📣🏆We are honoured to be awarded the PSA Specialist Group of the Year 2025/26!
Many thanks to the jury at @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social for their trust, our convenors and executive committee members for their work, and all our members for their active contribution!
A million thanks to our members and executive committee for having made this possible...
Special mention to co-convenor @dbonansinga.bsky.social for her energy, enthusiasm and ideas!
A big thank you to our group members & other Specialist Groups who have worked with us to deliver a very rich programme of events & debates at the Annual Conference of the @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social in Oxford this year
Special mention to my co-convenor, the indefatigable @dbonansinga.bsky.social!
📣 We are gearing up for #PSA26...
Held in Oxford from 30 March to 1 April 2026, the Annual Conference of the @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social will showcase the best of British and international political research.
Check out our Italian Politics events below ⬇️
🥇 most read article in Ethnic and Racial Studies this year!
#MostRead 📈🔓
Using the case of the UK Conservative Party, @dbonansinga.bsky.social @sotonpolitics.bsky.social & Charlotte Forrest @uclspp.bsky.social demonstrate the powerful influence populist ideas can exert on mainstream parties, even when their original proponents have little electoral success.
We will present our book 'Populist Radical Right Parties in Action: The Survival of the Mass Party' (Oxford UP) at Queen Mary University of London on Thursday, November 20th, 5-6:30pm GMT. Corina Lacatus will discuss, and there will be a reception. Register via 👉 tinyurl.com/382xbuy5
Congrats Matthias, very well deserved!!
My research on populism & emotions has been cited in the new UN report “Far-right populism and the future of social protection”.
Great to see this work informing wider debates on how emotions drive populist politics and shape social policy!
The Guardian covers the report here: shorturl.at/tlN4p
@dralbertazziuk.bsky.social @mattiazulianello.bsky.social @mlorimer.bsky.social @pchiocchetti.bsky.social
Visual populism submission link: psa26.exordo.com/panels/9/con...
Rural politics: psa26.exordo.com/panels/6/con...
Populism and IR: psa26.exordo.com/panels/10/co...
For any Italian Politics paper: simply submit through Exordo (psa26.exordo.com) and choose "Italian politics" as the topic
The deadline for #PSA26 is tomorrow! Our group @psa-italian.bsky.social is accepting proposals on:
🇮🇹 Italian politics
🖼️ Visual populism - collab with @populismpsa.bsky.social
🚜 Rural politics - with @psagreekpol.bsky.social
🌐 Populism & IR - with @psainter-relations.bsky.social
Direct links below:
You can hear all about the events we organise here: www.psa.ac.uk/specialist-g... ("Join this group" on the bottom right to receive our free newsletter)
Big thanks 👏: Isabelle Hertner (KCL, discussant), Simona Talani (KCL, our host at the Centre for Italian Politics), Margherita de Candia and Marianna Griffini (KCL & Northeastern, co-organisers).
It was great listening to @dralbertazziuk.bsky.social & @stijntvankessel.bsky.social presenting their latest OUP book "Populist Radical Right Parties in Action", yesterday at King's College London!
The event was organised by @psa-italian.bsky.social
@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social
@psa-italian.bsky.social @dralbertazziuk.bsky.social @stijntvankessel.bsky.social @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social
This week 👇
“Populist Radical Right Parties in Action” - October 15, King’s College London
🚨There is still time to register for attending online!
As the convenors of @psa-italian.bsky.social, @dbonansinga.bsky.social and l are looking forward to your submissions in advance of PSA26 in Oxford.
Note our CFPs below!
Join us on October 15th for this exciting book launch!
King’s College London and online 📍
Registration required 👇
Check out our plans for #PSA26:
- Open panels on Italian Politics
- Visuals in populist communication
- Rural politics and EU policies (with @psagreekpol.bsky.social)
- Populism and the international (with @psainter-relations.bsky.social)
‼️ Submit your paper proposals by October 17
📣 I am organising a panel at #PSA26 in Oxford on the visual communication of populist & radical actors, with the kind sponsorship of @psa-italian.bsky.social. You can submit your papers here (an account with exordo is required) 👇
psa26.exordo.com/panels/9/con...
If you are working on #populism and #IR, and planning to attend #PSA26, I am co-organising a panel on 'Populism and the International'.
✏️ Details and submission portal here: psa26.exordo.com/panels/10/co...
The panel is co-sponsored by @psa-italian.bsky.social & @psainter-relations.bsky.social
Our brand new monograph, discussing the findings of our work together during the last seven years, is now out for @oxfordacademic.bsky.social and free to read and download!
Our Challenges to Europe: European Challenges Conference came to a close today with a fantastic roundtable discussing ‘War and Security of Europe Today’🌍
We would like to say a massive thank you to all attendees for making the conference such a success!🙏🏼💡
Keynote by Theofanus Exadktylos (CBE/REDMOS)
Panel 1. Populism/ Chair: Maya Chew (Surrey/CBE) - Matthias Dilling (Trinity College Dublin)/Felix Krawatzek (ZOiS Berlin) Responding to the far right: Discursive strategies in German state parliaments - Ugo Guadino (Kingston) / Philippe Marlière (UCL) “Mainstreaming” the far right: A comparison between the French National Rally and Brothers of Italy - Donatella Bonansinga (Southampton) / Radical right mainstreaming and the role of visual social media - Christopher Burden (Aston) Populism as an embodied reactive performance - Daniele Albertazzi (Surrey/CBE) Don’t fall for “far right”. On the inadequacy of a concept for the study of party families today
Panel 2. Securitisation and Migration/ Chair: Donatella Bonansinga (Southampton) - Dimitris Skleparis et al. (Newcastle) Collective memories of historical victimisation and their role in contemporary securitisation of migration - Gizem Aksit Ergen (Newcastle) Comparing far-right narratives on migration: A case study of Germany and France - Leah Owen (Swansea) Investigating Frontex’s border securitisation in a warming climate - Andrea Scalera (Glasgow) Externalisation and Security: The Italia-Albania protocol and the evolution of the Italian migration policy
Evening meal in Guildford
Day 1 of our European Challenges Conference wrapped up successfully - a great keynote @exadaktylos.bsky.social, two insightful panels, and a fantastic meal in Guildford to end the evening. Looking forward to what today brings! @dralbertazziuk.bsky.social @mayachew.bsky.social
On Thursday:
with @nickkitchen.bsky.social Khvostova Filz Malyszko Papastylianos @matthiasdilling.bsky.social @vtsagkr.bsky.social @giannako.bsky.social Maggioli Funk Martinelli @barbaraserra.bsky.social @ameliahadfield1.bsky.social Karyotis @simoncurtis.bsky.social @dralbertazziuk.bsky.social
Programme for Wednesday:
with @exadaktylos.bsky.social @matthiasdilling.bsky.social Krawatzek @ugaudino.bsky.social @phmarliere.bsky.social @dbonansinga.bsky.social Burden @dralbertazziuk.bsky.social Skleparis @gzmakst.bsky.social Owen Scalera Nezi
The conference, organized by @cbesurrey.bsky.social, @psa-italian.bsky.social, @psagermanpol.bsky.social & @psagreekpol.bsky.social, will explore key issues shaping Europe—populist radical right, securitization, European security, migration & human rights