Zach Dickson
postdoc at LSE researching populism and climate politics
z-dickson.github.io
- Looking forward to this - if you’re in Oxford, please do join if it’s of interest!
- 📣Upcoming seminar: 'Green Backlash and the Political Consequences of Politicized Energy Prices', Dr Zach Dickson, London School of Economics. 🗓 5 Feb, 4-5:30pm 🎤 @zachdickson.bsky.social 🔗https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/963c17fc-3ba9-4ac6-88ee-4e61be651adb/
- Reposted by Zach DicksonI am hiring a post-doctoral fellow (2 years) to work on all things political finance in Africa. There are no teaching obligations, and lots of opportunities for fieldwork. A PhD in Political Science is a requirement. Please spread the word! Happy to answer questions - send them to my LSE email.
- 🚨We're #hiring! We're looking for a #Research #Fellow to join our team. The successful candidate will be part of the research project "Political #Finance in #Africa" led by Associate Professor @sarahbrierley.bsky.social for 2 years. 🗓️Apply by Monday 12 January 👇🏽 jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...
- Reposted by Zach DicksonI wanted dinner recommendations so I scraped 13,000+ London restaurants and accidentally discovered Google Maps is running a shadow economy. Anyway here's a dashboard and a political economy thesis: open.substack.com/pub/laurenle...
- Great postdoc opportunity to work with one of the best and brightest out there
- 🚨Jobs!🚨 3-year PostDoc positions (aka Research Officers) at @lsegovernment.bsky.social to work with me on the local consequences of border change. Please reach out for questions and apply by Jan 4th to join the team and department: I’d love to hear from you! Job ad: jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...
- Looking forward to presenting my research on energy prices and backlash to climate policies tomorrow at @granthamlse.bsky.social If you’re at LSE and have some free time from 1-2:30, come join! www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminst...
- Reposted by Zach Dickson🚨 LSE Assistant Professor in Political Science 🚨 We’re hiring a tenure-track assistant professor - any area of empirical political science - to join our wonderful Government Dept @lsegovernment.bsky.social Any questions, please reach out to me 📣 Please share! 📣 jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...
- We actually have a paper that finds exactly that! osf.io/preprints/so...
- 🚨 New working paper 🚨 We often see populist parties like Reform UK blame higher energy bills on climate change policies. What are the political consequences of this strategy? Very early draft; comments and criticisms are welcomed! full draft: z-dickson.github.io/assets/dicks...
- Reposted by Zach DicksonDo people in the Labour party think that you can recover from this? Is there any historic precedent for turning something like this around? Starmer has tied himself to a strategy, that strategy has failed. The consequence should be quite clear.
- Reposted by Zach DicksonResearch on this is clear: the uncertainty created by this policy will lead to people integrate less into British society. It is trading-off the reasonable policy goal of integration for the useless symbolism of immigration numbers. Bad policy to appease the far right. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
- Reposted by Zach DicksonThree German universities offering post-docs for researchers "who cannot conduct or continue their work in the USA appropriately because of actual political pressure. " www.uni-konstanz.de/zukunftskoll...
- Reposted by Zach DicksonThe evidence keeps accumulating that Brexit was an astonishing self-inflicted economic policy disaster. The fact that it is a slow-moving one bodes ill for those who think that populist economic mismanagement will translate into voters punishing populists. www.nber.org/system/files...
- Reposted by Zach Dickson"While testing one dimension at a time can yield simple results, those effects may not generalise to richer, real-world contexts." Read our new POAL Methods Briefs on Conjoint Experiments from Thomas Robinson! Link: www.poal.co.uk/research/met...
- great analysis!
- Reposted by Zach Dickson🚨 New LSE job in political science 🚨 We're looking for a *Full or Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Policy* to join the LSE School of Public Policy Please share! jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...
- Reposted by Zach DicksonGreat opportunity if you’re interested in pursuing a PhD in political science at @lsegovernment.bsky.social - with a particular interest in elections and campaigning ⬇️
- 🚨 We have a cool new ESRC PhD studentship opportunity on the topic of political persuasion for someone interested in campaigning, field experiments and/or computational methods @lsegovernment.bsky.social, in collaboration with @campaign-lab.bsky.social. All info 👇 www.lse.ac.uk/study-at-lse...
