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Simon Hix

@simonhix.bsky.social
12K followers 3.7K following 829 posts

Stein Rokkan Chair in Comparative Politics, EUI. President of @epssnet.bsky.social. FBA, FRSA. Democracy, parties, elections, electoral systems etc. Live music. COYI

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Valentin Kreilinger @vkreilinger.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
The New Power Map of the European Parliament 👇 I very much look forward to this panel discussion with @simonhix.bsky.social, @abiralsahlani.bsky.social, @jonassjostedt.bsky.social, @gvonsydow.bsky.social in Stockholm’s Kulturhuset on Friday, 9 October. Registration here: sieps.se/en/seminars/...
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Alessandro Nai @alessandronai.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
You know those (rare) papers that really make you proud? In new piece out at APR, we show that #AffectivePolarization likely spills onto other types of non-political polarization - notably, PREFERENCES FOR CATS VS. DOGS (aka “affective PAWlarization”) paper: tinyurl.com/jn48bypp data: osf.io/4p2zu
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Britain Elects @britainelects.com · 01/10/2026
On rejoining the EU Support: 55% Oppose: 34% ... but on the conditions of single currency and Schengen membership Support: 35% Oppose: 43% via YouGov, Jun 2026 britainelects.substack.com/p/is-rejoin-...
britainelects.substack.com
Is Rejoin happening anytime soon?
Ten years on from the EU referendum
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Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Whether you like the third runway or not, this is further proof that that the UK is utterly useless at delivering on major infrastructure projects
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Katie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · 25/09/2026
I have blamed The agents That hacked Your website And which You probably Reasonably thought I controlled Forgive me I am rich And unaccustomed To taking responsibility
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West European Politics @wepsocial.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
🧩 Do voters dislike parties that mix left and right positions? In ten countries, @rdassonneville.bsky.social, Patrick Fournier & @zeynsom.bsky.social find voters know less about such parties and like them less, in part because of the inconsistency itself. 🔗 doi.org/10.1080/0140...
Description of the article "Voters' perceptions of ideologically inconsistent parties" by Ruth Dassonneville, Patrick Fournier and Zeynep Somer-Topcu, published online first in West European Politics.
Figure 2. Line chart of predicted party like/dislike ratings by how ideologically inconsistent a respondent perceives a party to be, with a histogram of observations underneath. Ratings fall markedly as perceived inconsistency rises.
Figure 3. Line chart of the effect of expert-rated ideological inconsistency on party like/dislike ratings, by how accurately a respondent perceives the party's positions, with a histogram of observations underneath. The effect is negative for respondents who place parties accurately, shrinks towards zero as their perceptions grow less accurate, and turns positive when they are far off.
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Ben Ginsburg Hix @benghix.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Very excited to announce a new Political Methodology Seminar Series co-hosted by the @lsegovernment.bsky.social, @lsemethodology.bsky.social and European Institute. This bi-weekly series is designed to support ECRs applying state-of-the-art methodological tools to political science research.
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British Journal of Political Science @bjpols.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
#OpenAccess from 2025 - A Crisis of Political Trust? Global Trends in Institutional Trust from 1958 to 2019 - cup.org/4gCcLuT - @viktorv.bsky.social, @drjennings.bsky.social, Gerry Stoker, @hannahbunting.bsky.social, @danjdevine.bsky.social, @lawrencemckay.bsky.social & Andrew Klassen #epop2026
Logo of the British Journal of Political Science with the text "#OpenAccess" below.
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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
AI is screwing up journal papers: Journal editor asks authors of 10 submitted papers to meet and discuss their paper. Of the 7 that showed up, 3 were unable to answer basic questions about the paper and 3 had difficulty when asked further questions on technical details… medium.com/@TmlrOrg/ask...
medium.com
Asking Authors About Their Own Papers
By Nihar B. Shah
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Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Crowborough’s where I lived from 1968 until 1987, ie. birth to uni … formative years
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Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Oh god, I don’t think I can watch this! My home town :-(
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Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Thanks Zeth
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EPSS @epssnet.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
📢 The Call for Papers for EPSS 2027 is open! After a fantastic first conference in Belfast, we’re heading to Copenhagen 🇩🇰, 24–26 June 2027. ⏰ Deadline: 13 Nov 2026 👉 Call for papers: epssnet.org/2027-copenha... 1/2
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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Instituto Juan Linz @institute-juanlinz.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
🚨 Madrid people, mark your calendars: the permanent seminar of the Instituto Juan Linz is back! We have a great series of speakers from across the social sciences this year. First talk this Friday with @llschenoni.bsky.social Here is the program for this Fall:
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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Easy to donate: rnli.org/support-us/g...
