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Steve Rosenzweig

@scrosenzweig.bsky.social

1.9K followers 290 following 140 posts

Political scientist studying political violence, ethnic politics, polarization, democratization and democratic erosion. Aspiring ski bum. Book: tinyurl.com/2z2r3rnw

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Steve Rosenzweig @scrosenzweig.bsky.social · Nov 12

Welcome to new followers! I'm a political scientist studying political (especially election-related) violence, ethnic politics, and polarization, as well as democratization and democratic erosion. Much of my research is on Kenya. I also like to put the U.S. in comparative perspective. Recent book:

Voter Backlash and Elite Misperception

Cambridge Core - African Government, Politics and Policy - Voter Backlash and Elite Misperception

www.cambridge.org

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Reposted by Steve Rosenzweig

G Elliott Morris @gelliottmorris.com · 2d

Why most polls overstate support for political violence
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/most-polls...

Why most polls overstate support for political violence

Misperceptions about the popularity of violence increase public support for it — but you can help change that.

www.gelliottmorris.com

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Donghyun Danny Choi @dhdannychoi.bsky.social · 7d

So happy to see this out! We caution against excessive optimism that the opposition will restore countries back to their democratic trajectories after electoral victory. Weakened institutions and the memory of repression makes it tempting to continue rather than buck the trend of autocratization.

Journal of Democracy @jodemocracy.bsky.social · 7d

Conventional wisdom says that, once in power, opposition parties will return backsliding countries to the democratic path. In reality, not only is this not true, but it is not uncommon for the opposition to adopt the autocratic habits of the regime they replaced.

muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
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Steve Rosenzweig @scrosenzweig.bsky.social · 7d

More evidence of backlash against politicians associated with political violence

Journal of Peace Research @jpeaceresearch.bsky.social · 7d

📢 New publication! 📢
Does political violence backfire in mature democracies?
In this article, @kkrakows.bsky.social (@kingscollegelondon.bsky.social) and @juansemorales.bsky.social (Wilfrid Laurier University) examine how the January 6 US Capitol Attack affected public support for US politicians.

Reposted by Steve Rosenzweig

Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 7d

🚨 New Bright Line Watch report on state of US democracy
brightlinewatch.org/violence-red...

-Expert ratings ~= since April but ↓ substantially since January
-US now most closely resembles an illiberal democracy
-Partisan gap in democracy ratings highest since 2017

Full thread of results below

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Rory Truex @rorytruex.bsky.social · 14d

Here's 90 minutes with @adamprz.bsky.social,
Sue Stokes, Steven Levitsky, and
@dziblatt.bsky.social on the state of American democracy right now. It was a great honor for me to be able to convene this set of people to speak together at this moment. Please share! open.spotify.com/episode/0F8W...

The State of American Democracy with Steven Levitsky, Adam Przeworski, Susan Stokes and Daniel Ziblatt | The Civic Forum E10

Spotify video

open.spotify.com

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Steve Rosenzweig @scrosenzweig.bsky.social · 16d

All they say is it’s not safe for sleeping. So I interpret that to mean it’s fine when they’re awake.

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Zander Furnas @alexanderfurnas.com · 22d

when your wars are too crimey even for john yoo, boy howdy

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 22d

“.. There has to be a line between crime and war,” said John Yoo, a former deputy assistant attorney general under President George W. Bush.

@politico.com
www.politico.com/news/2025/09...

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Steve Rosenzweig @scrosenzweig.bsky.social · 28d

and Nazi Germany

Radio and the Rise of The Nazis in Prewar Germany *

Abstract. How do the media affect public support for democratic institutions in a fragile democracy? What role do they play in a dictatorial regime? We stu

academic.oup.com

Steve Rosenzweig @scrosenzweig.bsky.social · 28d

Would also mention the studies that show that hate speech/propaganda from the government/political elites increases violence against targeted groups, including Rwanda

Propaganda and Conflict: Evidence from the Rwandan Genocide *

Abstract. This article investigates the role of mass media in times of conflict and state-sponsored mass violence against civilians. We use a unique villag

academic.oup.com

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Steve Rosenzweig @scrosenzweig.bsky.social · 28d

Kuipers at al suggests that incumbency by religious extremists may increase local religious violence against minorities by increasing religious intolerance

