Delia Zollinger
Postdoc at EUI & Uni Zurich | political behavior, comparative politics, political sociology, political economy
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerWe're excited about the next edition of our Summer School for Women* in Political Methodology, this time organized by the 💫 local team in Mannheim!
- 🚨 Join us for the next edition Summer School for Women* in Political Methodology in Mannheim 🚨 7 days of hands-on advanced methods + networking for PhDs, postdocs & early-career researchers. Free of charge (limited travel support). Deadline 1 March 2026: summerschoolwpm.org #methodsky #polisky
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerThis is a brilliant piece on the restructuring of political competition in Western Europe and goes far beyond the question of populism. Great also for teaching.
- The 1️⃣article of our 5️⃣0️⃣Anniversary Special Issue "Debating European Politics: Advances and Perspectives" is out!🎉 "The rise of populism and the new cleavage" by Hanspeter Kriesi, describing contemporary populism is likely to be a temporary phenomen. 🔗https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2025.2591874
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerFrom October 2025 - Educational Networks, Social Closure, and Cleavage Stabilization - cup.org/47ifc4B "we show that educational divides are diminished in the presence of countervailing networks" - @davidattewell6.bsky.social & @dpzollinger.bsky.social #OpenAccess
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerNew Publication with @lhaffert.bsky.social in @ejprjournal.bsky.social! We study the role of generations in the urban-rural divide, which is increasingly shaping the politics of many democracies. Studying Switzerland, we show: The urban-rural divide is stronger among younger generations. (1/10) 🧵👇
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerNew publication w/ my friend & amazing coauthor @fedetrastulli.bsky.social in @ejprjournal.bsky.social! 🎉 doi.org/10.1017/S147... We explore: Who considers which political issues as important & how is this related to sociodemographic/socioeconomic variables?
- In this new paper, we use open-ended survey questions to study how people perceive (changes in) social hierarchies. We show how and among whom status gains of women, ethnic minorities, or LGBTQ+ people are saliently perceived–namely among progressives, not just conservatives!
- New article out in @cpsjournal.bsky.social with Tabea Palmtag and @dpzollinger.bsky.social 📝 We use open-ended survey questions (in Germany) to assess how and among whom social status shifts are perceived. This tests cultural backlash narratives in voters' perceptions. 🔗 doi.org/10.1177/0010...
- Reposted by Delia Zollinger💡 How does moving to opportunity reshape political behavior? 🗞️ In our new BJPolS paper, @thmskrr.bsky.social and I show that residential relocations that increase access to opportunity foster political integration and shift political preferences to the left. 👉 tinyurl.com/46utjj65
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerNEW - Educational Networks, Social Closure, and Cleavage Stabilization - cup.org/47ifc4B "we show that educational divides are diminished in the presence of countervailing networks" - @davidattewell6.bsky.social & @dpzollinger.bsky.social #OpenAccess
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerExcited to have this paper on social networks as a mechanism for cleavage stabilization with @dpzollinger.bsky.social out! If we have you intrigued, also pairs with (and empirically engages) our theoretical piece on puzzles of contemporary cleavage research: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
- How are contemporary cleavage structures stabilized in times of declining mass social and political organizations? In this new paper with @davidattewell6.bsky.social @bjpols.bsky.social, we suggest that homogeneous social (educational) networks provide part of the answer. tinyurl.com/49cs8jwp
- How are contemporary cleavage structures stabilized in times of declining mass social and political organizations? In this new paper with @davidattewell6.bsky.social @bjpols.bsky.social, we suggest that homogeneous social (educational) networks provide part of the answer. tinyurl.com/49cs8jwp
- We fielded a survey in UK/DE/CH to study people’s close social ties. We observationally show that educational divides regarding party support, attitudes & identities are moderated by network composition. Our theoretical argument on networks' stabilizing role links cleavage/social network research.
