Michael Bang Petersen
Auditing the challenges of democracy in the 21st century for the Danish parliament with a particular focus on social media, mistrust and political alienation.
Political science professor at Aarhus University, Denmark.
- Reposted by Michael Bang Petersen»Eliten findes, og den er pervers,« skriver Rune Lykkeberg om Epstein-afsløringerne.
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenThis article, new in Comparative Political Studies, seems relevant The Way Back After Backsliding: Public Opinion and the Restoration of Democracy journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenGreat to see "The Way Back After Backsliding: Public Opinion and the Restoration of Democracy" with @robbwiller.bsky.social and @m-b-petersen.bsky.social out in @cpsjournal.bsky.social journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenBy a more than two-to-one margin, Americans overall oppose President Donald Trump’s proposal to take over Greenland from Danish control. Democrats overwhelmingly oppose the U.S. taking over Greenland whereas Republicans are more divided.
- Come to the Danish music festival, Copenhell, for the metal music and stay for all the insights from my brilliant partner, @ella-p.bsky.social! She’ll talk about bias against the bodies of biological women in medical research and how to communicate on a polarized topic to young people.
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenSo important. What they say is not the story. That is never the story. What happened is the story. Write what happened.
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenAn observer arrested in Suth Minneapolis. Photo by Richard Tsong-Taatarii/The Minnesota Star Tribune
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenThe problem with this narrative, which is everywhere, is that it presupposes that if Trump had simply asked to be able to station more troops in Greenland, the Danes would have said No.
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenVery happy that our review article (with the @annualreviews.bsky.social) on „Austerity and Populism“ is now available as preprint: www.annualreviews.org/content/jour... - with @sattlersthomas.bsky.social
- International media focus on a Cypern-like deal with transferral of sovereignty to the US for local areas in Greenland with military bases. Yet, the Danish primeminister just said on a press meeting that "we are, of course, not ceding sovereignty." www.dr.dk/nyheder/indl...
- "A country that cannot feed itself, fuel itself or defend itself has few options. When the rules no longer protect you, you must protect yourself." A grim description of the new world order by the Canadian PM at Davos: www.cbc.ca/news/politic...
- Joint response to Trump’s threats from Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom: “We are committed to upholding our sovereignty.” www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/such...
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenTrump can put a million-percent tariffs on Denmark, and it still doesn't change the answer about Greenland. There are only two possible endings to this bizarre story. Either Trump gives up, or else he goes through with a military invasion.
- Demonstrations across cities in Denmark, organized by Greenlandic civil organizations. Directed against the Trump administration and its moves to take over Greenland.
- A question to my US political science friends: Danish & Greenlandic leaders are meeting today with Vance & Rubio in the White House. Is there a risk that the meeting will contain a televised pre-meeting (as in the Zelenskyj debacle) or would this be highly unlikely, based on regular protocol?
- The Danish Prime Minister & the Leader of the Parliament of Greenland is right now hosting a joint press meeting. The Greenlandic leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, emphasized that they are part of the Danish Kingdom & does not in any way want to be bought by, controlled by or become part of the US.
- What would Greenlanders want? The latest available opinion poll: 85 % says "No" to the question "Do you want Greenland to exit the Danish Kingdom and instead become part of United States?" The poll (www.veriangroup.com/da/news-and-...) also show that a small majority supports independence from DK
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenWhat drives populists to accept expert advice? Cross-country study by A Peresman, @thoruplars.bsky.social, @honoratam.bsky.social & @m-b-petersen.bsky.social compares how populists & non-populists evaluate expertise: buff.ly/e3JweIV @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social @uoypolitics.bsky.social @sagepub.com
- “The United States uses economic power, including threats of high tariffs, to impose its will and no longer rules out the use of military force—even against allies." That's the verdict in the official report on threats to Denmark from our Defence Intelligence Service: www.fe-ddis.dk/globalassets...
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenEuropeans are waking up this morning to find the new US National Security Strategy (quietly) released. And what it has to say on Europe could not be clearer. On the „stark prospect of civilizations erasure“ for example. 👇
- We have now published our 6th book on the state of Danish democracy, this time focusing on the government: unipress.dk/media/ohvdt3... Based on the largest survey of gov bureaucrats in Danish history, conclusions are overall positive. But some findings show deeper systemic problems 👇 (1/3)
- 69 % of government bureaucrats feel that the speed of politics influence legislative quality. 44 % agree that many political decisions lack a sound analytical foundation. Only 27 % disagree. This is one of the clearest signs I have seen that acceleration also impacts the political system. (2/3)
- The causes are many incl gov centralization, media pressure & an increasing role of informal agreements between parties that needs to be implemented by the gov. These involve other positive effects, e.g. increased effectiveness & stability. But it is relevant to ask: Has the balance tipped? (3/3)
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenVi sidder klar i Landstingssalen til den årlige statuskonference for Magtudredningen 2.0. Det er altid spændende at følge med i det vigtige arbejde. I dag med fokus på magtbalancen i den offentlige samtale og fagligheden i folkestyret. #dkpol @m-b-petersen.bsky.social
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenHvordan påvirker et fragmenteret medielandskab den offentlige samtale? Hvad sker der med fagligheden i embedsværket, når tempoet stiger? I dag præsenterer forskerne bag Magtudredningen 2.0 de nyeste resultater i Landstingssalen. 🎥 Se med kl. 13: mobiltv.ft.dk/video/20251/fpr/tv.…
- It seems like researchers' inboxes across the EU and North America are exploding with replies to an survey invitation. At least, mine is. I feel the urge to share this New York Times classic but I'll do it here rather than in the email chain...