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Catherine E. de Vries @catherinedevries.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Europe may increasingly need to learn how to act together without always acting as one. My new CEPR Europe 2050 paper on Preserving Europe’s Capacity to Act: cepr.org/publications... Pre-order my new OUP book with Alex Kentikelenis: global.oup.com/academic/pro... /end
global.oup.com
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
One reason England does so well is our second generation immigrants outperform their peers which is not true in most OECD countries. We are also very good at integration. And it's v sad that this is never acknowledge in debates on immigration.
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Julius Kölzer @juliusk.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Saxony-Anhalt went to the polls, with the AfD falling just short of a majority. Here are some takeaways based on the preliminary results across all 218 municipalities and local socioeconomic characteristics. A thread 🧵(1 /n) Full analysis + write-up: juliuskoelzer.de/saxony-anhal...
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Florian Foos @florianfoos.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Otherwise it will be deadlock, but the current admin will stay on until that is resolved.
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Florian Foos @florianfoos.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
This does look like a more likely outcome now but the question is which parties would tolerate such a government (all parties minus AfD, or if it would just be a figurehead for a AfD minority/AfD-BSW coal in all but name). I suspect it would be the ladder.
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Florian Foos @florianfoos.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
ZDF has now updated their forecast and it looks like BSW will be in (ARD has also slightly adjusted their score for them upwards). That means there would likely be a razor thin majority for AfD + BSW. Pre-election, Wagenknecht claimed that BSW won’t vote in a AfD PM- they favoured a technocratic PM.
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Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Looks like BSW will be pivotal, unless 1 or more CDU members defect (or abstain in an anti AfD vote), which there has also been some chat about. But I assume there a constructive-vote-of-no-confidence, so a positive AfD Min-Prez vote would need to happen.
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Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Thanks. But ZDF are now reporting AfD neck and neck with CDU+SPD+G+L. And, it might only take 1 CDU defector to get AfD over the line => AfD looking most likely to form the government
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Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
ZDF now predicting that AfD supported by BSW would have a majority in the Saxony-Anhalt Landtag
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Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
😳
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Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
A key issue is whether BSW will get above 5%. If they do, then it’s the worst possible outcome. If they don’t, AfD might not be able to govern, as the others would all vote against them. Either way, though, it’s a disaster for Germany and Europe.
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Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Maybe take up triathlon Will, then you’ll feel obliged to do two different exercises a day …. (so I hear, anyway!)
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Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
No surprise there. Nb. the US didn’t really back the UK in the Falklands War or the Suez Crisis. Trump hints US would not back UK over Falkland Islands due to lack of Iran war support www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Falkland Islands: Donald Trump hints US would not back UK over Argentina
The US president says the UK was not "there to help me" in his ongoing war with Iran.
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Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Burnham wants “electoral reform” in Labour’s manifesto ahead of the next election. But, what type of electoral reform/ PR will he/they back? Work needs to be done … watch this space 😉 www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Burnham promises to bring optimism and ‘substantial change’ in first Commons speech as PM
The prime minister said Britain needed to be brutally honest about the ‘series of wrong turns’ it had taken in the last 40 years
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Toby Nangle @tobyn.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Brexit pretty bad for Sterling as a reserve currency: UK exports to non-EU and non-US customers now more often invoiced in USD than GBP. via Catherine Mann @ Jackson Hole: www.kansascityfed.org/documents/18...
Chart showing that pre-Brexit, c60% of UK exports to customers outside the EU and the US were invoiced in GBP and c30% in USD. Following Brexit, the share drops sharply and sequentially, and UK exports are more often invoiced in USD than GBP.
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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Today’s must-read, IMHO.
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Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Could use Shugart & Taagepera to predict number of parties, and then Hanretty to predict their sizes and positions
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Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Absolutely. I think of modelling electoral reform effects as 4 levels of analysis: 1. Simulate mechanical effects (w/ current vote shares) 2. Endogenise voter preferences 3. Endogenise parties and party positions 4 Repeat 2 and 3 …
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Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Amazing!
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Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Thanks Jack. Happy to join you whatever you were thinking of setting up now. I have simulations of “low mag PR” Westminster constituencies, based on an original design by Ron Johnson
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Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Thanks guys. I’m thinking of convening a little UK Electoral Reform Working Group when I head back to LSE next January. Who wants in?
