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Elections

April 9, 2026

From Soros to Zelenskyy: Orbán's antisemitic electoral playbook

Cristian Pîrvulescu As Hungary heads to parliamentary elections on 12 April, Cristian Pîrvulescu argues that the billboard campaign targeting Zelensky is not merely anti-Ukrainian rhetoric. Rather, it is the latest iteration of a calculated antisemitic strategy, rooted in the 'Horthy tradition', that has powered Fidesz through four consecutive victories Read more
December 22, 2025

🎈 Who elected Mark Rutte? Representation as political engagement 

Dario Castiglione In his introductory piece for this series, Luca Verzichelli asked whether we can re-establish a connection between political institutions and citizens. Dario Castiglione suggests we can. But first, we must rethink democratic representation as a process of mutual engagement; then re-imagine its political practices and institutions  Read more
December 19, 2025

Nigerians have a name for what Zohran Mamdani is doing: accessibility

Portia Roelofs The new Mayor of New York’s electoral campaign prioritised face-to-face interactions with voters. Western commentators have struggled to find a language for this new ‘politics of listening’. Portia Roelofs argues that this is a standard part of Nigerian political practice – and offers the potential for a new kind of accountability Read more
December 12, 2025

How election polls shape government-opposition conflict 

Elias Koch Elias Koch finds that opposition parties become more confrontational towards the government when losing in the polls, and particularly when their support drops below the previous election result. But what does this mean for political systems thriving on an antagonistic relationship between the opposition and the executive?  Read more
November 18, 2025

National parties' strategies for mobilising expat voters

Adrian Favero The recent Dutch parliamentary elections and the popular vote on electronic ID in Switzerland revealed the considerable influence of the expat diaspora, which adds crucial votes to overall election results. National political parties, argue Adrian Favero and Gilles Pittoors, need to harness the power of transnational organisations to mobilise non-resident voters Read more
October 24, 2025

Re-electing Cameroon’s forever president

John Chin Paul Biya, the world’s oldest head of state and the second-longest ruling leader in Africa, ran for a record eighth term earlier this month. John Chin and Julien Derroitte assess Cameroon’s prospects for peace and democracy in Africa’s turbulent coup belt Read more
October 6, 2025

The CDU wins in North Rhine-Westphalia – despite, not because of Friedrich Merz

John Ryan The recent municipal election results in North Rhine-Westphalia barely disguise Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s unpopularity. The result offers no respite for the CDU/CSU-SPD government at national level. Bold actions are needed domestically to tackle Germany’s deep and structural challenges, argues John Ryan Read more
September 2, 2025

Are European Parliament elections really ‘second-order elections’?

Ugur Tekiner European elections are traditionally seen as less significant than national elections. But Ugur Tekiner argues that the recent challenges facing the EU force us to rethink this classification. Recent European elections accurately reflect the national political mood in Member States, and reveal the growing polarisation around Europe Read more

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Advancing Political Science
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