- We stress the importance of social structure for polarization along a new cleavage --> policies shaping network segregation matter! Also see this paper by @jonadejong.bsky.social @jonnekamphorst.bsky.social who come to similar conclusions based on different data/countries. tinyurl.com/47edtwtc
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerShare widely with your students in Switzerland 🇨🇭thinking about a PhD @eui-eu.bsky.social 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗘𝗨𝗜 𝗣𝗵𝗗 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸 🇨🇭 21 Nov 2025 | 2:30pm CET @alissasiara.bsky.social introduces the program & life at EUI, I share my experience, and we answer your questions. 👉 Register: www.eui.eu/events?id=58...
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerNEW - Seeking Opportunity in the Knowledge Economy: Moving Places, Moving Politics? - cup.org/3LgxVos "moving to opportunity results in... more left-leaning self-identification, and lower support for far-right parties" - @valentinaconsiglio.bsky.social & @thmskrr.bsky.social #OpenAccess
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerHow can we compare the size and structuring power of different cleavages over time? Check out @jacobgunderson.bsky.social 's great paper and dataset for scholars working on cleavages at the party system level! The latest from @dpzollinger.bsky.social and I's Special Issue in @wepsocial.bsky.social.
- 💥OUT NOW! "Cleavage size and stability in turbulent times: introducing the bloc volatility and fragmentation dataset" by @jacobgunderson.bsky.social Part of SI "Cleavage Politics in Western Democracies", edited by @dpzollinger.bsky.social & @davidattewell6.bsky.social doi.org/10.1080/0140...
- Reposted by Delia Zollinger1st article from my dissertation is out in Perspectives today!! two takeaways: a) knowledge economy 'winners' may not be subject to status loss but they sure care about status preservation & b) this is consequential for their attitudes re: immigration & diversity. Thnx 2 all along this journey!!
- #OpenAccess from @poppublicsphere.bsky.social - The Politics of Status Preservation: Immigration and the Knowledge Economy Class - cup.org/3VYHxGx - @briittavs.bsky.social #FirstView
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerEvery academic career is built on rejection, but we don’t show it. CVs list publications, grants & awards, not rejected manuscripts, unfunded proposals, or failures. But those invisible rejections shape us more than our successes ever do. 👉 catherineeunicedevries.substack.com/p/fail-bette... 🧵
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerJUST OUT: "Boundaries and Cleavages: Elements of a Cultural Sociology of Political Divides." OA: direct.mit.edu/ecps/article... It develops what the cultural sociology of group formation can contribute to research on political cleavages. (And why "Somewheres vs Anywheres" really doesn't cut it.)
- Reposted by Delia Zollinger💥Out now: The introduction to the Special Issue "Cleavage Politics in Western Democracies" "Updating cleavage theory for the twenty-first century" by @dpzollinger.bsky.social & @davidattewell6.bsky.social doi.org/10.1080/0140...
- New SI "Cleavage Politics in Western Democracies" @wepsocial.bsky.social! If you're interested in transforming social & political divides in advanced democracies, this is for you. The intro by @davidattewell6.bsky.social & me maps contributions around 3 challenges for contemp. cleavage research.
- @dpzollinger.bsky.social and I are thrilled "Cleavage Politics in Western Democracies" is out as an SI at @wepsocial.bsky.social! Its papers explore the foundations of the cleavage pitting new left against radical right parties, and how it compares to the classic cleavages of Lipset & Rokkan: 🧵⬇️
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerFor 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...
- Reposted by Delia Zollinger🚨📢 I am hiring a PhD candidate /research assistant in Swiss Politics and/or Comparative Politics (100%)! 🚨📢 Je recrute un·e assistant·e diplômé·e en science politique en politique suisse et comparée! Please join me @unil.bsky.social, Switzerland! Thanks for sharing! polisky @sspunil.bsky.social
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerEver asked yourself how to detect and extract social groups from texts with computational social science? @haukelicht.bsky.social and me have a solution for you out at @bjpols.bsky.social. You can also find the pre-trained models on huggingface!
