Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Roberto Valli @robertovalli.bsky.social · 7d

Congratulations Sven!! 🔥

1

Roberto Valli @robertovalli.bsky.social · 15d

Congrats Theresa!

1

Roberto Valli @robertovalli.bsky.social · 15d

Congrats Reto, such an awesome location!

1 1

Reposted by Roberto Valli

Jan P. Vogler @janvogler.bsky.social · 29d

Finally, if you are at #APSA2025, make sure to stop by at our HPE panel.

When? Sun, Sep. 14, 10 AM

Who?
M. Wilfahrt, L. Arriola, @yoseftadesse.bsky.social, I. Kolesnikov, @ricarthuguet.bsky.social, J. Pierskalla, D. Smith, @jguardado.bsky.social, @robertovalli.bsky.social , @carlmc.bsky.social 🥳

5 10

Roberto Valli @robertovalli.bsky.social · Sep 5

Congratulations Carl!! 🥳

Such an exciting project, with many new and incredibly creative ways to learn from history & untapped data sources.

I cannot wait to see how it progresses & to contribute!

Carl Müller-Crepon @carlmc.bsky.social · Sep 4

🎉 I am so very happy that I was awarded an ERC Starting Grant for my project BORDERS: Border Change and Local Development in Europe and Beyond. My (future) team and I will investigate the mechanisms underlying the effects of border change on development in historical Europe and worldwide. #ERCStG 🎉

1 2

Roberto Valli @robertovalli.bsky.social · Aug 27

Grateful to @princetonpolitics.bsky.social for a fantastic year — and to all the friends who made it special. Also thanks to @uni-konstanz.de for hosting me this summer.

Next week begins a new chapter as a Max Weber Fellow @eui-eu.bsky.social — an exciting institution in a beautiful city!

6

Reposted by Roberto Valli

Nature @nature.com · Jun 16

From today, all new submissions to Nature that are published will be accompanied by referees’ reports and author responses — to illuminate the process of producing rigorous science

https://go.nature.com/4kIRR01

Transparent peer review to be extended to all of Nature’s research papers

From today, all new submissions to Nature that are published will be accompanied by referees’ reports and author responses — to illuminate the process of producing rigorous science.

go.nature.com

13 120 310

Roberto Valli @robertovalli.bsky.social · Jun 9

Well, that is true, but it is no wild idea. Countries with lots of experience in referenda keep dropping good, calibrated policy thanks to 50% +1 of 35%. It's hard to find the right thresholds to balance noise and voice...

Roberto Valli @robertovalli.bsky.social · May 22

Are you sure it's the right country? 😉

1 4

Reposted by Roberto Valli

Thomas Kurer @thmskrr.bsky.social · Apr 30

🚨3-Year Postdoc Position in Zurich @ipz.bsky.social

❓Political implications of labor market transformation

Plenty of flexibility, no teaching obligations, great research environment in an highly livable city.

Deadline: May 18, 2025.

tinyurl.com/postdoczurich

#polisky #poliscijobs #psjminfo

tinyurl.com

2 82 88

Roberto Valli @robertovalli.bsky.social · May 1

Such a cool paper, congratulations!!

Carl Müller-Crepon @carlmc.bsky.social · Apr 29

🚨 Very excited that our paper on *Rulers on the Road* has been cond. accepted at the AJPS @ajpseditor.bsky.social. We analyze emperors' strategies of itinerant rule in the Holy Roman Empire 919-1519. Fun working with @claranw.bsky.social, @andrejkokkonen.bsky.social & Jørgen Møller shorturl.at/Spm7z

Itineraries of 25 Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, 919 to 1519

Itinerant rule, rule exercised through traveling, was a common, yet insufficiently researched pre-modern form of governance. Studying the determinants of ruler itineraries in the Holy Roman Empire AD 919-1519, we argue that rulers focused on monitoring `marginal' elites. Powerful rulers could count on family members and thus targeted unrelated local elites. Weak emperors had to monitor their less loyal relatives and left unrelated nobles unvisited. We reconstruct emperors' itineraries from 72'665 dated and geolocated documents and measure territorial control by their relatives. Exploiting the weakening of imperial power through the Great Interregnum (1250-1273), we find that strong, pre-1250 emperors frequented areas controlled by their relatives relatively less. In contrast, family control increased visits post-1273. Causal identification rests on the discontinuous reduction of emperors' power through the Great Interregnum and differences in family relations between subsequent emperors. The results show strategic itinerant rule as an important but understudied form of governance.