- I usually agree with Klein but I’m surprised/disappointed that he seems to suggest that sacrificing the political rights of certain groups in exchange for electoral victory should be a potential pathway forward for the Democratic Party Accommodation isn’t the answer
- Today’s episode of The Ezra Klein Show Ta-Nehisi Coates on Bridging Gaps vs. Drawing Lines Ta-Nehisi Coates joins the show to discuss how the left should think about the work of politics and persuasion in this moment. open.spotify.com/episode/4jQE... youtu.be/UaeoDlLNnok?...
- Reposted by Zach DicksonGood to see this important research getting a wider audience. Hope Labour advisors listen and learn
- For the Guardian, @turnbulldugarte.com and I discuss our research that clearly shows one thing: Labour's anti-immigration strategy will only strengthen Reform and weaken its own electoral prospects. It won't win voters back but ultimately normalizes the far right www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
- Labour continues to alienate its base by taking unpopular positions to appeal to a group of voters that likely would not even consider the party as a viable option at the polls
- For the Guardian, @turnbulldugarte.com and I discuss our research that clearly shows one thing: Labour's anti-immigration strategy will only strengthen Reform and weaken its own electoral prospects. It won't win voters back but ultimately normalizes the far right www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
- Thrilled to be giving a short talk on the politicization of climate change for the britishacademy.bsky.social 's Living with the planet LATE event! It's open to the public, so if you're in central London Oct 9, stop by! Details below ⬇️ www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/livin...
- Reposted by Zach Dickson🚨 Reminder: EuroWEPS-🇮🇹 applications are due 30 September 👇
- Reposted by Zach DicksonJust a reminder that Starmer's accommodation of the radical right has not paid any electoral dividends to date. It's difficult to imagine circumstances in which it would...
- Radical right accommodation really does not work. New paper out with this exceptionally talented team @katharinalawall.bsky.social @robjohns75.bsky.social @drjennings.bsky.social @sarahobolt.bsky.social @zachdickson.bsky.social @danjdevine.bsky.social & @jack-bailey.co.uk doi.org/10.31235/osf...
- Great opportunity in a great department!
- We're hiring an Assistant Professor in Computational Social Science ❗ 📚 jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/... Apply before 26 October and join an internationally outstanding group of social science methodologists 🌎
- Great lineup this year!
- The @lsegovernment.bsky.social Political Behaviour Seminar Series will be back for the '25/26 academic year, as usually on Thursdays, 4-5pm, in CBG 4.17. Let us know if you are external and want to attend in-person, or join remotely on Zoom. More info here: www.lse.ac.uk/government/r...
- Political violence is always bad and should always be condemned, but I disagree with Ezra's take that Kirk's practice of preaching white supremacy and spreading dangerous misinformation was "practicing politics the right way"
- The author disabled quotes.Charlie Kirk Was Practicing Politics the Right Way www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/o...
- Reposted by Zach DicksonWe're excited to share some EPSS @epssnet.bsky.social updates with you - and we're so grateful to the political science community in Europe (and beyond!) for the amazing support 👇
- 📢 EPSS community updates! We’re excited to share some milestones and announcements with you 👇 epssnet.org/news/
- Reposted by Zach DicksonRadical-right parties are often linked to the “left-behind”. But supporting them when stigma is strong is costly. So who is willing to pay that cost early on, before it’s normalized? In my new WP, I argue that breaking political norms is socially stratified. 🧵👇
- Reposted by Zach DicksonExcellent piece by Ezra Klein: if Dems really believe that Trump is creating an authoritarian government they should not continue to fund it. The shutdown is their only leverage right now to draw attention to what is happening and maybe force change. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/07/o...
- Reposted by Zach DicksonWe have a paper on how Labour's strategy is disastrous. There's an exclusive coverage in @newstatesman.com www.newstatesman.com/politics/202...
- Radical right accommodation really does not work. New paper out with this exceptionally talented team @katharinalawall.bsky.social @robjohns75.bsky.social @drjennings.bsky.social @sarahobolt.bsky.social @zachdickson.bsky.social @danjdevine.bsky.social & @jack-bailey.co.uk doi.org/10.31235/osf...
- Reposted by Zach DicksonRadical right accommodation really does not work. New paper out with this exceptionally talented team @katharinalawall.bsky.social @robjohns75.bsky.social @drjennings.bsky.social @sarahobolt.bsky.social @zachdickson.bsky.social @danjdevine.bsky.social & @jack-bailey.co.uk doi.org/10.31235/osf...
- Reposted by Zach Dickson📢 Call for Papers – London Experimental Seminar Series (LESS) in Political Science @lsegovernment.bsky.social. We are launching a new forum for experimental political science research: First seminar: 19/11/2025. Deadline: 31/08/2025. Submit here: forms.gle/ZUJcBbZoDoaY...
