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Niklas Bolin

@niklasbolin.bsky.social
1.8K followers 538 following 72 posts

Political Scientist at Mid Sweden University. Research on parties and elections. www.miun.se/en/personnel/b/niklasbo…

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Reposted by Niklas Bolin
Duncan McDonnell @duncanmcdonnell.com · 14/09/2026
We've a new YOUMEM article out in Party Politics! Led by Henrik Seeberg, it looks at youth wing members' personal efficacy. We find this is associated with higher levels of: - member activism - youth wings' integration into the party - intra-party democracy journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
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European Center for Populism Studies (ECPS) @populismstudies.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
📢 ECPS Interview 🇸🇪 Prof. Bolin: The Sweden Democrats Have Normalized Without Becoming Less Populist 📌 With Sweden heading toward the Sept. 13 parliamentary election, Prof. Bolin examines how the SD has moved from isolation to the center of Swedish politics. www.populismstudies.org/prof-bolin-t...
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Sofia Marini @sofiamarini.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
In this article, recently out for @wepsocial.bsky.social, @henrikseeberg.bsky.social and I present key findings from our coding of party youth wing statutes in 11 countries. Bonus: data available here! 👇🏼 dataverse.harvard.edu/dataset.xhtm...
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Political Studies @polstudies.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Do youth wings produce the party members parties want? Niklas Bolin et al examine 5,000+ members, showing active participation matters more than time served. Read OPEN ACCESS: buff.ly/Mphqpok @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social #polsky #polsci #PoliticalParties
doi.org
The added value of youth wings: Do they nurture the members their parties want? - Niklas Bolin, Duncan McDonnell, Sofia Ammassari, Annika Werner, Marco Valbruzzi, Reinhard Heinisch, Ann-Cathrine Jungar, Carsten Wegscheider, 2026
Political parties expect youth wings to recruit and socialize young people into the norms and values of the party, nurturing aligned future grassroots members, ...
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Emilie van Haute @emilievh.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Happy to see this beautiful volume out! I really enjoyed reflecting on the next agenda for research on internal democracy in parties. Thank you @niklasbolin.bsky.social and @mhagevi.bsky.social for your excellent coordinating work! www.e-elgar.com/shop/usd/a-r...
e-elgar.com
A Research Agenda for Political Parties
‘This wide-ranging, approachably-written, and innovative compendium features an impressive cast of contributors and provides plenty of food for thought for anyone who studies – or wants to study – twe...
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Magnus Hagevi @mhagevi.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
I am happy to share that "A Research Agenda for Political Parties", co-edited by @niklasbolin.bsky.social and me, has now been published. More information about the book is available here: www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/a-r...
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Reposted by Niklas Bolin
Political Studies @polstudies.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Do youth wings produce the party members parties want? Niklas Bolin et al examine 5,000+ members, showing active participation matters more than time served. Read OPEN ACCESS: buff.ly/Mphqpok @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social #polsky #polsci #PoliticalParties
Abstract
Political parties expect youth wings to recruit and socialize young people into the norms and values of the party, nurturing aligned future grassroots members, officials, and candidates. However, embeddedness in youth wings – understood in terms of membership length and activity levels – may not necessarily deliver this. In our study, we examine whether youth wings nurture the members parties want using YOUMEM survey data from over 5000 members of 12 youth wings in six countries. Specifically, we assess whether embeddedness is associated with greater ideological alignment and desire for long-term party engagement. We find that active members are more ideologically aligned and inclined to remain in the party, while passive members display the opposite trend. However, length of membership is associated with reduced aspirations among all for intra-party and public office. Our findings suggest that the added value of youth wings as future-oriented socialization vehicles for parties is less than generally assumed.
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Niklas Bolin @niklasbolin.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
@duncanmcdonnell.com @ammassarisofia.bsky.social @profannikawerner.bsky.social @rheinisch.bsky.social Marco Valbruzzi Ann-Cathrine Jungar @cwegscheider.bsky.social
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Niklas Bolin @niklasbolin.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
🚨New article out 🚨 In @polstudies.bsky.social, we explore whether youth wings nurture the members parties want, using data from 5,000+ youth wing members in six European countries. Youth wings appear to shape members, but not always in the ways parties might expect.
journals.sagepub.com
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
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Niklas Bolin @niklasbolin.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Dags för Snabbtänkt igen! www.snabbtankt.se/aktuellt/202...
snabbtankt.se
Rekordmånga forskare vill analysera det svenska valet
13 september går Sverige till val och det svenska riksdagsvalet är just nu kanske hetare än någonsin, givet de senaste veckornas inrikespolitiska turbulens. Tio dagar efter valet i höst släpps en unik...
