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Rainbow Murray

@rainbowmurray.bsky.social
763 followers 366 following 339 posts

Professor of Politics at Queen Mary University of London. Gender, diversity, parliaments, elections, institutions, French politics, UK politics. 🏳️‍🌈🌱

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Rainbow Murray @rainbowmurray.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Thanks to Daniel Höhmann @dahoehmann.bsky.social (whom I am constantly citing), I always know how to type ö using alt key codes 😁. If you're not yet familiar with his work on gendered representation (and notably on men in politics), I highly recommend!
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Andrew Mueller @andrewmueller.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Latest Daily on Monocle Radio. @rainbowmurray.bsky.social and @phmarliere.bsky.social on the day's big stories, plus Karen Krizanovich on the Venice Film Festival, and the legacy of Gloria Steinem. monocle.com/radio/shows/...
monocle.com
Will Russian interference derail Europe’s future elections?
What can be done to stop Russia meddling in European elections? Then: France and the UK boost their historic ties....
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Andrew Mueller @andrewmueller.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Latest Daily on Monocle Radio. @rainbowmurray.bsky.social and @jmacrodgers.bsky.social on the day's stuff, @jackedsimpson.bsky.social on the dangers of diluting a national brand, and our On This Day historical feature considers the quagga. monocle.com/radio/shows/...
monocle.com
Why has the US asked Ukraine to curb strikes on Russia?
Ukraine halts strikes on Russia’s tankers as per JD Vance’s request. Then: Donald Trump’s catering van controversy, French journalists go...
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Women in Legislative Studies @winls.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Out in the latest issue of @politicsgenderj.bsky.social: @rainbowmurray.bsky.social examines substantive representation of women in French parliamentary debates. Open access. 📄 doi.org/10.1017/S174... GenderSky PoliSky
doi.org
Complex, Conditional, and Contested: Substantive Representation and Representative Claims in French Parliamentary Debates | Politics & Gender | Cambridge Core
Complex, Conditional, and Contested: Substantive Representation and Representative Claims in French Parliamentary Debates - Volume 22 Issue 2
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Cas Mudde @casmudde.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
"The male ‘norm’ is an essential but under-tapped part of the puzzle of understanding gender inequality within political representation." Such a great agenda-setting piece by @rainbowmurray.bsky.social & @elinbja.bsky.social 👏 "we also need to start interviewing male politicians as men"
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Rainbow Murray @rainbowmurray.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
It is a funny old day when there is more than one correct answer to the question: "Which far-right politician, touted as the next leader of a G7 country, today deflected attention away from financial corruption scandals by declaring themselves a candidate in a forthcoming election?"
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Department of Government, Uppsala University @uu-polisci.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Masculinities missing from political science? This manifesto by @rainbowmurray.bsky.social and @elinbja.bsky.social demands centering men and gender hierarchies to decode power, not just add women to the margins. doi.org/10.1332/2515... @ejpgjournal.bsky.social
doi.org
Bringing men and masculinities into political science
Most politicians are men, yet there is a surprising lack of focus within political science on the causes and consequences of male dominance. This article outlines how political science could benefit f...
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Andrew Mueller @andrewmueller.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Latest Daily on Monocle Radio. @rainbowmurray.bsky.social and Somnath Batabyal on where, if anywhere, we are vis-a-vis an Iran deal, and Geoffrey Robertson KC on his new book outlining a possible fresh approach to policing war crimes. monocle.com/radio/shows/...
monocle.com
Is the war in Iran creating a rift between Trump and Netanyahu?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly admitted he is losing sway over President Trump in how to handle the...
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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
There's a fine line between brave and foolhardy and Streeting might just have crossed it. And note, this survey was conducted before his resignation. Anyone who remembers how badly Sunak's supposed backstabbing of Johnson went down with the grassroots shouldn't expect those numbers to improve much.
Survey showing Streeting would lose to Starmer in a head to head contest.