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Christopher Kelly @hfmatters.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
From @timbale.bsky.social ..... bsky.app/profile/hfma...
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Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
They might as well just call them “We Don’t Think They Are Too Bad Right”
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Will Allen @williamlallen.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
I said exactly this to a journalist this week on the same topic. And linked to the @ecprtheloop.bsky.social blog by @timbale.bsky.social: theloop.ecpr.eu/why-we-need-...
theloop.ecpr.eu
Why we need to halt ‘hard right’ in its tracks
Far-right parties are doing well – so it’s important that we see them for what they are. Yet, in the UK, the label ‘hard right’ is catching on. Why is debateable. But, argues Tim Bale, it’s a misdescr...
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Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
👋 @theguardian.com
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Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
I have no idea what “Hard Right” means! We have established terms: Far Right, Extreme Right, Radical Right. Why invent a new one? Bizarre how UK journos have adopted a term that no-one else in the world uses or understands. Pathetic parochialism I guess 🤷‍♂️ www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
theguardian.com
The events at Ceuta ​show ​how Europe’s ​hard ​right ​now ​set the ​tone​ on immigration
The narratives of the right are seeping into mainstream EU policy, and Spain finds itself increasingly isolated in its humanitarian stance on borders
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Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Could Wenger be the candidate to defeat Infantino? (and I say that as a West Ham fan 😉)
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Kenneth Armstrong @profkaarmstrong.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
The irony of that is that PM’s big policy push is only about English devolution and unlike Scotland, Wales or N Ireland it is unconstrained even by statute. This is English devolution backed with the full unbridled sovereignty of the U.K. Parliament.
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Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
While I favour a written UK constitution, the devil will be in the details, and I fear all sorts of bells and whistles that will be attached along the way, making it unwieldy, and difficult ratify. Maybe start with a Citizens Assembly and see what happens … www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Devolution plans strengthen case for written UK constitution, says Burnham
PM argues for codified model of decentralisation that would fundamentally change centuries-old workings of state
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LSE Blogs @lseblogs.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Should immigrants be given the right to vote in elections? And what political implications would this have? On @lseeuroppblog.bsky.social, @simonhix.bsky.social @tarekjaziri.bsky.social show that granting voting rights to immigrants in Spain has had little impact on party vote or seat shares.
blogs.lse.ac.uk
Why not give immigrants the right to vote? - LSE European Politics
Granting voting rights to immigrants in Spain has had little impact on party vote or seat shares, removing one of the main objections to the policy.
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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
@markeaston1.bsky.social Fair point; well made!
Professor Tim Bale (Letters, July 25) is right to caution against assuming that every perceived crisis in politics is unprecedented. The British have always been sceptical about the motives of their politicians and their promises — quite sensibly, in my view.

Yet the latest evidence suggests there is more at work here. The British Social Attitudes study found that just 9 per cent of people now believe governments put the nation’s interests before those of their party most or all of the time, the lowest figure recorded by the study. Meanwhile, a record 83 per cent believe Britain’s system of governing needs a great deal or quite a lot of improvement. This is substantially higher than when comparable questions were asked by the Royal Commission on the Constitution during the political and economic turbulence of the 1970s. Scepticism about Britain’s democracy has reached levels that would have been hard to imagine a generation ago.
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LSE European Politics @lseeuroppblog.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Should immigrants be given the right to vote in elections? New research shows that when voting rights were given to immigrants in Spain, it had little impact on party vote or seat shares. ✍ @simonhix.bsky.social & @tarekjaziri.bsky.social blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2...
blogs.lse.ac.uk
Why not give immigrants the right to vote? - LSE European Politics
Granting voting rights to immigrants in Spain has had little impact on party vote or seat shares, removing one of the main objections to the policy.
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Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Congratulations Pau! A fantastic PhD thesis. It has been such a pleasure and an honour to supervise your research, and to co-author one of the papers with you. I look forward to being able to say "I knew him when ...." 👏
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Ingvild Zinober @ingvildzinober.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Super excited to see the second article from my dissertation published in @politicsgenderj.bsky.social Drawing on unique Norwegian data, I find the green gender gap already exists in early adolescence. Boys are less climate-concerned, less supportive of green policies and less likely to vote green.
cambridge.org
The Green Gender Gap in Adolescence: A Case Study of Norway | Politics & Gender | Cambridge Core
The Green Gender Gap in Adolescence: A Case Study of Norway
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Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
The new UK cabinet has 12 women and 11 men. 👏
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