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Niklas Bolin @niklasbolin.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
These encounters can spark curiosity and contribute to political engagement over time, but poorly designed visits may also reinforce distance and cynicism. Party visits are not a quick fix, but a resource that can matter under the right conditions.
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Niklas Bolin @niklasbolin.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Using focus groups, we study how students experience party visits and what these encounters mean for democratic learning. Main finding is that students do not primarily experience these visits as teaching, but rather as social encounters in which they assess politics in practice.
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Niklas Bolin @niklasbolin.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
🚨New article out 🚨 (with Joel Jacobsson) In the Journal of Social Science Education (w/ Joel Jacobsson): “Inviting politics in: When and how school party visits matter for democratic learning” doi.org/10.11576/jss...
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Niklas Bolin @niklasbolin.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
Tack Jesper!
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Niklas Bolin @niklasbolin.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
Big thanks to all contributors!
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Niklas Bolin @niklasbolin.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
A fantastic contributor lineup: Michael Koß, Marco Lisi, @emilievh.bsky.social, @irobo.bsky.social, @esmeraldavbon.bsky.social, @bramwauters.bsky.social, @jasmienluypaert.bsky.social, @aikowagner.bsky.social, Mariyana Angelova, Tim A. Mickler, David Willumsen & @Flemming Juul Christiansen.
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Niklas Bolin @niklasbolin.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
New book coming June 2026! Edited with @mhagevi.bsky.social: "A Research Agenda for Political Parties" covers key developments in party politics, from organisation and leadership to digital campaigns, AI, and coalition governance. www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/a-r...
e-elgar.com
A Research Agenda for Political Parties
‘This wide-ranging, approachably-written, and innovative compendium features an impressive cast of contributors and provides plenty of food for thought for anyone who studies – or wants to study – twe...
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Reposted by Niklas Bolin
Duncan McDonnell @duncanmcdonnell.com · 25/03/2026
3 YOUMEM articles published in the last few years. 3 accepted for publication and coming out in the next few months (in European Journal of Political Research, Politics & Gender, and, now, Political Studies). And more under review...
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Niklas Bolin @niklasbolin.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
This is our sixth article from the YOUMEM project. The YOUMEM dataset is now publicly available: doi.org/10.7910/DVN/... Co-authors: @duncanmcdonnell.com @ammassarisofia.bsky.social @profannikawerner.bsky.social Marco Valbruzzi @rheinisch.bsky.social @cwegscheider.bsky.social Ann-Cathrine Jungar
doi.org
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Niklas Bolin @niklasbolin.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
New article accepted! Do youth wings produce the party members parties hope for? Using data from 5,000+ members in 12 youth wings across 6 countries, we show that active members are more ideologically aligned and engaged than passive ones – but longer membership is linked to lower ambition.
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Sofia Ammassari @ammassarisofia.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
The best email to wake up to on a Monday morning ☀️ Coming soon in @politicsgenderj.bsky.social: our study on gender differences in political efficacy and ambition among youth wing members, drawing on original survey data from 12 parties across Australia, Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden.
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Duncan McDonnell @duncanmcdonnell.com · 09/02/2026
We’ve just released the Youth Wing Membership Survey (YOUMEM) dataset: dataverse.harvard.edu/dataverse/ha... It’s the largest comparative study of party youth wing members ever conducted, with survey responses from over 5,000 members of 12 centre-left and centre-right youth wings in 6 countries. 🧵
dataverse.harvard.edu
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RRResRobot @rrresrobot.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
Are you interested in the #RadicalRight in Sweden and Denmark? → N. Bolin. “A Loyal Rookie? The Sweden Democrats" First Year in the European Parliament”. In: The Polish Quarterly of International Affairs 11.2 (2015), pp. 59-77.
a decorative image (abstract, wordcloud, or summary) illustrating this reference
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Duncan McDonnell @duncanmcdonnell.com · 08/12/2025
🎁 Christmas has come early for @ammassarisofia.bsky.social & me with the publication of our article "The geography of the party on the ground: Local branches in Italy and Sweden in the late twentieth century" in @politicalgeography.bsky.social: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
The geography of the party on the ground: Local branches in Italy and Sweden in the late twentieth century
The idea that the presence of Western European political parties at grassroots level rose and fell in the twentieth century is central to some of the …
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Niklas Bolin @niklasbolin.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
Glad och hedrad! www.miun.se/kontakt/pres...
miun.se
Nordea prisar engagerad och driven statsvetare
Årets mottagare av Nordeas vetenskapliga pris på 100 000 kronor är Niklas Bolin, docent i statsvetenskap vid Institutionen för humaniora och samhällsvetenskap på Mittuniversitetet.
