Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Clint Claessen @clint0475.bsky.social · 7d

🔊 🔊 🚨 🚨

Nicolai Berk @nicolaiberk.bsky.social · 7d

Very excited to announce the next term of the TADA speaker series!

This term revolves around the validity of LLM generated data in the Social Sciences. We have a set of four great speakers to enlighten us on different aspects of this issue.

If you'd like to join, sign up here: TADA.cool

2 2

Reposted by Clint Claessen

Markus Gastinger @markus-gastinger.eu · 15d

Last Friday (Sept. 19), @andduer.bsky.social, @mcortinaescudero.bsky.social, @yavuzmehmet.bsky.social and I had the great pleasure of hosting an excellent workshop at @unisalzburg.bsky.social on how to use Large Language Models #LLMs to boost International Relations research. A short 🧵1/4

1 8 7

Reposted by Clint Claessen

Stefanie Bailer @stefaniebailer.bsky.social · 16d

Our new study in
@jwpp.bsky.social
shows that online abuse on social media discourages young women from pursuing political offices—before their actual political careers have even begun.

with @dahoehmann.bsky.social and Tomoko Latteier

www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10....

An Early Leak in the Pipeline – Online Abuse as a Barrier for Young Women’s Political Engagement

You have to enable JavaScript in your browser's settings in order to use the eReader.

www.tandfonline.com

1 12 14

Reposted by Clint Claessen

Joachim Baumann @joachimbaumann.bsky.social · 26d

🚨 New paper alert 🚨 Using LLMs as data annotators, you can produce any scientific result you want. We call this **LLM Hacking**.

Paper: arxiv.org/pdf/2509.08825

$We present our new preprint titled "Large Language Model Hacking: Quantifying the Hidden Risks of Using LLMs for Text Annotation". We quantify LLM hacking risk through systematic replication of 37 diverse computational social science annotation tasks. For these tasks, we use a combined set of 2,361 realistic hypotheses that researchers might test using these annotations. Then, we collect 13 million LLM annotations across plausible LLM configurations. These annotations feed into 1.4 million regressions testing the hypotheses. For a hypothesis with no true effect (ground truth $p > 0.05$), different LLM configurations yield conflicting conclusions. Checkmarks indicate correct statistical conclusions matching ground truth; crosses indicate LLM hacking -- incorrect conclusions due to annotation errors. Across all experiments, LLM hacking occurs in 31-50\% of cases even with highly capable models. Since minor configuration changes can flip scientific conclusions, from correct to incorrect, LLM hacking can be exploited to present anything as statistically significant.$

5 94 260

Reposted by Clint Claessen

Simon Otjes @simonotjes.bsky.social · 27d

Mooi dat de SRV podcast terug is! @hakhverdian.bsky.social stukroodvlees.nl/aflevering-1...

Aflevering 134 – Verkiezingspotpourri, met Tom van der Meer - StukRoodVlees

We trappen het verkiezingsseizoen af met Tom van der Meer, hoogleraar politicologie aan de UvA. Tom en ik bespreken een hoop verschillende onderwerpen, waaronder de stand van zaken in de campagne (2:5...

stukroodvlees.nl

1 4 16

Reposted by Clint Claessen

Mehmet Yavuz @yavuzmehmet.bsky.social · Sep 8

Excited to announce the publication of my article in Comparative Political Studies on how crises shape the ideological legitimation strategies of authoritarian regimes. journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

3 16 37

Reposted by Clint Claessen

Tom van der Meer @tomwgvdmeer.bsky.social · Sep 5

Peilingen zijn nuttige instrumenten voor kiezers, politici, en media. Ze kunnen wezenlijke effecten hebben, vooral via de wijze waarop media er - juist én onjuist - over rapporteren.
Ook in de campagneperiode hoop ik dat journalisten en duiders de peilingen gebruiken waarvoor ze geschikt zijn:

1 11 27

Reposted by Clint Claessen

Simon Otjes @simonotjes.bsky.social · Sep 5

Veel zijn het er niet meer. Maar wat kenmerkt de kiezer van NSC? @mrooduijn.bsky.social start onze serie de plaatjes van de electoraatjes 2025 stukroodvlees.nl/plaatjes-van...