- NEW - Detecting Group Mentions in Political Rhetoric A Supervised Learning Approach - cup.org/45WZppQ - @haukelicht.bsky.social & @ronjasczepanski.bsky.social #OpenAccess
- Another fantastic piece out in our "Cleavage Politics in Western Democracies" special issue! (co-edited with @davidattewell6.bsky.social ) @mierkezat.bsky.social et al investigate the role of civil society in contemporary cleavage formation. There are a few more SI contributions still to come!
- I’m very excited to share that my paper “Cleavage theory meets civil society: A framework and research agenda” with @eborbath.bsky.social & Swen Hutter has now been published online in @wepsocial.bsky.social (w/ open access funding thanks to @wzb.bsky.social!) www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerWe have a new article out in Politics & Society. We analyze how perceptions of sociocultural and socioeconomic inequalities structure electoral behavior. Instead of a dividing line between these inequalities, we find that supporters of left parties are more opposed to all types of inequality.
- Even in times of sociocultural conflict, a progressive left electorate is more averse to sociocultural *and* socioeconomic inequalities than (far) right voters. New paper with @siljahausermann.bsky.social Palmtag @tabouchadi.bsky.social @stefwalter.bsky.social Berkinshaw tinyurl.com/d42wyb79 1/n
- Even in times of sociocultural conflict, a progressive left electorate is more averse to sociocultural *and* socioeconomic inequalities than (far) right voters. New paper with @siljahausermann.bsky.social Palmtag @tabouchadi.bsky.social @stefwalter.bsky.social Berkinshaw tinyurl.com/d42wyb79 1/n
- We investigate two contrasting hypotheses: First, voters of new left parties (higher-educated, professionals, etc.) might emphasize sociocultural inequalities at the expense of economic ones–and vice versa for far right voters. 2/n
- Second, a rival theoretical approach expects a single dimension of conflict over inequality: Even today's more higher-educated middle class left electorate should be averse to both socioeconomic and sociocultural inequalities–while far right voters are generally more tolerant of stratification 3/n
-
View full threadBut at the party system level, the lower divisiveness of socioeconomic inequalities may reduce incentives for parties to mobilize on these as opposed to sociocultural issues, potentially fostering a crowding out of traditional socioeconomic inequalities by sociocultural conflicts. 7/n
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerMy department at Leuphana University offers 6 fully funded PhD scholarships (incl. research funding) for three years. If you are interested in studying democratic resilience (particularly party competition and elections 🤓) and you have a strong methodolgical background: Apply! shorturl.at/kcTbG
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerI'm hiring another postdoc (research-focused, for almost 5 years) for my @erc.europa.eu project on the educational cleavage! I'm looking for someone with strong quantitative text-analysis skills (e.g. #NLP, #LLM, etc.) to study the role of political actors in cleavage formation.
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerReally happy to see my work with @dweisstanner.bsky.social published with @bjpols.bsky.social. In this letter, we look at symbolic class signalling through cultural consumption and how effective it is across voters of different parties. A thread 👇 (1/n) #OpenAccess - cup.org/3GSCIKV
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerHow much competition within the right field? ❗Segmentation is eroding, especially among young voters❗ New article out by @siljahausermann.bsky.social @dpzollinger.bsky.social @mrsteenbergen.bsky.social and myself @ipz.bsky.social @wepsocial.bsky.social tinyurl.com/ycxfx2aj A short 🧵 1/7
- Reposted by Delia Zollinger❗The segmentation of the right field is eroding, especially among young voters❗ New article out by @simonbornschier.bsky.social @dpzollinger.bsky.social @mrsteenbergen.bsky.social and myself @ipz.bsky.social @wepsocial.bsky.social tinyurl.com/ycxfx2aj A short 🧵 1/7
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerCan government policies moderate political backlash to structural change? Yes, the effect operates through material benefits and social recognition. 🚨New WP by @retobuergisser.bsky.social, @siljahausermann.bsky.social, @thmskrr.bsky.social and @susanadptavares.bsky.social 🚨 shorturl.at/zFbZE
- Reposted by Delia Zollinger🚨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
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerNew paper out at @cpsjournal.bsky.social! With Ian McAllister, we examine how party competition and party positions condition the presence and size of an age gap in voting for the left. A short 🧵 below! journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerCall for scholars in political behavior (broadly understood) studying Central & Eastern Europe: workshop hosted by @eui-eu.bsky.social, June 19-20. 2nd edition. Participants from the region can have their travel & accommodation fully covered. Apply by 28/3. More info: www.eui.eu/en/projects/...