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Reposted by Niklas Bolin
Youth Political Representation Research Network @youthpolrep.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
@epsjournal.bsky.social has just published the articles of a special issue on "Political parties and youth’s political (under) representation", with an introduction by Daniel Stockemer (@uottawa.ca ) link.springer.com/article/10.1... 🧵
link.springer.com
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Niklas Bolin @niklasbolin.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
If parties treat youth wings mainly as support teams, they risk attracting only careerists and losing politically driven young people. Therefore parties need to open up to youth influence, even on issues beyond “youth politics” and provide meaningful opportunities for members to shape party policy.
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Niklas Bolin @niklasbolin.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
The study draws on a nationwide web survey of almost 3,000 Swedish youth wing members . The findings reveal that career-oriented members are more likely to view the youth wing as a supportive ally. Politically driven members emphasize influencing the party line.
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Niklas Bolin @niklasbolin.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
🚨New article out 🚨 Party youth wings are often described as partners that trade votes for influence with their senior parties. But how do their own members see it? In this article I examine whether they think their organizations' mission is to influence the senior party or to support it.
link.springer.com
Influence or support? Member perspectives on youth wings in political parties - European Political Science
Political parties maintain connections with various sub-organisations to engage different segments of society. Common among these are party youth wings. These relationships are often described as mutual, where votes are exchanged for policies. However, little research delves into how members of these sub-organisations perceive their roles in relation to the senior party. Based on a web survey of approximately 3000 respondents, this study investigates the views of youth wing members within Swedish political parties. Specifically, it explores whether members believe their youth wing’s primary role should be to influence or support the senior party. Drawing on theories of political engagement incentives, it examines the connection between members’ political and career motivations and their perceptions of these roles. Results suggest that those with career-oriented incentives tend to view the youth wing as supportive, while politically motivated members prioritise influencing the senior party. This research contributes to our understanding of the complex dynamics within political parties and their affiliated organisations, shedding light on how individual motivations shape organisational roles.
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Duncan McDonnell @duncanmcdonnell.com · 27/08/2025
Our article "Radicals, Moderates, & Aligned" is out in the latest issue of @ejprjournal.bsky.social. [yes, it's been online for months but we all use this (non)milestone to pretend print editions still exist & re-publicise our articles] So, a thread 🧵 ejpr.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
ejpr.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Young radicals, moderates and aligned: Ideological congruence and incongruence in party youth wings
The ideological fit between party grassroots and leaderships has long been a concern for political science, with members in general, and young members in particular, thought to be more radical. Howev...
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Niklas Bolin @niklasbolin.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
Our article on radicals, moderates, and aligned members in party youth wings is now out in the latest issue of @ejprjournal.bsky.social ejpr.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
ejpr.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Young radicals, moderates and aligned: Ideological congruence and incongruence in party youth wings
The ideological fit between party grassroots and leaderships has long been a concern for political science, with members in general, and young members in particular, thought to be more radical. Howev....
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Niklas Bolin @niklasbolin.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
New publication Huge congrats to Valdemar Holt on his first peer-reviewed publication – as first author! Co-authored with me and Ingela Wadbring. We analyze Jimmie Åkesson’s speeches in the Swedish parliament (2010–2024) and track how the Sweden Democrats’ populist rhetoric has changed over time.
emerald.com
Resilient populism? The Sweden Democrats’ discourse in parliament, 2010–2024 | Emerald Insight
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Niklas Bolin @niklasbolin.bsky.social · 19/06/2025
Partiledarmatchen: ♂️-♀️ 2-5 omni.se/mohamsson-fo...
omni.se
Klart: Simona Mohamsson föreslås ta över Liberalerna
Simona Mohamsson föreslås bli ny partiledare för Liberalerna, meddelar valberedningen i ett pressmeddelande. Mohamsson är just nu partisekreterare.