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Rainbow Murray @rainbowmurray.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
After a couple of relatively peaceful years I'd got out of the habit of checking the headlines every couple of hours to see if the prime minister had resigned/ been ousted, but now rejoining the armchair fans of British political drama 🍿👀
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Rainbow Murray @rainbowmurray.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
I just completed a full first draft of ch. 6 of my book. I have been working on this chapter for... 🥁... 16 years! To say I'm excited & relieved is quite the understatement. I analyse nearly 400000 parliamentary questions, hand coded, & find gender gaps in issue focus that persist over time 1/
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Rainbow Murray @rainbowmurray.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
This paper was a long time in the making. I'm super excited to see it published. Using a feminist institutionalist framework and the French case study, I show how gendered expectations of behaviour shape parliamentary debate, especially when the cameras are on, and how this endures over time.
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Sarah Kirchberger @sarahkirchberger.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
“One report (found) that only 8 percent of users actually double checked an AI’s answer. Another experiment found that users still listened to AI when it gave them the wrong answer nearly 80 percent of the time — a grim trend the researchers dubbed “cognitive surrender.”
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Rainbow Murray @rainbowmurray.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
This show was a blast. @andrewmueller.bsky.social was on absolutely cracking form, and it is always a pleasure to hang out with the brilliant @anandmenon.bsky.social
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Rainbow Murray @rainbowmurray.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
There is a special place in hell for reviewers who ask for more revisions after you've done everything they originally asked of you #Reviewer2 #academia #polisky
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Rainbow Murray @rainbowmurray.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
For anyone trying to make sense of the attempted erosion of democracy in the USA, this paper offers a very interesting, historically-derived framework: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
The would-be autocrats’ toolkit: what do incumbents do when they undermine democracy? | European Political Science Review | Cambridge Core
The would-be autocrats’ toolkit: what do incumbents do when they undermine democracy? - Volume 18 Issue 1
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Rainbow Murray @rainbowmurray.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
I think I speak for most of Northern Europe when I scream "I CAN'T BLOODY WAIT FOR WINTER TO END!!!!!!!" 🥶🥶🌧️😬
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Karl Pike @karlpike.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
I have a new article just published in Political Studies: What is Centrism? Open access here: doi.org/10.1177/0032...
doi.org
What Is Centrism? - Karl Pike, 2026
Centrism, an ambiguous political term, requires greater analytical scrutiny. After summarising conceptualisations of centrism – and of a centre in politics – th...
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Rainbow Murray @rainbowmurray.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
Quite aside the shocking moral disregard for women's lives, the report cited here v dramatically underestimates the economic contribution of women's unpaid labour, leading to a deeply fallacious conclusion about women's monetary value. It's what happens when men make decisions without women present
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Rainbow Murray @rainbowmurray.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
Netflix is suggesting I want to watch "Witty Mid-Life-Crisis Comedy Series" 🤨
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Politics & Gender @politicsgenderj.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
📣 Out on #FirstView 📣 In "Complex, Conditional, and Contested", @rainbowmurray.bsky.social analyzes representative claims to explore the relationship between descriptive and substantive representation of women in France 🇫🇷 🌟 Available #OpenAccess 🌟 buff.ly/oWpVWw6
Research article titled "Complex, Conditional, and Contested: Substantive Representation and Representative Claims in French Parliamentary Debates" by Rainbow Murray.
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Kai Arzheimer @kai-arzheimer.com · 04/12/2025
Behold: a genuinely useful flowchart #AcademicChatter
Flowchart titled “Should you attend that meeting?” with decision nodes leading to “Decline!” in all cases.
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Rainbow Murray @rainbowmurray.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
📢 New publication! www.cambridge.org/core/journal... In this article, just published in @politicsgenderj.bsky.social, I look at representative claims made on behalf of women in French parliamentary debates. 1/
cambridge.org
Complex, Conditional, and Contested: Substantive Representation and Representative Claims in French Parliamentary Debates | Politics & Gender | Cambridge Core
Complex, Conditional, and Contested: Substantive Representation and Representative Claims in French Parliamentary Debates
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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
BTW, any UK outlets that want a British based Chilean (party and electoral) politics expert, need look no further than our fab @qmulsse.bsky.social colleague @sajuria.com
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
Re-reading @colmpm.bsky.social’s marvellous “Futures of Socialism”. A very different experience to reading the proof in 2023 and having a horrible feeling of dread, as opposed to now where you go “well, yeah, my worst fears have been realised and exceeded”.