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerChristina Zuber is hiring a Polish Speaking Postdoc for her new project w/ experience in qualitative methods. I often join this incredibly friendly group for coffee, research discussions and outings and am thankful for Christina's sharp mentorship during my postdoc so apply and join us! :)
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerNew publication in @wepsocial.bsky.social with @retobuergisser.bsky.social, @siljahausermann.bsky.social, and Michael Pinggera. We map the welfare preferences of voters at the poles of the second, GALTAN dimension of political conflict. 🧵
- Online first & open access: "The welfare preferences of socially liberal and socially conservative voters" by @matthiasenggist.bsky.social @retobuergisser.bsky.social @siljahausermann.bsky.social & Michael Pinggera doi.org/10.1080/0140... #Polisky #Academicsky
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerI must admit that I was thrown off by the Bourdieu reference, but this is a very interesting contribution to the "cleavage politics" literature that should be read together with the groundbreaking new Cambridge Elements by Bornschier et al.
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerDo citizens stereotype Muslims as inherently homophobic? In a new @bjpols.bsky.social paper w/ @bertous.bsky.social & @michaelhunklinger.bsky.social we answer this question using a double-list experiment across 🇬🇧 🇺🇸 🇩🇪 🇳🇱 doi.org/10.1017/S000... Spoiler: Yes. 🧵
- Reposted by Delia Zollinger@dpzollinger.bsky.social and my article on social identities and cleavages now with page numbers in the latest issue of EPSR: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerNEW ISSUE - European Political Science Review - Volume 17 - Issue 1 - cup.org/4hFOlBK w/ papers by @dpzollinger.bsky.social, @sofiabrei.bsky.social, @lwestheuser.bsky.social, @rmichaelalvarez.bsky.social, @dschraff.bsky.social, @ehernandez.bsky.social, & more #OpenAccess cc @ecpr.bsky.social
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerIs there a gender youth gap in far-right voting and cultural attitudes across EU countries? 🚻🇪🇺 With Amy Alexander and Nicholas Charron, we have a new Gender Update out in @ejpgjournal.bsky.social. We find much cross-country variation, but... 🧵 bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journal...
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerHow do voters navigate fragmenting party landscapes with parties behaving in an ever more strategic matter? In this short CUP book, we suggest that group identities mediate the link between social structure and ideological party blocks. 1/8
- New Cambridge Element 'Cleavage Formation in the 21st Century' by Simon Bornschier, @lhaffert.bsky.social, @siljahausermann.bsky.social, Marco Steenberge & @dpzollinger.bsky.social out now! Read #OpenAccess here: cup.org/3ZLtQ0o #cambridgeelements #politics
- Reposted by Delia Zollinger#OpenAccess from our new issue - When Group Appeals Backfire: Explaining the Asymmetric Effects of Place-Based Appeals - cup.org/4hsHP1f - @lhaffert.bsky.social, Tabea Palmtag & @dschraff.bsky.social "we show that group appeals improve candidate evaluation among subordinate (rural) voters"
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerI am very, very happy to announce that I successfully defended my dissertation titled "Generational Voting Effects in Western Europe"! Four intense but also very inspiring years have come to an end: PhDone!