Plaatjes van de electoraatjes 2025: NSC - StukRoodVlees

Op 29 oktober zijn er verkiezingen voor de Tweede Kamer. In deze serie gaan wij aan de hand van een aantal grafieken in op de vraag wie de kiezers van de vijftien grootste partijen volgens de peilinge...

stukroodvlees.nl

1 3 8

Reposted by Clint Claessen

Petter Törnberg @pettertornberg.com · Aug 25

🚨 PhD Position at the University of Amsterdam 🚨

Join my team as a computer scientist / computational social scientist working on LLMs, social media, and politics.

We offer freedom, impact, and an inspiring environment at one of Europe's leading universities.

🔗 werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...

Vacancy — PhD Position on Improving Social Media Using Large Language Models

The Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC) at the University of Amsterdam is inviting applications for a fully funded PhD position in the NWO VIDI project "Improving Social Media Using L...

werkenbij.uva.nl

30 35

Reposted by Clint Claessen

British Journal of Political Science @bjpols.bsky.social · Aug 11

NEW -

How Mainstream Politicians Erode Norms - cup.org/4lfeHvD

"we find that statements by mainstream politicians lead to more norm erosion than similar statements by radical-right politicians"

- @valentimvicente.bsky.social, Elias Dinas & @dziblatt.bsky.social

#OpenAccess

BJPolS abstract discussing the dynamics of mainstream and radical political rhetoric regarding anti-immigrant policies, highlighting differences in societal responses and enforcement norms based on the source of the rhetoric.

4 93 180

Reposted by Clint Claessen

Catherine E. de Vries @catherinedevries.bsky.social · Aug 28

My Substack on writing, Respect the Marble is back! 🎉

I’ll be launching several new things this autumn, outlined here: catherineeunicedevries.substack.com/p/a-new-seas...

A quick preview 👇

🧵

A New Season for Respect the Marble

Introducing "Etched in Marble: Conversations with Writers" & "Sunday Writer's Digest"

catherineeunicedevries.substack.com

2 13 30

Reposted by Clint Claessen

Jonathan Ladd @jonmladd.bsky.social · Aug 26

In poli sci, "the top 20% of departments produced 75% of all faculty and the bottom 50% accounted for less than 5% of all tenure track faculty members at a research university. 49 programs did not have a single graduate placed in a TT position at a PhD-granting department in the past 10 years."

Where You Earn Your PhD Matters | PS: Political Science & Politics | Cambridge Core

Where You Earn Your PhD Matters

www.cambridge.org

13 19 94

Clint Claessen @clint0475.bsky.social · Aug 18

🚨Check out our new Preprint & give Sean a follow! :)👇

Sean Hamilton Palicki @seanhp.bsky.social · Aug 18

📢 New Preprint: "Don’t Look Up: Evaluating the Tradeoff between Performance and Sustainability of LLMs for Text Analysis."

Providing guidance for social scientists, we challenge the "bigger is better" narrative, instead encouraging social and environmental responsibility.

osf.io/preprints/so...

3

Reposted by Clint Claessen

Tom van der Meer @tomwgvdmeer.bsky.social · Aug 8

Ook het voorstel van Jort Kelder voor een direct gekozen premier is helemaal niet verstandig. Het zou ons parlementaire stelsel opblazen.
www.volkskrant.nl/columns-opin...
Wie kiezers echt een stem op de macht wil geven, kiest liever voor effectievere en constructievere middelen.

Opinie: Een direct gekozen minister-president blaast het parlementaire stelsel op

Nederland mist een manier om kiezers invloed te geven op het belangrijkste politieke ambt. Maar een direct gekozen premier is niet de oplossing, betoogt politicoloog Tom van der Meer.

www.volkskrant.nl

7 11 43

Reposted by Clint Claessen

EPSS @epssnet.bsky.social · Aug 7

EPSA have announced that they will hold a conference in July 2026.

😵‍💫 We understand that there might be some confusion about EPSS and EPSA.

👉🏽 So we thought we would clarify some things.

A short 🧵

1 150 180

Reposted by Clint Claessen

Simon Brause @simonbrause.bsky.social · Aug 4

2024 was a turbulent year in German politics: four elections, a surging far right, and the coalition's collapse. Our new Political Data Yearbook piece (with @lucykinski.bsky.social) traces the events leading to the 2025 snap elections.