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Sofia Ammassari @ammassarisofia.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
Thrilled that my article on women's activism in PRR parties has been published open access today in @cpsjournal.bsky.social 💫 journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... This is my favourite article from my PhD thesis. I love the topic, its findings, and the literature it draws on. A quick 🧵:
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Niklas Bolin @niklasbolin.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
How do mock elections shape students’ political engagement and democratic understanding? Our new research project explores how mock elections are organized in Swedish schools and what role they play in civic education.
miun.se
Mock Elections and the Democratic Mission of Schools
This project examines how mock elections are organized and integrated into upper secondary education and their significance for students’ democratic learning and civic engagement.
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Niklas Bolin @niklasbolin.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
We are hiring a doctoral student in political science at Mid Sweden University. www.miun.se/en/work-at-t...
miun.se
A doctoral student in political science
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Niklas Bolin @niklasbolin.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
We are hiring a doctoral student in political science at Mid Sweden University. www.miun.se/en/work-at-t...
miun.se
A doctoral student in political science
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Michal Grahn @grahn.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
🚨 Talking about harassment in politics hurts your political career. Yes, even in 🇸🇪. And, yes, for both women & men. Here’s what me and @sandrahkansson.bsky.social found in our Political Behavior paper using both experimental and descriptive approaches: link.springer.com/article/10.1... 👇
link.springer.com
The Cost of Debating Harassment Against Politicians: Are Women and Men Affected Equally? - Political Behavior
Harassment of politicians is a growing global phenomenon, which threatens to erode the quality of democracy and descriptive representation. Past research has examined gender patterns of this violence ...
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Niklas Bolin @niklasbolin.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
Coming soon!
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Niklas Bolin @niklasbolin.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
Congratulations Sofia! Looking forward to read it.
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Niklas Bolin @niklasbolin.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
KI: "Vi försöker nu bygga upp Bluesky som vårt nya X. Det är framför allt där vi kommer att redovisa forskningsnyheter på sociala medier".
universitetslararen.se
Svenska lärosäten lämnar X - Universitetsläraren
Nästan alla svenska lärosäten har lämnat X, före detta Twitter. Motiveringarna är oftast att antalet följare och interaktioner har blivit allt färre samt att plattformen utvecklats mot alltmer desinfo...
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Duncan McDonnell @duncanmcdonnell.com · 05/03/2025
Nice piece about our recent YOUMEM project article in the European Journal of Political Research about ideological congruence in party youth wings in today's The Australian newspaper. www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/progr...
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Niklas Bolin @niklasbolin.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
"Även i demokratiska länder hotas forskningens frihet."
tidningencurie.se
Även i demokratiska länder hotas forskningens frihet | Tidningen Curie
Den akademiska friheten hotas och angreppen kommer idag inte bara från totalitära regimer. Även i demokratiska stater ifrågasätts och inskränks forskningens frihet. Det skriver Akademiernas kommitté f...
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Niklas Bolin @niklasbolin.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Den smala mitten.
omni.se
Lägsta stödet någonsin för C och L – under spärren
De liberala partierna Centerpartiet och Liberalerna samlar tillsammans det lägsta väljarstödet sedan opinionsinstitutet Verian började med sina mätningar för över 50 år sedan, rapporterar SVT Nyheter.
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Niklas Bolin @niklasbolin.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
Tack Sirus!
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Niklas Bolin @niklasbolin.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
🚨New publication🚨 New article from the YOUMEM project examines ideological congruence in youth wings, introducing a typology of radicals, moderates and aligned members. We find that radicals are more common on the centre-left, tend to have longer membership, but are less politically ambitious.
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Paul Taggart @paultaggart.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
Teaching on populism, or just thinking about it? Cristobal Rovira Kaltwasser and I have published a symposium in @pspolisci.bsky.social on 'Populism and Democracy' which is now available (open access).
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Sofia Ammassari @ammassarisofia.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Our article on Gen-Z turnout in Australia (w/ Ferran Martinez i Coma & @duncanmcdonnell.bsky.social) is now out (open access) in Political Studies 🎉 journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... A quick thread 🧵:
journals.sagepub.com
Young Voters, Abstainers and Unregistered: Generation Z Turnout in a Compulsory System - Sofia Ammassari, Ferran Martinez i Coma, Duncan McDonnell, 2025
While young people’s electoral behaviour in voluntary voting systems has been extensively studied, we know little about this in compulsory systems. To investiga...
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Niklas Bolin @niklasbolin.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
Congratulations Reto!
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