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Rainbow Murray @rainbowmurray.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
If you are interested in Dutch politics and/or the rise of the far-right in politics then you should follow @stijntvankessel.bsky.social because he really knows what he's talking about AND he has great plants
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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
"‘Whatever It Takes?’ The Policy Implications of Supporting Ukraine". What does supporting Ukraine mean in practice? What are the implications for national security, tax policy, EU relations, energy security & more? 28 Oct 12:00 at @mileendinstitute.bsky.social. us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
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Rainbow Murray @rainbowmurray.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
The co-optation of the themes of the far-right by mainstream parties, in the Netherlands as elsewhere, only serves to normalise the far-right's agenda and strengthen far-right parties electorally. You cannot defeat the far-right by becoming more like them.
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Andrew Mueller @andrewmueller.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
Latest Daily on Monocle Radio. @rainbowmurray.bsky.social and Nik Gowing on the day's stuff, plus regular panellist Julie Norman on the new book she has co-written on Gaza. monocle.com/radio/shows/...
monocle.com
Will the proposed Trump-Putin summit in Budapest do any good? - Monocle
As reports emerge of a “shouting match” between Zelensky and Trump during their latest meeting, we discuss what lies ahead...
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Matthew Barnfield @mbarnfield.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
Great to speak to @greenmirandahere.bsky.social for today's FT Inside Politics about the latest finding from our politics of (im)patience project, w/ @karlpike.bsky.social and @philipjcowley.bsky.social. www.ft.com/content/e984...
ft.com
Labour sheds support from impatient Britons
Research shows party losing voters who want results now, with women more likely to prioritise short-term gains
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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
If you think this proposed organisational model will work (or, indeed, last very long in reality rather than appearance), then you might want to google 'Robert Michels and "iron law of oligarchy"'.
theguardian.com
Voters' voices are being shut out of British politics. Your Party has a radical plan to change that | Jeremy Corbyn
At our conference in November we will use a jury service-type model to allow members to discuss and decide policy, strategy and even the name of our party, says Your Party co-founder Jeremy Corbyn
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Rainbow Murray @rainbowmurray.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
There's a French saying that perfectly captures this week in French politics: "plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose" (the more things change, the more they stay the same). On Sunday night, PM Lecornu appointed a government that was almost identical to the govt that had fallen weeks earlier 1/
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Rainbow Murray @rainbowmurray.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
I'll be on @france24.com (in English) at 21h30 UK time to laugh hysterically at the fact that, after nearly five days of deliberations, false promises and calls for compromise, Macron has nominated as the new French PM... the same guy who resigned on Monday 🤣🤣😦
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Rainbow Murray @rainbowmurray.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
Last night, France's new prime minister, Sebatien Lecornu, announced his new govt, with a line-up v similar to the preceding govts. Other parties protested. This morning Lecornu resigned. He'd only been in office a few weeks, France's 5th PM in <2 yrs. No side has a majority & no-one will compromise
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Karl Pike @karlpike.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
My contribution to this issue calls for Labour to counter the growing illiberalism in British politics.
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Tarik Abou-Chadi @tabouchadi.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
For the Guardian, @turnbulldugarte.com and I discuss our research that clearly shows one thing: Labour's anti-immigration strategy will only strengthen Reform and weaken its own electoral prospects. It won't win voters back but ultimately normalizes the far right www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Our research makes it clear: by capitulating to the right, Labour is driving voters to Reform UK | Tarik Abou-Chadi and Stuart Turnbull-Dugarte
Mimicking Farage on immigration is senseless. Labour voters feel betrayed; anti-immigration voters see through the ruse, say academics Tarik Abou-Chadi and Stuart Turnbull-Dugarte
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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
Keir Starmer writes in the Telegraph (where else!?) that Labour “did shy away from people’s concerns around illegal immigration.” Perhaps I was living in a parallel universe when I wrote this for @politicalquarterly.bsky.social in 2014? (Free to read version here: qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/bitstr...)
