Research & Politics

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Ronan Tse-min Fu, Elaine I-lien Lee & Karyn Y. Kao show that Taiwanese perceptions of wartime victory depend not only on external military support, but also on domestic readiness, public morale, and political unity. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

@kolbyhanson.bsky.social & Angelina Kunitskaia show that how wars are framed can strongly shape public sympathy and support for military aid—even when the underlying facts stay the same. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

@rnords.bsky.social, Sou Shinomoto & Antonio Benasaglio Berlucchi show that court rulings on same-sex marriage in Japan can shift public attitudes when citizens are reminded of them, even if their effects are limited in everyday settings. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

John Garry shows that reaching “across the divide” can come at a political cost: in divided societies, conciliatory appeals may win support from rival groups while weakening support among a leader’s own community. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

What makes states talk about arms control as a security issue rather than a humanitarian one? @tobiasrisse.bsky.social shows that intrastate conflict shifts UN rhetoric toward national security—revealing how domestic conflict shapes arms-control debates. More: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Marisa Abrajano, Marianna Garcia, Aaron Pope, @robertvidigal.bsky.social & Jonathan Nagler find significant post-Dobbs knowledge gaps: Latinos, especially foreign-born Latinos, are more likely to overestimate the strictness of their state’s abortion laws. More: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Kiyoung Chang & Jeeyoung Park show East Asian publics don’t view U.S.–China rivalry through one threat lens: survey evidence from Japan, South Korea & Taiwan finds threats vary by issue domain and assigned responsibility. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Do campaign rallies move voters? Henrique Barros shows that 2016 rallies produced short-lived shifts in candidate support, fading within a week — with Clinton gains broadly consistent and Trump effects varying across urban/suburban counties. Read more: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

@rnords.bsky.social, Sou Shinomoto & Antonio Benasaglio Berlucchi show that court rulings on same-sex marriage in Japan can shift public attitudes when citizens are reminded of them, even if their effects are limited in everyday settings. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

@kolbyhanson.bsky.social & Angelina Kunitskaia show that how wars are framed can strongly shape public sympathy and support for military aid—even when the underlying facts stay the same. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Ronan Tse-min Fu, Elaine I-lien Lee & Karyn Y. Kao show that Taiwanese perceptions of wartime victory depend not only on external military support, but also on domestic readiness, public morale, and political unity. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Do campaign rallies move voters? Henrique Barros shows that 2016 rallies produced short-lived shifts in candidate support, fading within a week — with Clinton gains broadly consistent and Trump effects varying across urban/suburban counties. Read more: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Kiyoung Chang & Jeeyoung Park show East Asian publics don’t view U.S.–China rivalry through one threat lens: survey evidence from Japan, South Korea & Taiwan finds threats vary by issue domain and assigned responsibility. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Do prestigious offices make voters less likely to support women candidates? Nichole Bauer finds no direct “prestige penalty,” while showing how prestige and masculinity may shape women’s path through politics. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

@rdassonneville.bsky.social & McAllister show that education divides voters less by changing opinions than by changing political labels, as immigration increasingly shapes how Europeans understand left and right. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

@rdassonneville.bsky.social & McAllister show that education divides voters less by changing opinions than by changing political labels, as immigration increasingly shapes how Europeans understand left and right. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Törnberg, Lundstedt, Vallström & Wahlström introduce a geocoded, nationwide dataset of Sweden’s police-reported xenophobic violence (2009–2022; N=2,522), enabling consistent longitudinal analysis beyond media or surveys. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Lisa Basil shows that not all conspiracy theory agreement reflects deep belief. She introduces a salience-based measure that separates fleeting endorsement from consequential belief—and suggests standard surveys may overstate it. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Yixuan Zhang shows that corruption scandals in nearby regions can boost trust in China. When nearby areas face investigations, people report more trust in local government—showing institutions are judged by comparison, not just performance. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Do alliance treaties sway public support for war everywhere? @smetanamichal.bsky.social, @mvranka.bsky.social @ondrejrosendorf.bsky.social find they do—but much less in non-Western, non-NATO countries. Alliance politics travels, but not evenly. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Gender shapes candidate choice in both directions. @atiradocastro.bsky.social & Susan Banducci find that women tend to prefer women candidates and men tend to prefer men—especially when gender identity is more strongly felt. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Why introduce bills that rarely pass? Eunseong Oh & @indridi.bsky.social show MPs use them less to win than to play party roles: government MPs stay cautious, opposition MPs signal credibility. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

How do you study political trust across countries and over time? Yuehong Tai introduces TrustGov, a new dataset covering 115 countries from 1973–2020—giving scholars a major new tool to track what shapes trust in government, and why it matters. Read more: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Populist rhetoric may not win many votes—but it can get people to the polls. Alexander Kustov & Yaoyao Dai find that populist messaging has limited persuasive power, yet can slightly boost turnout, especially among already populist voters. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Do younger voters turn against older people when politics feels unfair? @alonsoroman.bsky.social & @scottrw630.bsky.social show that perceived age-based political exclusion is strongly linked to explicit ageism across Italy, South Korea, and the US. Read more: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Moniz, Endres & @professorcostas.bsky.social show a key weakness in political microtargeting: the most persuadable voters may be the hardest to predict. Cross pressured voters don’t fit neat party profiles—and campaign data often misses that. Read more: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Do prestigious offices make voters less likely to support women candidates? Nichole Bauer finds no direct “prestige penalty,” while showing how prestige and masculinity may shape women’s path through politics. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Törnberg, Lundstedt, Vallström & Wahlström introduce a geocoded, nationwide dataset of Sweden’s police-reported xenophobic violence (2009–2022; N=2,522), enabling consistent longitudinal analysis beyond media or surveys. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