- Reposted by Zach DicksonApply to EuroWEPS 12/13! We're organizing the next EuroWEPS workshops at Bocconi (Nov 14) and EUI (Dec 15) to discuss designs/papers focusing on causal inference. No presentations, just constructive discussions. Early career scholars are especially welcome to apply! Submission deadline is Sep 30
- Reposted by Zach DicksonNEW - Media Platforming and the Normalisation of Extreme Right Views - cup.org/4mmVIAL "exposure to uncritical interviews increases agreement with extreme statements and perceptions of broader support in the population" - @dianebolet.bsky.social & @florianfoos.bsky.social #OpenAccess
- Reposted by Zach Dickson📢 New Publication 📢 📄 Review article in Nature Climate Change It examines how resistance to climate policy is reshaping politics & why populist right parties are the main beneficiaries? (with Valentina Bosseti, Italo Colantone & Giorgio Musto) Short 🧵 🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Reposted by Zach Dickson📢 Call for papers: "Political Identities in Europe" workshop, Nov 13-14, 2025 @uvahumanities.bsky.social @theresakuhn.bsky.social How are political identities constructed across Europe? Deadline: Sept 26, 2025. 🔗 Info & submission: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
- Reposted by Zach DicksonFrom pubs to populism: what the decline of community space means for democracy Rosa Marks explores how rebuilding social & cultural infrastructure can help reverse the UK’s slide into distrust, division & populist politics? www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/blog/social-... @britishacademy.bsky.social
- Reposted by Zach DicksonI hugely enjoyed speaking to Matt Mulford on the TRIUM Connects podcast about the rise of challenger parties and populism and the future of European integration Listen in here if you’re interested: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...
- Such a great time with such brilliant people! Huge thanks to the organizers for hosting an exceptional workshop!
- Together with @jellekoedam.bsky.social, @tinepaulsen.bsky.social, and @nicolaiberk.bsky.social, we brought together an amazing group of researchers doing exciting work here in Zurich — and it turned into a super fun, engaging workshop. Huge thanks to everyone who joined and made it so special!
- Love to see it
- Great to see this out! Populist right parties are increasingly politicising climate change Nowhere is this more evident than in the UK where Farage has made opposition to Net Zero a key issue for Reform UK
- New article from our latest issue (Issue 8, 2025): "Going Against the Grain: Climate Change as a Wedge Issue for the Radical Right" by Zachary P. Dickson @zachdickson.bsky.social and Sara B. Hobolt @sarahobolt.bsky.social journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.... #polisky #socialscience #academicsky
- Great to see this out!
- From our new issue: "Elite Cues and Noncompliance" by Zachary P. Dickson (@zachdickson.bsky.social) and Sara B. Hobolt (@sarahobolt.bsky.social). #APSRNewIssue www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
- Reposted by Zach DicksonNew preprint w/ @grahn.bsky.social & @joenoonan.se What happens when the world's most powerful democracy rolls back core liberal values? 🇺🇸 In this paper, we show how US liberal retrenchment, especially on women’s rights & LGBTQ+ equality, damages US global standing. 📄 doi.org/10.31219/osf...
- Both illegal and authoritarian
- Incredible resource for people studying political communication in Europe 🗣️
- EuroSpeech: Massive Multilingual Parliamentary Speech Corpus - 78,100+ hours across 22 European languages - 50,500+ hours of quality-filtered data (CER < 20%) - Robust alignment algorithm for non-verbatim texts - Dramatically expands resources for 19+ languages huggingface.co/datasets/dis...
- Very cool design and important findings!