- Reposted by Michael Bang Petersen
- Four (!) three-year postdoc positions available at @au.dk: international.au.dk/about/profil... Join an incredible team & help understand the psychological & political implications of the clash between high-speed society & slow-speed democracy. Please share! @tboeggild.bsky.social can help with Qs
- Reposted by Michael Bang Petersen🆕 What kind of personalities are drawn to politics? 🗳️ This cross-national study across 🇨🇦🇩🇰🇮🇱🇳🇱🇨🇭 explores #Representation and how honesty-humility and other HEXACO personality traits shape people’s ambition to run for office 🧵1/2 buff.ly/xk4qMa3
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenUddannelsesdebatten i Nørre Nissum sætter fokus på unge og trivsel med Rasmus Meyer på scenen. “Ansvar er bedst til indvortes brug” Hal Koch 1947 gælder iflg. Meyer fortsat i dag Torsdag gæstede bl.a. @m-b-petersen.bsky.social debatten. #Dkudd @au.dk @majahorst.bsky.social
- To underscore @brendannyhan.bsky.social's point, this is the verdict (in March) from Lindberg, directing a world-leading research group on democracy: "If it continues like this, the United States will not score as a democracy when we release [next year's] data." And continued it has. 1/2
- Scholars are sounding the alarm. Michigan's @donmoyn.bsky.social has an important piece declaring that we are in authoritarianism now. (donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-author...) Here's Dartmouth's @brendannyhan.bsky.social making a similar argument.
- Here is the article: www.cbc.ca/news/world/t... 2/2
- Reposted by Michael Bang Petersen🌅📙64.3 COVID beyond left and right 🦠 @m-b-petersen.bsky.social & @louisehalberg.bsky.social examine the divide in #COVID19 attitudes using surveys from 🇺🇸🇬🇧🇸🇪🇩🇰🇩🇪🇭🇺🇫🇷 & 🇮🇹 across left and right wing voters to determine how important system trust is in shaping cleavages. 🔗 buff.ly/ckcsLxK
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenField and experimental research by @a-marie-sci.bsky.social & @m-b-petersen.bsky.social suggests people tend to share ideologically congruent news on social media more when like-minded ingroup (vs outgroup) members are watching: buff.ly/pAU4cAH
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenTheir paranoid projections were predictions, a common phenomenon described in "The Deadly Ethnic Riot," as explained by @m-b-petersen.bsky.social in this interview re the broader evolutionary phenomena such deception is part of: www.salon.com/2021/08/08/a...
- Reposted by Michael Bang Petersen🔥New Open access paper in @pnasnexus.org with @m-b-petersen.bsky.social 🔥 "Motivations to connect with like-minded audiences increase partisan sharing on social media" academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenReminder: Great job opportunities at Aarhus University! Please help spread the word before everyone disappears for summer break! 🏖️
- 📣 Jobs, jobs, jobs! Aarhus University’s Department of Political Science is hiring: 🔹 Assistant Professor 🗓 Deadline: 25 August 🔗 international.au.dk/about/profil... 🔹 Associate Professor 🗓 Deadline: 8 September 🔗 international.au.dk/about/profil...
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenI have completely missed the drama behind this but this report by @catherinedevries.bsky.social @simonhix.bsky.social and @sarahobolt.bsky.social is very instructive: I had no idea EPSA was tied to a for-profit company and membership fees went to its 3 shareholders(!) epssnet.org/wp-content/u...