1 2

Reposted by Roberto Valli

Lorcan Roche Kelly @lorcanrk.bsky.social · Apr 22

Confused over who's in the running to become the next pope?
But you do have some knowledge of financial-crisis era central bankers?
This is the thread for you!

13 99 310

Roberto Valli @robertovalli.bsky.social · Apr 10

🚨 Working paper 🚨

Excited to share a new version of our paper on religious clientelism with Massimo Troncone!

doi.org/10.31219/osf...

We investigate how politicians exploit personal connections with community leaders to establish mutually beneficial relationships.

3 6

Roberto Valli @robertovalli.bsky.social · Apr 4

Excited to present early work on the effects of border change on ethnic composition coauthored with @carlmc.bsky.social !

Please join our fantastic panel you are at MPSA. @mpsa.bsky.social

2 5

Reposted by Roberto Valli

American Political Science Review @apsrjournal.bsky.social · Mar 21

Just published on APSR First View: "The Train Wrecks of Modernization: Railway Construction and Separatist Mobilization in Europe" by Yannick Pengl, Carl Müller-Crepon, Roberto Valli, Lars-Erik Cederman, and Luc Girardin. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

6 15

Roberto Valli @robertovalli.bsky.social · Feb 15

Had a fantastic time in Notre Dame this week! The weather was freezing cold but the welcome as warm as any.

Thanks to @marcjacob.bsky.social for the hosting me and to all the CP Workshop attenders for the great discussion!

2

Roberto Valli @robertovalli.bsky.social · Feb 12

It has been fantastic to visit NYU Politics today. Met amazing people and had a great time!

I was able to present work on religious clientelism with Massimo Troncome . Thanks @rozenas.bsky.social for the invite and everyone else for the constructive discussion.

2

Reposted by Roberto Valli

Simone Cremaschi @simonecremaschi.bsky.social · Jan 29

🚨New paper forthcoming @apsrjournal.bsky.social!🚨

How do economic shocks shape politics?

We study a plant disease epidemic in Italy🌱—finding it fueled far-right support

It’s not just economic loss but how shocks uproot communities and interact with perceptions of state neglect

shorturl.at/ntKyt

5 31 96

Roberto Valli @robertovalli.bsky.social · Jan 28

Link to the preprint version: robertovalli.com/files/train_...

2

Roberto Valli @robertovalli.bsky.social · Jan 28

Our findings provide a more nuanced evaluation of the effects of modernization. While France witnessed the relatively peaceful assimilation of peripheral groups, the broader picture suggests resistance to state-building, especially in weak, autocratic states with large excluded groups.

1 1

Roberto Valli @robertovalli.bsky.social · Jan 28

We find that groups exposed to railway connection experience increased probability of separatist mobilization. Results are robust to an IV strategy and other checks. Our measures of separatism span from the emergence of nationalist organizations to full-fledged armed rebellion.

1

Roberto Valli @robertovalli.bsky.social · Jan 28

Our DiD strategy exploits the staggered connection of European ethnic groups to the railway network. 1830s-1920s, railways expanded from the state center to the periphery. Together with trade and communication, railroads brought state penetration and internal connectivity.

1

Roberto Valli @robertovalli.bsky.social · Jan 28

🚨 Pub alert 🚨

I am incredibly excited that my first publication with the amazing Yannick Pengl, @carlmc.bsky.social, Lars-Erik Cederman and
Luc Girardin has been finally accepted
@apsrjournal.bsky.social
!
We study the consequences of increased state reach in multiethnic states.

🧵 [1 / 4]

1 4 20

Roberto Valli @robertovalli.bsky.social · Dec 10

Congrats Theresa!

1

Reposted by Roberto Valli

Carl Müller-Crepon @carlmc.bsky.social · Oct 10

So happy to see my article with @janinadill.bsky.social and @marniehowlett.bsky.social on Ukrainian’s preferences to resisting the Russian invasion in this AJPS issue with so many fantastic papers! doi.org/10.1111/ajps...

1 3 12