is not isolationist. On the contrary, his ideologues want to build an international empire run by far-right political movements who serve American crypto, mineral and tech companies, many with links to the president. Read more here: www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
theatlantic.com
Empire of Grift
Far-right ideologues have transformed American foreign policy into a tool of private gain and antidemocratic reaction.
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Lily Mason @lilymasonphd.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Update
static.klipy.com
Pretty Woman: Julia Roberts' Big Mistake
ALT: Pretty Woman: Julia Roberts' Big Mistake
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Lily Mason @lilymasonphd.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Just received the flu, Covid, and second shingles shot on the same day in the same arm. AMA
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Ryan Enos @ryanenos.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
After 9/11, I so feared what it would mean for our politics. And here we are, 25 years later, with the President of the United States asking people to raise their hand and pledge allegiance to him and playing a video saying he was created by God to save us from domestic enemies.
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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Dear Democrats, You will never be able to triangulate your way through racism/sexism/transphobia, because pushing a lighter, politer form of bigotry is always a lose-lose proposition. The bigots want the uncut stuff, while normal people aren't drawn to cowards who sell out. Stand your ground.
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Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
People who continue to pursue a technology under these circumstances are either massive liars or truly believe this and are persisting anyway, and either way they are rotten people who should be removed from all forms of power and access.
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Ryan Enos @ryanenos.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
My take is that having a Muslim immigrant preside over ceremonies commemorating 9/11 in New York City is one of the beautiful things about America.
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Paul Rosenberg @paulrosenberg.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
9/11 ANOTHER WORLD WAS POSSIBLE We could have responded by putting the terrorists on trial—as the overwhelming majority of our NATO allies’ population (and the rest of the world) wanted. Instead, we responded with war—just what the terrorists wanted. It made them warriors, not criminals.
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Lily Mason @lilymasonphd.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
25 years ago I was in NYC. I still remember the smell. Acrid, like burning metal and rubber and something chemical. I also remember how quiet NYers were for weeks after. On the street and subway. And abnormally kind - we all worried about each other. Photos of the missing were everywhere.
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Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Oh wait, someone has thought of this before!
18 U.S. Code § 597 Expenditures to influence voting U.S. Code

Notes

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Whoever makes or offers to make an expenditure to any person, either to vote or withhold his vote, or to vote for or against any candidate; and Whoever solicits, accepts, or receives any such expenditure in consideration of his vote or the withholding of his vote- Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if the violation was willful, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
you can be arrested if you give water to people waiting on line to vote
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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 08/09/2026
For a certain kind of white man, there is no fear more primal than the fear that the people they have abused will gain power and treat them the same way.
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Lily Mason @lilymasonphd.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Not only did social science emerge as a response to the Industrial Revolution, social psychology was a reaction to the fascism of WWII and a hope to prevent its return. Not sure the AI guys feel the same.
More immediately, if the A.I. labs want to do their own social science or provide funding to others, they should create decision-making bodies composed of independent experts who aren’t beholden to company interests, and whose perspectives better reflect the public’s own questions and concerns. That would sacrifice control, but gain public legitimacy.
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Dannagal Goldthwaite Young @dannagal.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
And today Scheufele is posting like it’s just another day… about AI scholars contaminating academic publishing. I can think of some other things destroying the academy: fucking your students? being psychologically abusive to the ones you don’t want to sleep with? The hubris is wild.
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Chokely Carmichael🥋 @stewartcoles.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
UW-Madison professor engages in multiple sexual relationships with students, disparages another over their sexual orientation and appearance, creates hostile environment, and department leadership covers it all up. And in true “pass the trash” fashion, moves on to ASU once forced to resign.
captimes.com
UW-Madison students, records detail investigation of professor
Dietram Scheufele resigned after investigators determined he had sexual relationships with two students and engaged in unwelcome sexual conduct with one.
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Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 19/08/2026
Proving yet again that “Democrats can’t meme”: their leadership is too earnest, too self-serious, and too eager to sideline or shush anyone who tries.
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Lily Mason @lilymasonphd.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Very excited that Uncivil Agreement won the @apsa.bsky.social @epovb.bsky.social Philip Converse Award!
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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Again, I am just a man standing in front of the Democratic Party, begging them to make a bigger deal of this deeply unlikeable racist billionaire asshole who is constantly pushing things everyone loathes.
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Lily Mason @lilymasonphd.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
So what kind of ideological diversity would have solved this problem?
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Bastian Becker @beckerbastian.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
💡Affective polarization research so far focused on the highly polarized, but the politics of "cool citizens" are just as important for democracy. ➡️ @versteegenluca.bsky.social, @polpsychjoe.bsky.social & @lilymasonphd.bsky.social in @polbehavior.bsky.social #openaccess @scilove.bsky.social
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Political Psychology @ispp-pops.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
When is an outgroup kinda sorta an ingroup? Lucy Song asks whether race affects foreign threat perception. Among white Americans, higher white identity tracked with viewing white-depicted adversaries as lower threat than non-white-depicted, even when controlling for out-group animus. buff.ly/yFalewy
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Peter Luca Versteegen @versteegenluca.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
In a new paper, @polpsychjoe.bsky.social , @lilymasonphd.bsky.social, and I argue that such questions assume homogenous levels of norm support and participation among affectively UNpolarized citizens. That is, we tend to treat all affectively unpolarized citizens as one 🧵2/10
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Peter Luca Versteegen @versteegenluca.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
🚨🚨 New publication: 🚨🚨 Does affective polarization (AP) change citizens’ willingness to support democratic norms or participate? 🧵1/10 Full paper here: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com
Cool Citizens? How Affectively Unpolarized Citizens View and Participate in Democracy - Political Behavior
Does affective polarization change how citizens view and participate in democracy? We posit that the answer to this crucial question depends on how affectively unpolarized citizens view and participat...
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Matthew Gertz @mattgertz.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
A far-right ethnonationalist movement turning the machinery of the state against its early activists once they are deemed insufficiently loyal — now I’ve heard everything.
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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
“The problem is not truly that the media environment is full of conflict, lies, and racist conspiracy theories. The problem is that our epistemic and financial elite spend all day exposing themselves to [social media], an environment that cooks brains.” Yes, @adamgurri.liberalcurrents.com.
liberalcurrents.com
Elites Need Some Emotional Distance from Social Media
Twenty-plus years on, it’s time they started adapting to the realities of the era.
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