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September 26, 2025

🧭 Why securing welfare benefits is key to EU enlargement

Ann-Kathrin Reinl Ann-Kathrin Reinl argues that welfare security is the quiet hinge of public support for EU enlargement. Credible guarantees on national benefits blunt fears about costs and migration. If we reassure citizens on welfare, support for a larger EU holds Read more
September 19, 2025

Assessing the degree and drivers of sensitivity in political science

Michael Ganslmeier Michael Ganslmeier and Tim Vlandas have developed a new approach to measure the fragility of findings in political science. Showing that empirical results can change substantially when researchers vary reasonable and equally defensible modelling choices, they advocate for greater use of systematic robustness checks Read more
April 15, 2025

How welfare policy affects immigration attitudes

Alina Vrânceanu Social policies shape public opinions on immigration. A study by Alina Vrânceanu and Bilyana Petrova shows that in Western Europe, generous welfare systems – perhaps counterintuitively – make natives more favourably inclined toward immigrants. Cutting benefits risks exacerbating anti-immigrant sentiment. These research findings have important implications for social conflict in modern capitalist democracies Read more
March 20, 2024

🌊 Buying women's votes through welfare in Turkey

Bengisu Savran Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's authoritarian AKP has governed Turkey for more than twenty years. The regime has consistently rolled back gender rights. Despite this, many women continue to vote for it. Why? Bengisu Savran suggests clientelism and welfare benefits may provide the answer Read more
March 19, 2024

🔮 It’s time for a ‘material turn’ in populism studies

Vladimir Bortun Researchers have made significant advances over the past decade in making sense of right-wing populism. However, as this party family continues to win elections, scholars need to pay more attention to the class forces and material interests it represents, writes Vladimir Bortun Read more
March 8, 2024

🌈 Getting paid to have children: Hungary’s ‘carefare’ regime

Eva Fodor Illiberal Hungary has become famous in recent years for paying families to have, or pledge to have, children. This, writes Eva Fodor, has transformed the criteria and practice for social citizenship and democratic participation Read more
January 18, 2024

What counts more for welfare: countries or people?

Richard Rose Richard Rose has conducted a breathtakingly comprehensive analysis of the state of welfare across the world. Here, he provides a succinct summary of his findings – for countries and for people Read more
May 25, 2023

How Erdoğan masterminded electoral victory despite Turkey's economic crisis

Erdoğan Altun In the first round of the Turkish elections on 14 May, the incumbent AKP, led by President Erdoğan, won a narrow victory. This was a crushing blow for the opposition, who had pinned their hopes on Turkey's economic crisis, and crippling inflation, ending Erdoğan's authority. Erdoğan Altun explains how the AKP's electoral campaign, patronage and social assistance were crucial to its success Read more

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Advancing Political Science
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