- A Tinder Test of Democratic Norms💋 New paper in @thejop.bsky.social with @bertous.bsky.social We rely on a visual conjoint experiment, cross-sectional data, & panel data to show that affective polarization drives the normalisation of the far right among the centre-right 🇬🇧🇪🇸 doi.org/10.1086/736698
- Reposted by Zach DicksonGreat threat by @robertsaunders.bsky.social on the key strategic mistake by Labour in adopting the populist right framing of immigration as the main cause of public service decline Also relates to work on how this framing of the crisis of the NHS has helped UKIP/ Reform: catherinedevries.eu/NHS.pdf
- Reposted by Zach Dickson🚨 PhD position in Political Communication at @ascor.bsky.social 🚨 Come work with @ulrikeklinger.bsky.social @lindabos.bsky.social and myself on a 4-year project about visual communication & political anger DL June 4 - Thanks to repost for diversity! 🔥 @polcomm.bsky.social ➡️ tinyurl.com/8yvbkwxu
- Cool new work on the influence of visible deprivation and support for the populist right
- Reposted by Zach Dickson1/6 📢 Just as Germany announces it will begin turning back asylum seekers at its borders (starting May 6), our new article in European Journal of Political Research is out: 🧵👇 “Closed borders, closed minds?” doi.org/10.1111/1475... #BorderPolitics #EUPolitics #Schengen #COVID19 #EJPR
- Exactly. When people have economic opportunities and functioning public services, immigration doesn’t even register for many. But when immigrants are viewed as competition for resources, demand for anti-immigrant policies and parties increases
- Great thread! Labour’s underperformance in the locals is a warning: political momentum is fragile when grievances go unaddressed. Without visable improvements to the NHS and other public services, voter patience won't last. Reinvesting in public services isn’t just good policy, it’s good politics
- 🗳️ Populism is a warning sign. English local elections show it again: People feel abandoned & look scapegoats. Drawing on own research & others, I argue 👇🏽 💡 To counter populism: We need to reinvest in citizens, e.g. housing, health & dignity. Short 🧵 📖 www.socialeurope.eu/to-counter-p...
- Really interesting findings! I think Trump & co have tried to make 'woke ideology' something more complex/nebulous, but it seems voters know exactly what it means. The 'fight against woke ideology' is simply a fight against black and trans folks and women's rights
- What do Americans associate with 'wokeness'? Find out now in our new open access article that @respol.bsky.social released just in time to ring in my 30th birthday! (with @benji9253.bsky.social, Kal Munis, and Spencer Goidel) journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... 🧵
- very thorough and thoughtful post on the rise of right-wing populism in Europe. Very much looking forward to the next installment!
- First instalment of my substack primer on right-wing populism in Europe is out. jacobedenhofer.substack.com/p/explaining...
- Reposted by Zach DicksonExcited to welcome @dbroockman.bsky.social at the @lsegovernment.bsky.social Political Behaviour seminar today! He will present a paper on “How Constituent Contact Reinforces the Status Quo: Evidence from Administrative Records on Contact to Congress” today *4-5 pm UK time* (in-person or online)
- great to see this out!
- 🚨 New paper out at @jeppjournal.bsky.social. We show a growing youth gender gap in far-right support, driven by young men. 3 key findings in 🧵⬇️ w/ @zachdickson.bsky.social @sarahobolt.bsky.social @heikekluever.bsky.social @theresakuhn.bsky.social @tonirodon.bsky.social doi.org/10.1080/1350...
- Reposted by Zach DicksonSome of my reflections @theguardian.com today on what the US embrace of Russia means for the EU & how Germany can play a leading role. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
- Reposted by Zach DicksonNew working paper! In this research note, @bogatyrev.bsky.social, @tabouchadi.bsky.social, @heikekluever.bsky.social, @lstoetze.bsky.social, and I present the first systematic test that causally identifies the electoral consequences of state-sponsored homophobia: osf.io/preprints/os... 🧵Thread
- Reposted by Zach DicksonHere is what to watch out for in the 6pm exit polls: 1) does the CDU cross 30% & how large is the gap to the AfD? 2) is there a majority of seats for a CDU-SPD coalition? This is the easiest (but by no means easy) coalition to negotiate. 3) are FDP and BSW in or out? 4) how well does die Linke do?
- Hard to imagine this working out in Trump’s favour
- Reposted by Zach DicksonJoin us on 26 February for another Methods Short Course ➡️ this time, it's "Casual Interference for Observational Data" with @zachdickson.bsky.social. This course will introduce students to the principles and methods of causal inference for observational data. Sign up➡️ buff.ly/4hXn7GZ
- Reposted by Zach DicksonWe have a new LSE Postdoctoral Fellow position in Political Behaviour (with some regional focus on Comparative European politics or EU politics). You can contact @sarahobolt.bsky.social @mathiaspoertner.bsky.social or me with any questions. Deadline is 7 March: jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...
- Reposted by Zach Dickson📣Call for papers! Dr Daniel de Kadt and @audreyalejandro.bsky.social are hosting a two-day workshop on "Computational Social Science meets Qualitative Research" Learn more➡️ www.lse.ac.uk/Methodology/... @lsedatascience.bsky.social
- Looking foward to teaching an all-day workshop on using LLMs for social science research on Feb. 12! If you're interested in learning how to apply LLMs in your research, please consider joining! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/applied-la...