🧩 Gocer & @polipsyprof.bsky.social: In a 2019 survey experiment, whites who feel like “political losers” oppose redistribution only when compared to non-whites—a subtle framing cue with big implications for status threat and right-wing populism. Read more: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

🚨 When does motivated reasoning break? Onishi shows that in Britain’s Partygate, clear misconduct + clear blame made even copartisans punish the governing party - lower ratings and vote intent. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

@makitotakei.bsky.social, Chanki Moon & @hirotakaimada.bsky.social test if target publics see audience costs. US survey (N=1,404): people infer domestic punishment for backing down; credibility is similar for democracies and autocracies. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

@lukasbirkenmai1.bsky.social, @astroppe.bsky.social @wurthmann.bsky.social & @msaeltzer.bsky.social use NLP+Wikidata: 50k tweets + 190k FB posts (Bundestag 2017–21). District MPs cite nearer places and deprived in-district areas more than list MPs. Read more: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Lisa Basil shows that not all conspiracy theory agreement reflects deep belief. She introduces a salience-based measure that separates fleeting endorsement from consequential belief—and suggests standard surveys may overstate it. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Yixuan Zhang shows that corruption scandals in nearby regions can boost trust in China. When nearby areas face investigations, people report more trust in local government—showing institutions are judged by comparison, not just performance. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Do alliance treaties sway public support for war everywhere? @smetanamichal.bsky.social, @mvranka.bsky.social @ondrejrosendorf.bsky.social find they do—but much less in non-Western, non-NATO countries. Alliance politics travels, but not evenly. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Gender shapes candidate choice in both directions. @atiradocastro.bsky.social & Susan Banducci find that women tend to prefer women candidates and men tend to prefer men—especially when gender identity is more strongly felt. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Why introduce bills that rarely pass? Eunseong Oh & @indridi.bsky.social show MPs use them less to win than to play party roles: government MPs stay cautious, opposition MPs signal credibility. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

How do you study political trust across countries and over time? Yuehong Tai introduces TrustGov, a new dataset covering 115 countries from 1973–2020—giving scholars a major new tool to track what shapes trust in government, and why it matters. Read more: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Populist rhetoric may not win many votes—but it can get people to the polls. Alexander Kustov & Yaoyao Dai find that populist messaging has limited persuasive power, yet can slightly boost turnout, especially among already populist voters. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Do younger voters turn against older people when politics feels unfair? @alonsoroman.bsky.social & @scottrw630.bsky.social show that perceived age-based political exclusion is strongly linked to explicit ageism across Italy, South Korea, and the US. Read more: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Moniz, Endres & @professorcostas.bsky.social show a key weakness in political microtargeting: the most persuadable voters may be the hardest to predict. Cross pressured voters don’t fit neat party profiles—and campaign data often misses that. Read more: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

🧩 Gocer & @polipsyprof.bsky.social: In a 2019 survey experiment, whites who feel like “political losers” oppose redistribution only when compared to non-whites—a subtle framing cue with big implications for status threat and right-wing populism. Read more: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

🚨 When does motivated reasoning break? Onishi shows that in Britain’s Partygate, clear misconduct + clear blame made even copartisans punish the governing party - lower ratings and vote intent. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

@makitotakei.bsky.social, Chanki Moon & @hirotakaimada.bsky.social test if target publics see audience costs. US survey (N=1,404): people infer domestic punishment for backing down; credibility is similar for democracies and autocracies. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

@lukasbirkenmai1.bsky.social, @astroppe.bsky.social @wurthmann.bsky.social & @msaeltzer.bsky.social use NLP+Wikidata: 50k tweets + 190k FB posts (Bundestag 2017–21). District MPs cite nearer places and deprived in-district areas more than list MPs. Read more: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

New study by Molly Offer-Westort et al. tests an AI social media agent for deep canvassing on anti-transgender prejudice. Personalized NLP messaging shows positive effects, pointing to scalable—but limited—alternatives to in-person outreach. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Batista, @ecalvo68.bsky.social & @stelhami.bsky.social's study on fact-checking shows confirmation frames drive higher engagement than refutations. Even without added effort, refutations spark anger/disgust, while confirmations evoke happiness. Read more: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

@mollyow.bsky.social et al. test climate-policy framing in a 2,300+ U.S. RCT: scientific, religious, moral, and economic (efficiency vs equity). Policy-learning shows efficiency most boosts support, across parties. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Anderson, Byles, Calianos, Francis, Kot, Mosk, Seo, Vizbaras & Nyhan: boosting warmth toward the other party didn’t change intent to share true/false news or discernment. But accuracy reminders modestly improved discernment among political news sharers. journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

@adamramey.bsky.social warns Big Five–politics findings may be distorted by who completes surveys. New data show Agreeable & Neurotic respondents finish at different rates, shifting estimated trait–behavior links—watch for selection bias. Read more here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....