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Paula Surridge @psurridge.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
I just do not understand in what world a Labour advisor is suggesting it would be a good idea to write in the Telegraph. Even if you buy that they need the 'hero' voters and to win them from Reform they are not the type of Reform voter reading the Telegraph.
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Andrew Mueller @andrewmueller.bsky.social · 24/09/2025
Latest Daily on Monocle Radio. @rainbowmurray.bsky.social and @elisabethbraw.bsky.social on the day's big stories, a report from a cheese festival in Italy, and an excerpt from Monocle's recent interview with Kongjian Yu, who died yesterday, aged 62. monocle.com/radio/shows/...
monocle.com
Germany leads the way for Europe’s rearmament. Plus: The legacy of Chinese architect Kongjian Yu - Monocle
Europe plans to rearm by 2030 – but is it soon enough? Then: the rise of medical disinformation as Washington...
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Rainbow Murray @rainbowmurray.bsky.social · 20/09/2025
Me when I get a string of notifications about all the great work that my peers have just published 👍👏😃🎉😔
media.tenor.com
a woman is sitting on a couch and saying i 'm so happy and not at all jealous ..
ALT: a woman is sitting on a couch and saying i 'm so happy and not at all jealous ..
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Rainbow Murray @rainbowmurray.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
I'm looking for someone UK-based with web-scraping skills who can scrape a substantial amount of data for me from the French parliamentary website in exchange for a fixed (negotiable) one-off fee.  French language skills are not essential as full instructions will be provided. 1/2
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Rainbow Murray @rainbowmurray.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
I've never been more grateful not to be the monarch. Poor dude really taking one for the team for the next 48 hours #StateVisit
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Rainbow Murray @rainbowmurray.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
"I'm not a racist. I just hate foreigners, ethnic minorities, people of other faiths and anyone who doesn't look like me. That doesn't make me a racist, it makes me a patriot!" 🙄
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Rainbow Murray @rainbowmurray.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
My child - who was born after CDs became effectively obsolete - wants me to buy this: storeuk.taylorswift.com/products/the... I struggled to understand why someone who has never seen a CD player would want a CD. "To support the artist & get the poster and things." Technology changes, fandom doesn't
storeuk.taylorswift.com
The Life of a Showgirl: It's Rapturous Edition CD with Poster
While Supplies Last 12 Tracks Jewel case with collectible front and back cover art. 1 double-sided folded poster, unique to this edition (approximately 19” x 9.5”). Each side features a photo of Taylo...
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Rainbow Murray @rainbowmurray.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
For once, Macron has been lightning fast in nominating a new PM: Sébastian Lecornu, current Defence minister, little known in France despite having served as a minister throughout Macron's two terms as president. A Macron loyalist who comes from the right, so everyone on the left is furious. 1/n
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Rainbow Murray @rainbowmurray.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
Quelle surprise! Bayrou lost the confidence vote and yet another French government falls. See my thread below for insights into why this happened and what might happen next
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Rainbow Murray @rainbowmurray.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
French govt is widely expected to fall later today as PM François Bayrou has called a confidence vote that other parties do not support. While outcome is predictable, resolution is not - lots of options on the table but none provides an elegant solution to the current crisis in French politics 1/n
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Rainbow Murray @rainbowmurray.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
This is an excellent thread based on an excellent paper, but if you only have time for one post, this is the one. Bottom line: progressive parties (eg Labour) do themselves more harm than good by trying to copy the far-right's (eg Reform) anti-immigrant rhetoric
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Rainbow Murray @rainbowmurray.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
Angela Rayner's position was untenable once she was found to have breached the ministerial code; she had to resign. But, as a working-class woman in high office surrounded by wealthy men, she had a symbolic importance that makes her resignation a real loss to British politics
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Rainbow Murray @rainbowmurray.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
Kids are back at school! ➕No more spending all day feeding them/ taking them to holiday clubs/ entertaining them/ hosting their friends/ dealing with their noise ➖back to receiving 100s of daily school emails, taking them to after-school clubs, washing uniform, helping with homework etc #MentalLoad
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