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Political Communication

April 12, 2021

Disputes over the BBC’s relationship with the Union Flag risk upsetting a delicate equilibrium between ‘truth’ and ‘power’

Ruairidh Brown Too close an association between the BBC and the Union flag will damage the former’s claims to objectivity, writes Ruairidh Brown. It comes at a time when the impartiality of the service is increasingly challenged – at home and abroad Read more
April 9, 2021

How radical-right success influences mainstream political debate

Vicente Valentim Do radical-right parties render political debate more negative?Recent studies indicate they might. But Tobias Widmann and Vicente Valentim show this is not true in Germany, where political discourse among mainstream parties becomes more positive when confronted with rhetoric from radical-right challengers Read more
April 8, 2021

Conspiracy theories are everywhere amid the pandemic. Politicians should face up to their role in helping to peddle them

Annemarie Walter During the coronacrisis, conspiracy theories have proliferated, and politicians who use them for political gain are – at least partly – to blame. Let the January attack on the US Capitol be a warning to Europe, write Annemarie Walter and Hugo Drochon Read more
March 25, 2021

Volodymyr Zelensky has upped the ante in his fight against pro-Russian propaganda. But is his latest move a miscalculation?

Kiryl Kascian In February 2021, Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky banned three TV channels branded pro-Russian propaganda. Sanctions and criminal charges against politicians and public figures followed. But these measures, argues Kiryl Kascian, cannot help Ukraine's counter-Russian strategy Read more
March 19, 2021

How tweets can help us make sense of internal party politics

Daniel Braby Identifying the different positions of MPs inside the same political parties is a longstanding problem for political science. Daniel Braby and Marius Sältzer argue that applying automated content analysis to MPs' Twitter timelines offers a robust impression of sub-party positions Read more
March 15, 2021

Covid-19 has been a double-edged sword for experts – with worrying consequences for democracy

Mirko Heinzel The pandemic has led to an increase in experts' authority – yet substantial contestation of their expertise, write Mirko Heinzel and Andrea Liese. This polarisation poses a risk for proper public deliberation and the fight against Covid Read more
December 21, 2020

Academic activists want to break out of their ivory towers, but in doing so risk creating a new form of elitism

Francesco Saverio Montesano An increasing number of scholars want to campaign for positive change outside the academic echo chamber, but overlook their own evidence when they refuse to engage with any view not exclusively based on science. Francesco S. Montesano argues that this will only deepen the gap between ‘experts’ and the rest of society Read more
December 16, 2020

Sweden stands out for its soft approach to the pandemic – but the jury is still out on whether it will work

Oscar Larsson Unlike most other countries, Sweden adopted a ‘soft’ approach to managing the Coronavirus pandemic, flying in the face of ‘securitisation theory’. Oscar Larsson considers whether its approach will succeed Read more

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Advancing Political Science
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