Humboldt GovLab

Perceived inequality and populism | European Journal of Political Research | Cambridge Core Perceived inequality and populism - Volume 65 Issue 1

65.1🦋

🆕 Perceived #Inequality and #Populism 🗣️

Evidence across Denmark, Germany and Italy show that people who perceive great inequality are more likely to hold #Populist attitudes according to @lstoetze.bsky.social, Johannes Giesecke & @heikekluever.bsky.social

🎤 Delighted to give the keynote today at the 6th Annual Conference of the Political Psychology Network!

🏛️ I present my current book project on how democratic resilience can be strengthened — and which evidence-based interventions actually work.

Looking forward to the exchange!

🏛️ Research for this study was funded by @dfg.de.

ℹ️ More information here:
hu-govlab.de/en/radical-r...

🔍 Study:
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

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🎖️ The researchers received the Gordon Smith and Vincent Wright Memorial Prize in recognition of their paper from the journal West European Politics and its publisher, @tandfresearch.bsky.social.

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📊 165 coalition formations in 24 European democracies (1980–2015) were analyzed. Election programs vs. coalition agreements show confidential talks allow parties to adjust policies without seeming opportunistic. Minority governments show strongest shifts.

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📌 Radical right parties like Germany’s AfD, Denmark’s Folkeparti, or Austria’s FPÖ gain influence across Europe. A new study by @fabioellger.bsky.social and @heikekluever.bsky.social shows coalitions shift immigration policies toward restriction when radical right parties are in parliament.

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📣 Do radical right parties shape policy even from the opposition?

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🏛️ The study was funded by Joint Seed Funding by @humboldtuni.bsky.social and the Universität Zürich, as well as by @scripts-berlin.eu.

ℹ️ More information here:
hu-govlab.de/en/does-homo...

🔍 Study:
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...

🧵 4/4

📊 Examining Poland’s widely discussed so-called “LGBT-free zones”, the authors provide causal evidence that symbolic attacks on minority rights can shift voter turnout in ways that strengthen governing parties.

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📌 Far-right and illiberal leaders increasingly use anti-LGBTQ rhetoric as a political tool. A new study by @haasvioleta.bsky.social, @bogatyrev.bsky.social, @tabouchadi.bsky.social, @heikekluever.bsky.social and @lstoetze.bsky.social shows this strategy can yield direct electoral benefits.

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📣 Does homophobia win elections?

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🗳️ Great workshop on young voters & the rise of the far right bringing together researchers, policymakers & civil society

🚀 Inspiring discussions on how to strengthen democratic resilience

📊 Insights: from the #COVIDEU project
🏛️ Host: @humboldt-govlab.bsky.social
🌟 Funding: @volkswagenstiftung.de

🔹 Roundtable Discussion
Moderated by @markuskollberg.bsky.social
With
💬 Dr. Lena Gumnior (MP, The Greens)
💬 Sara Binzer Hobolt (LSE)
💬 Heike Klüver (HU Berlin)
💬 Theresa Kuhn (Uni Amsterdam)
💬 Max Hilse (Löbau lebt e.V. & Görlitz District Youth Council)
💬 Andrei Arnst (Principal, Neuenhagen School)

With insights from the #COVIDEU project, featuring
@sarahobolt.bsky.social
@heikekluever.bsky.social
@theresakuhn.bsky.social
Michał Krawczyk
@djordjemilosav.bsky.social
@tonirodon.bsky.social

More and more young people are turning to the far right. Why and what can we do about it?

Join our #COVIDEU Workshop on Nov 21 (2–5 PM) to discuss causes and counter-strategies.

🚀 Hosted by @humboldt-govlab.bsky.social
💡 Funded by @volkswagenstiftung.de
👉 Register: tinyurl.com/bdenyfnw

👉 What works against right-wing extremism?

Excited to discuss this question with Tamara Ehs, Carolin Lange, Daniel Siemens, Thomas Weber & Daniel Ziblatt at Berlin’s Maxim Gorki Theater - together with German politicians and author Mely Kiyak.

🗓️ Nov 8, 7:30 pm
🔗 www.gorki.de/de/der-rat-d...

ℹ️ More information here:
hu-govlab.de/en/perceived...

🔍 Study:
resolve.cambridge.org/core/journal...

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📊 Drawing on data from nearly 40,000 individuals across 20 European countries, the researchers find that people who perceive their society as highly unequal are 2.7 percentage points more likely to support a populist party than those who view their society as fairer.

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📌 A new study by @lstoetze.bsky.social, Johannes Giesecke, and @heikekluever.bsky.social shows: Those who believe that wealth and influence are concentrated in the hands of a few are more likely to develop populist attitudes—regardless of how strong objective inequality actually is.

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📣 Perceived Inequality as Fertile Ground for Populism

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Using over 260,000 press releases, they found that even deadly extreme weather events rarely shift party communication toward climate policy, except for a short spike for the Greens. ⚡

➡️ To the blog post: tinyurl.com/3pjhkzy8
➡️ To the study: tinyurl.com/2kffefdc

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📣 Check out the latest post on
@transformecon.bsky.social, a blog by @bertelsmannst.bsky.social. It's by researchers affiliated with Humboldt GovLab: @timwapps.bsky.social, @lstoetze.bsky.social, @heikekluever.bsky.social & @antvalentim.bsky.social. 🎉

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🎉 Today at @humboldtuni.bsky.social the 1st Annual Workshop of the Humboldt Governance Lab!

🚀 Inspiring discussions on the challenges facing democracy & how to strengthen it.

🔗 More information on the GovLab: hu-govlab.de

This was a thoughtful evening with a great crowd and great discussions. Thanks to all who contributed, and a special thanks to @volkswagenstiftung.de for their financial support of the event.

We discussed the insights from these projects with

- @heikekluever.bsky.social (Director GovLab)
- @polenz.bsky.social (f. MdB)
- @kliesenberg.bsky.social (SPD Parteivorstand)
- Felix Arndt (Stabsstelle Bürgerrat)

moderated by Hannah Göppert (@offenegesellschaft.bsky.social)

We presented results from a GovLab project evaluating the effects of hallobundestag.de alongside evidence from @gesis.org on community effects, research on institutionalization by lospfade.de, and the @incitedem.bsky.social project on how citizens want to further develop democratic innovations.

Together with projects from @gesis.org and @uni-muenster.de, we organized a workshop @humboldtuni.bsky.social to evaluate on one of the most promising tools for democratic renewal: #CitizensAssemblies.

📣 It’s official – we launched the Humboldt Governance Lab! 📣

We use innovative methods to deliver evidence-based insights for policy-makers, public admin, and civil society – tackling the key challenges facing democracy today.

🌐 hu-govlab.de
@humboldtuni.bsky.social

ℹ️ More information here:
hu-govlab.de/en/has-russi...

🔍 Study:
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

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📊 The results show a significant increase in support for the EU after the invasion. This effect intensified further in the weeks following the start of the war. While many citizens had more trust in the EU, there was a slight increase in criticism among politically left-leaning people.

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