@hhu.de @sceus.bsky.social

Political Data Yearbook @pdyearbook.bsky.social · Jul 30

🆕 #Germany 2024 #PoliticalData
🗳️ @lucykinski.bsky.social & Simon D Brause report on a year of political upheaval with 4 major elections, as #AfD + #BSW gained support, the economic crisis deepened + snap elections were called for 2025 after the coalition collapsed. #OlafScholz
✍️ buff.ly/A1whugR

5 8

Reposted by Clint Claessen

Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · Jul 31

Wow. A group of top scholars at Harvard just sent a letter to its president, Alan Garber, warning against surrendering to Trump.

Signatories include Steven Levitsky, Dani Rodrik, Ryan Enos, Theda Skocpol, and Steven Walt.

Someone forwarded it to me. Read it here:

93 1.2K 3.8K

Reposted by Clint Claessen

EPSS @epssnet.bsky.social · Aug 1

The European Political Science Society is now accepting paper & panel proposals for its annual conference!

📢 Call for Papers: EPSS 2026 – Belfast 
🗓️ June 18–20, 2026 
📍 ICC Belfast 
📬 Deadline: Nov 7, 2025

🧵

2 98 130

Reposted by Clint Claessen

Catherine E. de Vries @catherinedevries.bsky.social · Jul 11

Just discovered this gem on writing retreats by the brilliant @mirya.bsky.social

One question she addresses is: how I can make my normal life like a writing retreat?

More of this please!

If you're into smart reflections on writing, give this a read. 👇🏽

miryaholman.substack.com?utm_source=d...

#MHAWS: Mirya Holman's Aggressive Winning Scholars Newsletter | Substack

Surviving and thriving in academia. Click to read #MHAWS: Mirya Holman's Aggressive Winning Scholars Newsletter, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.

miryaholman.substack.com

2 18

Reposted by Clint Claessen

Eric Columbus @ericcolumbus.bsky.social · Jul 8

This site is gold:

mamdanitimes.com

Fake headline in NYT font:

Full Transcript: Mamdani Told Waitress 'You Too' After She Said 'Enjoy Your
Meal'

30 210 1.1K

Reposted by Clint Claessen

Hugo Ferrinho Lopes @hferrinholopes.bsky.social · Jul 3

Our paper has now been assigned a volume and issue number at JEPOP. Marco Lisi and I examine how spatial proximity, intra-party democracy, and party activism explain why some party members—often seen as their party’s most loyal voters—defect at the ballot box.

www.tandfonline.com/eprint/CMGCM...

Until another party do us part? Party members’ electoral disloyalty in Portugal

This article investigates whether and why party members sometimes vote for other parties. Although often taken as parties’ most loyal voters, recent evidence suggests that members’ vote is not unco...

www.tandfonline.com

2 3

Reposted by Clint Claessen

Cambridge University Press Political Science & IR @cambup-polsci.cambridge.org · Jul 4

#OpenAccess from the latest issue of @polanalysis.bsky.social -

Positioning Political Texts with Large Language Models by Asking and Averaging - cup.org/4leSKhe

- @glemens.bsky.social & @ainagallego.bsky.social

#LLM

A graphic featuring a red text "POLITICAL ANALYSIS" on a yellow background with the hashtag "OpenAccess" at the bottom.

5 7

Reposted by Clint Claessen

Political Studies @polstudies.bsky.social · Jul 2

How do populists define “the people”? @tiondelisa.bsky.social examines how right-wing populists construct ingroup identity through opposition. Read OPEN ACCESS: buff.ly/GEvXWhB

@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social @uoypolitics.bsky.social @sagepub.com #polsky #polsci #ECRs

7 23

Reposted by Clint Claessen

Jochen Rehmert @jochenrehmert.bsky.social · Jul 1

Now out with volume number!
“Selecting and Ranking Female Candidates under PR” (with Michael Jankowski @cerpintaxt.bsky.social) in European Journal of Political Research (doi.org/10.1111/1475...)

Selecting and ranking female candidates under PR: Evidence from a two‐stage conjoint experiment with party elites

Does gender affect candidate selection and list placement under proportional representation (PR)? Existing research argues that PR systems have a positive effect on women's representation due to a mo...

doi.org

2 7 20

Reposted by Clint Claessen

Jochen Rehmert @jochenrehmert.bsky.social · Jul 1

Another piece on candidate selection of mine is forthcoming in @thejop.bsky.social : Intra-party Competition, Geographic Responsiveness and Incumbent Deselection in Closed-List PR” (doi.org/10.1086/734244)

Intra-party Competition, Geographic Responsiveness and Incumbent Deselection in Closed-List PR | The Journal of Politics: Vol 0, No ja

doi.org

2 9 31