Jimmy Dawson
@jimmydawson.bsky.social
Assistant Professor in Politics and IR. The views expressed here are personal and do not reflect those of Coventry University. There!
Today’s FT op-eds, summarised.
Janan Ganesh: Starmer and Reeves are useless but they’re better than Labour MPs because the latter won’t withdraw disabled allowance.
Michael Strain: I work for the American Enterprise Institute. Billionaires are great. I did my job.
Janan Ganesh: Starmer and Reeves are useless but they’re better than Labour MPs because the latter won’t withdraw disabled allowance.
Michael Strain: I work for the American Enterprise Institute. Billionaires are great. I did my job.
July 2, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Today’s FT op-eds, summarised.
Janan Ganesh: Starmer and Reeves are useless but they’re better than Labour MPs because the latter won’t withdraw disabled allowance.
Michael Strain: I work for the American Enterprise Institute. Billionaires are great. I did my job.
Janan Ganesh: Starmer and Reeves are useless but they’re better than Labour MPs because the latter won’t withdraw disabled allowance.
Michael Strain: I work for the American Enterprise Institute. Billionaires are great. I did my job.
Geography quiz: Can you name the country that maintains over 140 military installations around the world for the sole purpose of serving US foreign policy better than it otherwise could?
June 10, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Geography quiz: Can you name the country that maintains over 140 military installations around the world for the sole purpose of serving US foreign policy better than it otherwise could?
Did Political Science Get Central and Eastern Europe Wrong?
Our blog article (6-minute read), with Lise Herman and Aurelia Ananda, has just been published by LSE. It summarises the findings of two of our recent papers, in Comparative European Politics (2024) and Problems of Post Communism (2025).
Our blog article (6-minute read), with Lise Herman and Aurelia Ananda, has just been published by LSE. It summarises the findings of two of our recent papers, in Comparative European Politics (2024) and Problems of Post Communism (2025).
blogs.lse.ac.uk
April 1, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Did Political Science Get Central and Eastern Europe Wrong?
Our blog article (6-minute read), with Lise Herman and Aurelia Ananda, has just been published by LSE. It summarises the findings of two of our recent papers, in Comparative European Politics (2024) and Problems of Post Communism (2025).
Our blog article (6-minute read), with Lise Herman and Aurelia Ananda, has just been published by LSE. It summarises the findings of two of our recent papers, in Comparative European Politics (2024) and Problems of Post Communism (2025).
Could somebody who understands that liberal as well as conservative elites leverage media and institutional power in undemocratic ways please get this job?
VDem is well-conceived; but if it can’t record that the left has been contained in the West, what use is it?
VDem is well-conceived; but if it can’t record that the left has been contained in the West, what use is it?
Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Political Science and Director of the V-Dem Institute
The Department of Political Science fosters an international academic community that welcomes students, researchers and
web103.reachmee.com
February 12, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Could somebody who understands that liberal as well as conservative elites leverage media and institutional power in undemocratic ways please get this job?
VDem is well-conceived; but if it can’t record that the left has been contained in the West, what use is it?
VDem is well-conceived; but if it can’t record that the left has been contained in the West, what use is it?
Reposted by Jimmy Dawson
Good morning fellow Brits. I am understandably seeing a lot doomscrolling around news from the US yesterday and dunking on Musk's Nazi salute.
Alternative proposal: let's collectively approach our employers, local public bodies, favourite organisations etc and demand they leave Twitter already.
Alternative proposal: let's collectively approach our employers, local public bodies, favourite organisations etc and demand they leave Twitter already.
January 21, 2025 at 10:24 AM
Good morning fellow Brits. I am understandably seeing a lot doomscrolling around news from the US yesterday and dunking on Musk's Nazi salute.
Alternative proposal: let's collectively approach our employers, local public bodies, favourite organisations etc and demand they leave Twitter already.
Alternative proposal: let's collectively approach our employers, local public bodies, favourite organisations etc and demand they leave Twitter already.
What is a suitable historical analogy for the practice of centrism as oligarchy has engulfed the West?
I'm thinking "Appeasement".
I'm thinking "Appeasement".
Musk Wants a “Super High IQ” Aristocracy
YouTube video by Bernie Sanders
youtube.com
January 20, 2025 at 11:24 AM
What is a suitable historical analogy for the practice of centrism as oligarchy has engulfed the West?
I'm thinking "Appeasement".
I'm thinking "Appeasement".
TikTok is being banned (or more likely sold and neutered by algorithm) only because it functions as a counterpublic "where members of subordinated social groups invent and circulate counter discourses to formulate oppositional interpretations of their identities, interests, and needs" (Fraser 1990)
January 18, 2025 at 9:31 AM
TikTok is being banned (or more likely sold and neutered by algorithm) only because it functions as a counterpublic "where members of subordinated social groups invent and circulate counter discourses to formulate oppositional interpretations of their identities, interests, and needs" (Fraser 1990)
How did political science do on democratization in Central & Eastern Europe? We analysed 500 papers published 2000-2015.
- Positivist papers, concentrated in top journals, tended optimistic.
- Interpretivist papers, often from CEE, were more cautious but less visible.
doi.org/10.1080/1075...
- Positivist papers, concentrated in top journals, tended optimistic.
- Interpretivist papers, often from CEE, were more cautious but less visible.
doi.org/10.1080/1075...
Getting Central and Eastern Europe Right? How Greater Academic Pluralism Would Improve Collective Knowledge-Building in Democratization Studies
Until a decade ago, the idea that Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) had successfully democratized prevailed in political science. In the current context of democratic malaise, it has been argued tha...
www.tandfonline.com
January 16, 2025 at 4:45 PM
How did political science do on democratization in Central & Eastern Europe? We analysed 500 papers published 2000-2015.
- Positivist papers, concentrated in top journals, tended optimistic.
- Interpretivist papers, often from CEE, were more cautious but less visible.
doi.org/10.1080/1075...
- Positivist papers, concentrated in top journals, tended optimistic.
- Interpretivist papers, often from CEE, were more cautious but less visible.
doi.org/10.1080/1075...
Hello friends, I'm going to see how I get on on BlueSky... I was never on Twitter, so this is a new thing for me.
January 16, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Hello friends, I'm going to see how I get on on BlueSky... I was never on Twitter, so this is a new thing for me.