- I wonder how much these findings are driven by framing effects. Posing specific policies with their potential tradeoffs would probably generate very different results
- Fascinating polling from @opiniumresearch.bsky.social Nepean testing Trump policies in UK - even 'end Net Zero' and 'only two genders' get public support (if NZ framed as 'we'll still make petrol cars'). Bumper support for deportations, merit-based society, restoring free speech and, er, tariffs...
- We often hear Trump's defenders tell people not to take what he says so literally. Yet, evidence suggests that many of his supporters do exactly that: doi.org/10.1017/S000...
- "Saying 'Trump wants everyone paying attention to this' is one thing; saying 'Trump doesn’t actually mean the things he’s saying about this' is another." Today's Morning Shots from @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social and @eggerdc.bsky.social: www.thebulwark.com/p/take-trump...
- Reposted by Zach Dickson❗New year, new you? Fancy starting a PhD in under 10 months' time? We have several openings with deadlines from 8th January
- Reposted by Zach DicksonOpportunity here for someone interested in campaign experiments within the progressive ecosystem in the UK. Some training in experiments/causal inference a big plus/stats background required. Also ideal for a recent graduate interested in PhD research afterwards: apply.workable.com/campaign-lab...
- Impressive accuracy and speed improvements over the current BERT models and a native sequence length over 8k! arxiv.org/abs/2412.13663
- big fan of this from APSR 👇
- Reposted by Zach DicksonNew paper published @ajpseditor.bsky.social Showing that reduced access to public services fuelled far right support in 🇮🇹 Existing work on far right highlights globalization & migration grievances, what about people’s experiences with the state? We use 🇮🇹 reform to find out shorturl.at/zQ8bJ
- Some great content for your morning commute 👇
- Podcast alert 🧵🚨 In the seventh episode of our podcast, @vikburgi.bsky.social and I talk to @valentimvicente.bsky.social about the normalization of the radical right and the role of social norms. open.spotify.com/episode/5TD8...
- Reposted by Zach DicksonIn months ahead, 🇪🇺 leaders need to decide long term strategy to tackle 🇪🇺 economic, fiscal, industrial and security challenges Conventional view is that 🇪🇺 is forged in crisis as Monnet’s saying goes But radical right’s rise in last decade might seriously complicate 🇪🇺’s road to reform 🧵
- Reposted by Zach Dickson🚨 New paper 🚨 with @pstanig.bsky.social forthcoming at @thejop.bsky.social 🎉 about the political consequences of climate-related disasters 🌲💦⚠️ Pre-print 👉 osf.io/preprints/os... Summary 🧵👇
- Reposted by Zach DicksonExcited to welcome @antvalentim.bsky.social at the @lsegovernment.bsky.social Political Behaviour seminar today! He will present his paper "Climate Change and Political Entry: Evidence from Brazilian Municipal Elections" today *4-5 pm UK time* (in-person or online)
- Reposted by Zach Dickson🚨🚨🚨 Job opportunity: 3-yr Postdoc on Inequality & Polarization in my team, with 1-yr secondment @ LSE DSI. Pol economy/behaviour research + strong quantitative/computational methods expertise required. Apply here shorturl.at/XzpXi by Jan 7, 2025. Feel free to reach out with any questions! #polisky
- Reposted by Zach DicksonMany thanks to @siennanordquist.bsky.social for this nice summary of my recent article in the APSR with @zachdickson.bsky.social - on how Trump's social media messages can influence the behavior of his supporters. You can read about it here: politicalsciencenow.com/partisanship...
- Despite whether Trump is simply "joking" when he makes controversial statements, his words can have a dramatic influence on the behavior of his supporters Great summary of our recent work on the effects of Trump's social media messages politicalsciencenow.com/partisanship...
- Great explainer on the differences in estimands. Enjoyable read and some cool figures too 📊
- From the archives: Have you (like me!) wondered what the ATT means and how it's different from average treatment effects? I use #rstats to explore why we care about (and how to calculate) the ATE, ATT, and ATU #polisky #episky #econsky www.andrewheiss.com/blog/2024/03...
- Reposted by Zach Dickson🚨 Picnic Notifications 📨: After much popular demand, you can now subscribe to weekly email notifications from paper-picnic.com. All new content from 30+ political science journals in 1 no-fluff email on Fridays.