- 🚨 Big News for European Political Science 🚨 We’re thrilled to announce the launch of the European Political Science Society (EPSS): a new, member-led, not-for-profit association built to support our scholarly community. 🔗 epssnet.org Here’s a thread with everything you need to know. 🧵
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenSom Birthe Larsen skriver i sin bog: “Hvorfor stiger uligheden - og hvad gør vi ved det?“lever vi i et Danmark,der er blevet mere opdelt, og det har en række konsekvenser for vores livsbetingelser.Ulighed er relevant ud fra et magtperspektiv, da det påvirker muligheden for at deltage i demokratiet”
- Spændende mulighed for grave dybt i indsigterne fra Magtudredningen 2.0 med lidt AI-assistance
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenI går var en vild dag! Jeg fik lov at kombinere min passion for metal og politik i samarbejde med @stinuslindgreen.bsky.social og @m-b-petersen.bsky.social. Tak til @sophiehaestorp.bsky.social @astroandreas.bsky.social, Henrik Dahl og Anja C Andersen for at dele passionen🤘❤️ @forperson.ida.dk #fmdk
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenDe første tre bøger fra @magtudredningen2.bsky.social er landet. Det er nærmest pligtlæsning for folk interesseret i status i det danske samfund og demokrati. Denne bog, som kan hentes gratis, af @1864.bsky.social, @mikmeyer.bsky.social og @m-b-petersen.bsky.social 👇 unipress.dk/udgivelser/m...
- Reposted by Michael Bang Petersen@m-b-petersen.bsky.social forklarer i et interview til @videnskab.dk om nogle af de bekymringspunkter den nye @magtudredningen2.bsky.social er kommet frem til. Her med fokus på lobbyisme i dansk politik #dkpol #dkmedier #dkøko videnskab.dk/kultur-samfu...
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenMin bog - Dansk demokrati i perspektiv - skrevet med David Andersen og udarbejdet i forbindelse med Magtudredningen 2.0 er netop udgivet! Gratis E-bog og gratis lydbog er tilgængelige her: unipress.dk/udgiv.../d/d...
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenDette er en af de ting vi ikke kommer uden om at tage alvorligt. Politik er mere og mere blevet et ‘erhverv’ med mange ansatte og underleverandører. politiken.dk/danmark/poli... @m-b-petersen.bsky.social
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenVores demokrati er forudsætningen for den kevevis, vi kender, og nok det vigtigste vi kan give videre til næste generation. Vi ved nu, at det desværre kan afmonteres relativt let. Magtudredningen 2.0 gransker situationen i Danmark. @m-b-petersen.bsky.social www.berlingske.dk/politik/i-tr...
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenDe tre første bøger fra magtudredningen bør være pligtlæsning. Mange af de ting som @m-b-petersen.bsky.social her peger på, flugter meget godt med det som vi har påpeget gennem flere år. Vi behøver ikke vente til ‘28 for at handle: www.berlingske.dk/politik/i-tr...
- Reposted by Michael Bang Petersen🧵 Several people have raised questions about what I meant by "deservedly so" when referring to the decline of institutional trust. It's a fair question, so I want to explain that, because it sits at the heart of my work on how democracies collapse when their epistemic foundations rot.
- And a collective failure to address the rising economic inequality occurring across the Western world. In Denmark - known for it’s generous welfare state - the richest have seen an increase in income 16 greater than the average citizen since the turn of the century. Same or worse elsewhere.
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenThere is no bigger story right now than the White House asserting that California residents are in a state "of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States."
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenThis was up there with one of @rafaelbehr.bsky.social's best eps. I learned a lot from @m-b-petersen.bsky.social Next up, Raf should talk to @noamgidron.bsky.social about status and populism - would make for a great follow up. Oh, and it's given me an earworm for one of my favourite ever tracks!
- I had an interesting conversation with @rafaelbehr.bsky.social on his podcast "Politics on the Couch" about why some voters just want to watch the world burn - and how that explains a lot of what goes on in the US right now and what can be done. Listen here: shows.acast.com/politicsonth...
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenFredag aften på Folkemødet afholder @m-b-petersen.bsky.social og jeg vores traditionsrige heavy metal DJ-battle. En debat hvor argumenterne kommer som tunge riffs og dobbeltpedal på stortrommerne. I år med gæstestjerner: Andreas Mogensen, Anja C. Andersen @sophiehaestorp.bsky.social og Henrik Dahl.
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenFolkemødet nærmer sig, og torsdag kl 19:30 er der musikquiz med et heavy tvist i det @radikale.dk telt. Akademikerne med @m-b-petersen.bsky.social i front udfordrer de folkevalgte med @steffenlarsen.bsky.social i spidsen - og jeg styrer løjerne. Det skal nok blive sjovt så kig forbi 🤘 #dkpol
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenKlart et lyt værd, hvis man er nysgerrig på et velkvalificeret bud på dele af "burn it down"-sentimenter der er for tiden. Og i relativt stærkere grad i USA. Og så vidt jeg forstår Michael er det også fx i USA der har været en kritiske masse af folk der bare gerne vil se verden brænde. I en sådan
- I had an interesting conversation with @rafaelbehr.bsky.social on his podcast "Politics on the Couch" about why some voters just want to watch the world burn - and how that explains a lot of what goes on in the US right now and what can be done. Listen here: shows.acast.com/politicsonth...