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerOur paper on how plant disease pandemic destroying olive groves in 🇮🇹 fuelled far right support by activating local community narrative of state neglect forthcoming @apsrjournal.bsky.social 🧵 below ⬇️ For nerds: also presents research design for combing causal inference with ethnographic research
- Reposted by Delia Zollinger#OpenAccess from our new issue - When Group Appeals Backfire: Explaining the Asymmetric Effects of Place-Based Appeals - cup.org/4hsHP1f - @lhaffert.bsky.social, Tabea Palmtag & @dschraff.bsky.social
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerMe and current/recent team members @dpzollinger.bsky.social @retobuergisser.bsky.social @lhaffert.bsky.social (Postdocs) @feisenring.bsky.social @indubioproreto.bsky.social (PhD students) are happy to answer questions. More on me: siljahaeusermann.org More on IPZ: tinyurl.com/nvserevm
- Reposted by Delia Zollinger‼️ Hiring ‼️ Two (!) positions in my group at @ipz.bsky.social in Zurich 📣 1 postdoc position (3+3 years) 📣 1 PhD position (3,5 years) Application deadline in early March. Job ads & details: tinyurl.com/3p6yhptk We are an international and friendly department with excellent working conditions
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerWe often define the ideological space in terms of the economic and cultural dimensions; how does this resonate with ordinary citizens? This is the question Thomas and I explore in a new Element, analyzing answers to open-ended survey questions 🧵 cup.org/4gEYCOj
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerNew Cambridge Element 'Cleavage Formation in the 21st Century' by Simon Bornschier, @lhaffert.bsky.social, @siljahausermann.bsky.social, Marco Steenberge & @dpzollinger.bsky.social out now! Read #OpenAccess here: cup.org/3ZLtQ0o #cambridgeelements #politics
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerToday, feeling close to cosmopolitans or feminists separates voters of the left from right voters who identify with people who are down to earth and hard working. Yet, these identities do have structural roots, just like class identities did. Our short CUP book on cleavage formation is out in OA.
- New Cambridge Element 'Cleavage Formation in the 21st Century' by Simon Bornschier, @lhaffert.bsky.social, @siljahausermann.bsky.social, Marco Steenberge & @dpzollinger.bsky.social out now! Read #OpenAccess here: cup.org/3ZLtQ0o #cambridgeelements #politics
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerIn January, we are going to launch the Progressive Politics Research Network (PPRNet). It is our goal to make research findings more accessible for the broader public and to engage with journalists, politicians and other practitioners. We focus on the left and progressive field.
- You can still submit paper proposals for this workshop before 23 November! polisky
- Excited that this workshop on cleavage politics is happening at the ECPR Joint Sessions 2024 in Lüneburg. Find all the information here: ecpr.eu/Events/Event... You can propose papers until 23 November. We look forward to your submissions! Feel free to get in touch with any questions. polisky
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerMy book is here! Such a wonderful feeling to see it in print. While the book covers a group of parties that is very successful in the volatile party systems of Centr.&Eastern Europe, I learned a lot from studying these parties for party system change in general. A thread 1/10
- Excited that this workshop on cleavage politics is happening at the ECPR Joint Sessions 2024 in Lüneburg. Find all the information here: ecpr.eu/Events/Event... You can propose papers until 23 November. We look forward to your submissions! Feel free to get in touch with any questions. polisky
- Reposted by Delia Zollinger👋 Hello bluesky & polisky! We are the Department of Political Science at the University of Zurich. Follow us for updates on our work.
- Reposted by Delia ZollingerDo you want to analyze documents written in different languages, but you don't know what challenges you'll face and what solutions exist? Then @fabiennelind.bsky.social and I got you covered with our guide to multilingual text analysis in Comp Comm. Research. 👇👇 www.aup-online.com/content/jour...