Does Electing Extremist Parties Increase Violence and Intolerance? | British Journal of Political Science | Cambridge Core

Does Electing Extremist Parties Increase Violence and Intolerance? - Volume 51 Issue 3

www.cambridge.org

Steve Rosenzweig @scrosenzweig.bsky.social · 28d

My book has some experimental evidence from Kenya that exposure to violent rhetoric increases support for violence

Voter Backlash and Elite Misperception

Cambridge Core - Comparative Politics - Voter Backlash and Elite Misperception

www.cambridge.org

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Steve Rosenzweig @scrosenzweig.bsky.social · 28d

Hard estimand to get at, but:

Reposted by Steve Rosenzweig

Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 28d

We must stand resolutely against political assassination and political violence of all kinds, and just as resolutely against everyone who exploits acts of violence as the pretext or excuse for political repression of political opponents.

Zack Beauchamp @zackbeauchamp.bsky.social · 28d

Very, very bad stuff coming from leading right-wingers

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Steve Rosenzweig @scrosenzweig.bsky.social · 28d

Agreed

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Matt Pearce @mattdpearce.com · 28d

Information environment has reached its grotesque conclusion in that there is a very real killer out there who has not been identified, apprehended, or investigated, a detail practically inconsequential to nearly every commentator’s purposes.

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Steve Rosenzweig @scrosenzweig.bsky.social · 28d

Yep. But it only works if it goes both ways.

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Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · Sep 8

I mean what on earth are district court judges supposed to do at this point other than get the message from SCOTUS to let Trump do whatever he wants to no matter what the law says.

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Neeraj Prasad @neerajprsd.bsky.social · Sep 8

🚨🚨🚨Announcing a special issue on “Political Violence in Democracies” published by @jpeaceresearch.bsky.social and edited by @andrearuggeri.bsky.social, U Daxecker, and me. In this very long 🧵, I will introduce the special issue with its 14 articles. doi.org/10.1177/0022...

Political violence in democracies: An Introduction - Andrea Ruggeri, Ursula Daxecker, Neeraj Prasad, 2025

It is well established that democracies experience less political violence than autocracies. Paradoxically, however, this widely accepted fact has led scholars ...

doi.org

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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · Aug 28

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

The Perverse Consequences of the Easy A

In the era of grade inflation, students at top colleges are more stressed than ever.

www.theatlantic.com

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Daniel Ziblatt @dziblatt.bsky.social · Aug 28

A new piece I wrote appearing in FOREIGN AFFAIRS today

www.foreignaffairs.com/germany/warn...

Warnings From Weimar

Why bargaining with authoritarians fails.

www.foreignaffairs.com

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G Elliott Morris @gelliottmorris.com · Aug 28

over the last week, several political scientists i trust have declared trump a dictator and that america is not a full functioning democracy anymore. see here:

goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com/p/where-we-a...
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-author...

i think making a list clarifies this:

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Steve Rosenzweig @scrosenzweig.bsky.social · Aug 27

Reposted by Steve Rosenzweig

Hanne Fjelde @hannefjelde.bsky.social · Aug 19

I am hiring! 1-2 post-docs to join my project on political violence in democracies at @uupeace.bsky.social!

UppsalaPeaceConflict @uupeace.bsky.social · Aug 14

We are looking for 1–2 postdoctoral researchers to join the project “Political Violence in Democracies”, led by @hannefjelde.bsky.social

📌 Full-time, 2-year postdoctoral position
📆 Start Date: Dec 1, (or by agreement)
📍 Location: Uppsala
⏳ Apply by: Oct 1

Read more: www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...

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Radicalization papers @radicalpapers.bsky.social · Aug 6

“Conceptualizing Election-Related Violence” in Terrorism and Political Violence www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Conceptualizing Election-Related Violence

Electoral violence has become an increasingly common manifestation of political violence around the globe. Reflecting the growing significance of this form of violence, there has been a sharp rise ...

www.tandfonline.com

Reposted by Steve Rosenzweig

Steve Rosenzweig @scrosenzweig.bsky.social · Aug 12

Now out: new article w/ @niloufersiddiqui.bsky.social - "Conceptualizing Election-Related Violence" - takes stock of the rapidly growing literature on election violence, identifying points of agreement and disagreement across studies on how the concept is defined and disaggregated into sub-types.

Conceptualizing Election-Related Violence

doi.org

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