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenWhatever hype you are reading now about powerful people will almost certainly turn out to be bullshit
- In 2010, Mark Zuckberberg became Time's "Person of The Year". The article is surreal reading today. Here are just two quotes: "As for money, his indifference to it is almost pathological" "Facebook wants to...tame the howling mob...The Internet, and the whole world, will feel more like a family"
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenExcellent listen, not least for the emphasis on building trustworthy public institutions to tackle disinformation.
- I had an interesting conversation with @rafaelbehr.bsky.social on his podcast "Politics on the Couch" about why some voters just want to watch the world burn - and how that explains a lot of what goes on in the US right now and what can be done. Listen here: shows.acast.com/politicsonth...
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenWhat drives populists to accept expert advice? Cross-country study by A Peresman, @thoruplars.bsky.social, @honoratam.bsky.social & @m-b-petersen.bsky.social compares how populists & non-populists evaluate expertise: buff.ly/sLAQvkY @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social @uoypolitics.bsky.social @sagepub.com
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenPodcast! A really illuminating conversation with @m-b-petersen.bsky.social about the voters who are drawn to rule-breakers, institutional arsonists and chaos-mongers. shows.acast.com/politicsonth...
- I had an interesting conversation with @rafaelbehr.bsky.social on his podcast "Politics on the Couch" about why some voters just want to watch the world burn - and how that explains a lot of what goes on in the US right now and what can be done. Listen here: shows.acast.com/politicsonth...
- Today 80 years ago, Denmark was liberated from the Nazi regime. It is a long time ago. But the signs are still here. E.g, this bullet hole in a fence at Aarhus University from bombings that happened on Oct 31 in 1944. Those signs serve as a reminder in a time where autocracy is again rising.
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenReal headlines about the President of the United States. Happening right in front of us. (via @parkermolloy.com)
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenNew, from me: I am dorky enough to actually read (ok, skim) budgets, and have never seen anything like Trump’s, which has converted a formal and professional document into a propagandistic screed to justify draconian cuts. Lets take a look. 🧵 donmoynihan.substack.com/p/budgets-as...
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenToday was my last day with Freedom House after 3 years of working on the Ukraine team. While I knew this was coming the moment that the Trump administration cut our funding, hard not to feel pretty profound sadness. None of it had to be this way.
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenThe Terry Moran interview is really enlightening. I’ve been struck how people who willingly enter into Trump’s orbit seem to inevitably debase and abase themselves. Demanding that Moran accept the photoshopped pic as real shows that debasement/abasement is simply the cost of entry into Trumpworld.
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenThis exchange is so very telling. Trump repeatedly claims the photoshopped MS-13 on Kilmar Abrego Garcia's knuckles is real, Terry Moran keeps telling him it isn't, prompting Trump to say this: "I never heard of you. I picked you. You’re not being very nice. He had MS-13 tattooed... Just say yes!"
- Trump has every single hallmark of a dominance-oriented leader - and this may make him want to take everyone with him if he goes down in flames. I was interviewed for @nytimes.com on the topic of Trump’s personality along a number of other experts. Article here: www.nytimes.com/2025/04/29/o...
- Come for Anaal Nathrakh, stay for yours truly. On the Saturday line-up at this year's Copenhell festival 🤘
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenTrump's executive order directing DOJ to investigate ActBlue makes clear we no longer a fully democratic country - my comments to the Associated Press apnews.com/article/wisc...
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenPublic discourse often outlines the issue as “right-wing populists are anti-science, progressives and liberals are pro-science”. It seems to be a bit more complicated here too - though no less threatening.
- 🚨NEW ARTICLE 🚨 with Adam Peresman, @honoratam.bsky.social & @thoruplars.bsky.social We show that those often seen as most critical of research - populists! - have relatively *high* trust in scientists across 🇺🇸 🇬🇧 🇨🇿 🇩🇰 & are willing to follow their advice: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... 🧵(1/4)
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenAnything that stands in the way of the right-wing bullshit/propaganda machine is under attack — from the universities to non-profits to the rare online platform that manages to maintain some semblance of information integrity.
- Ed Martin's latest target: Wikipedia. The interim U.S. attorney and pro-Trump bulldog has sent a letter seeming to threaten the Wikimedia Foundation's tax-exempt status over allegations that it is "spreading propaganda." Our story: www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
- Lab Leak is now the official COVID-19 theory of the US government: www.whitehouse.gov/lab-leak-tru...
- Reposted by Michael Bang PetersenWhat drives populists to accept expert advice? Cross-country study by A Peresman, @thoruplars.bsky.social, @honoratam.bsky.social & @m-b-petersen.bsky.social compares how populists & non-populists evaluate expertise: buff.ly/M0nbJ57 @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social @uoypolitics.bsky.social @sagepub.com
