Have we seen peak Pegida?

Authorities in the Saxonian city of Dresden have issued a blanket ban on marches, demonstrations and outdoor assemblies following alleged islamist death threats against the founder of the “Pegida” (“Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident”) movement, who has masterminded the mass demonstrations in Dresden for the last three months. This is a highly…

Are Greek MPs rational?

With all that is going pear-shaped in the world, you would be forgiven not to be aware of the latest instalment in the Great Greek Political Drama Series. It actually had a rather long lead: The current president’s term was coming to an end, and Alexis Tsipras, the leader of the radical left opposition faction…

New Publication: The AfD: Finally a Successful Right-Wing Populist Eurosceptic Party for Germany?

I am pleased to be able to inform you that the editors are happy with the revisions you made to your article and we can now proceed to publication. I could not agree more. The revised article will appear in 2015, possibly rather late. Meanwhile, the author’s version of my piece on Germany’s Alternative party…

Five More Links I Liked

Sage advice from Andrew Gelman: How to read (in quantitative social science). And by implication, how to write. http://t.co/1nVQ62cVMj New Statesman | “It’s sad they’ve sunk to such depths”: Tories use Ukip candidate’s Turkish name on a leaflet http://t.co/DiznLrWmXX Sigh Your holiday shopping guide for political scientists – The Washington Post http://t.co/1GEEJpDiT3 PHD comic: not…

Five Links I Liked

Still looking for a Christmas present? Now available in Paperback: Class Politics and the Radical Right – Routledge http://t.co/ilhCXBlczm #InstantClassic Crooked Timber: Fly Air Gini http://t.co/s85aIzxA4u Art Goldhammer on Sarko’s inevitable comeback: He’s baaaaaack! http://t.co/5Q9Eu0Rt5L This has already happened as hinted at here: Trouble in (the Guardian’s) Paradise: anti-immigration party could bring Swedish government down…

More on Thuringia: A CDU-AfD-Pact?

Various news outlets reported this afternoon that there had been talks, perhaps even agreement between the (state) CDU and the (state) AfD to prevent Ramelow from being elected Minister-President. Obviously, nothing came out of this (neither party put a candidate on the slate), but still: Wither the blessing of the leadership, Merkel has created a…

Germany gets their first Minister-President of the Left

On Friday, the state parliament at Erfurt voted in Bodo Ramelow as Minister-President of Thuringia. He is the first member of the Left party to hold such an office, backed by the first ‘red-red-green’ (Left/SPD/Greens) coalition ever. 25 years after the fall of the wall, that is still a highly controversial constellation. Ramelow has been…