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Donald Trump

December 23, 2025

Will the global trading system weather Trump 2.0?

Andreas Dür Trump’s 2025 tariff shock marks a sharp turn toward a near-isolationist US trade policy. Yet given that US protectionism is expected to ease, Andreas Dür and Alessia Invernizzi argue that the international trading system is likely to weather the storm  Read more
December 22, 2025

Strongmen and mother-figures: role models in today’s populist politics 

Selina Mabrouki Populist leaders don’t just claim to represent the people – they embody them. Through strongman toughness or maternal guardianship, populists model idealised versions of a nation’s citizens, and they naturalise exclusion. Selina Mabrouki shows how contemporary populist leaders exploit gendered role models as tools of emotional persuasion  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 17, 2025

Explaining the surprisingly friendly Trump-Mamdani meeting

Alexandros Ntaflos Alexandros Ntaflos argues that Trump and Mamdani’s unexpectedly cordial meeting reflects shared populist appeals to 'the people', and pragmatic calculations of institutional power. But as concrete policies emerge, left-right ideological divisions will reassert themselves. Future conflicts between the two will echo the broader Western shift toward radical politics Read more
December 3, 2025

🎈 Why we shouldn't give up on representative democracy just yet

Luca Verzichelli Luca Verzichelli explores the crisis of democratic representation and the shrinking space for citizen-institution engagement. Launching a series on 'democratic disconnect', he calls for a new democratic pedagogy, fresh analytical tools, and innovative solutions to reconnect actors, strengthen institutions, and adapt democracy to twenty first-century challenges – before it's too late Read more
November 27, 2025

🔮 Populist publics are becoming increasingly transnational

Francesco Vittonetto Brought together by a shared ideology, converging around global events, and united in their support for radical-right leaders, populist audiences on social media are becoming increasingly global. Francesco Vittonetto discusses why we can now start talking about transnational populist publics  Read more
November 14, 2025

What Americans really think when European allies don’t cooperate 

Osman Sabri Kiratli NATO recently agreed to a historic 5% defence spending target. But Osman Sabri Kiratli presents new experimental evidence revealing that what Americans truly care about goes far beyond the numbers. In fact, democratic allies may have more leeway than they realise Read more
November 13, 2025

🔮 Banana populism: when politics gets absurd (and why it works)

Ilana Hartikainen Why did Viktor OrbĂĄn bring pickles to Parliament? What made Kamala Harris lean into 'brat summer'? And why do politicians flood social media with pets, food, and everyday objects? Ilana Hartikainen and Zea Szebeni argue these aren't random quirks: they're examples of 'banana populism', where politicians build powerful emotional connections with voters through whimsical, mundane imagery Read more

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Advancing Political Science
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