Somewhere Bismarck is looking down in confusion as Germany projects power by sending 4,000 pensioners, 12 buffet stations and a TUI loyalty program through the Strait of Hormuz

ERC President explains stricter application measures amid rising demand for funding The text of an open letter sent by ERC President Maria Leptin to ERC panel members, grantees and other stakeholders on 16 April 2026.

Talking abundance:

Just like some EU countries are failing at managing decreased supply of energy sources in a world with 🔥 demand, EU institutions (the ERC) are struggling to deal with similar dynamics in the research space.

The outcome will be exiting and/or finding alternatives in both spaces.

Is anyone else genuinely scared about what might happen tonight?

The kind of afraid where it feels like the world could cross a line you can’t uncross.

I really hope that tomorrow, looking back, this will feel dramatic.

Just had this from Planet Labs, the US government have asked satellite imagery providers for "voluntarily" restrictions on access to satellite imagery. Given a lot of them provide satellite imagery to the USG we can probably guess the outcome of not acquiescing to that request.

It was an honor to serve on the committee selecting the Article of the Year. Very happy to pass last year’s award on to such an outstanding article! 💫🥳

We’re proud to share that JPR now leads its field in gender-inclusive authorship.
Between 2000 and 2024, the share of all-male author teams dropped from nearly 75% to ~40%. This shows the value of inclusive publication policies and collaborative research practices in peace and conflict studies.

Applications are still open until the end of the week!

Want to investigate something using open sources but not sure where to start? 🧵
We’ve gathered some of our go-to resources for learning, practicing, and collaborating on open source research - whether you’re brand new or sharpening your skills...

Don't forget to apply until the end of the week! 🚨

One week left to apply 💫

It's only a matter of time before they come for political science next

When the first dinosaur bones were found, artists didn't really know how to render them realistically, so they do the artistic equivalent of stretching skin around them as tightly as possible, without considering where muscle and fat must have been.

Breaking: another case of academic cheating driven by ego and power.

Thought that was the whole story but according to Gideon’s Wikipedia, there are multiple lawsuits, retracted papers, and a revoked license. Overachiever!

Opinion | A.I. Companies Are Eating Higher Education

"Young people are quickly becoming so dependent on A.I. that they are losing the ability to think for themselves. And rather than rallying resistance, academic administrators are aiding and abetting a hostile takeover of higher education."
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/o...

🚨 Extremely cool Postdoc position for Conflict Scholars ✨
You get to work with the great Scott Gates in his ERC advanced grant 🎉

Finland ends homelessness and provides shelter for all in need - scoop.me In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Why? The country applies the "Housing First" concept agains homelessness.

“In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Those affected receive a small apartment & counselling with no preconditions. 4 out of 5 people affected make their way back to a stable life. And all this is CHEAPER than accepting homelessness.”

IT SAVES PUBLIC MONEY to house people.

dplyr 1.2.0 dplyr 1.2.0 fills in some important gaps in dplyr's API: we've added a new complement to `filter()` focused on dropping rows, and we've expanded the `case_when()` family with three new recoding and re...

dplyr 1.2.0 is out now and we are SO excited!

- `filter_out()` for dropping rows

- `recode_values()`, `replace_values()`, and `replace_when()` that join `case_when()` as a complete family of recoding/replacing tools

These are huge quality of life wins for #rstats!

tidyverse.org/blog/2026/02...

Please share widely & reach out if you have questions!
wpm@uni-mannheim.de

@womenalsoknowstuff.bsky.social
@gessunimannheim.bsky.social
@gesis.org
@epssnet.bsky.social
@ecpr.bsky.social

Organized by myself, @hannahrajski.bsky.social, @korinlind.bsky.social, @snmorgenstern.bsky.social, and Lisa-Marie Zikesch, supported by @mzesunimannheim.bsky.social, @sabinecarey.bsky.social and the University of Mannheim

But as every year, we offer a core program on ⭐Computational Methods⭐ including Functions and Programming in RStats, Visualization, Webscraping, and Text Analysis with @cosima.bsky.social, @fabiennelind.bsky.social and @rebeccakittel.bsky.social and Asya Magazinnik

🌍 I'm particularly excited that this year, we have a special on spatial data with Jessica Di Salvatore and @tubabozcaga.bsky.social
🌐 💫

🚨 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

Offene Stellen / Open Positions

🚨Job alert 🚨

I have an opening for a postdoc in my team at @ipz.bsky.social in the area of digital democracy starting Sep 1, 2026.

If you are working on the impact of the digital transformation on politics, please apply by 🗓️ Mar 1, 2026.

📤 Please share widely!

www.ipz.uzh.ch/de/ueber-uns...

Perfect day to leave Switzerland ...

How can and should we study an important yet largely inaccessible institution like the #EuropeanCouncil?

In a new article, published in #EuropeanPoliticalSciene, I present key data, paradoxes and research avenues 50 years after its creation.

The article is available open access 👇

h7.cl/1n6zx

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH

Excuse me, but why do economists get their own wine research association? Where is the wine politics association??? I feel excluded from the grape bargain.

I wanted to see how many friends the President of Peace has made during his first and second term, so I made a map of countries he has threatened both economically and militarily, banned citizens from, and bombed.

Some things are up for discussion, so a bit on methodology below.

🚨Job alert! 🚨

I'm advertising a PhD position (66%) in Comparative Politics at HU Berlin. Ideal candidates combine a research interest in autocratic politics, conflict, and/or political violence with strong quantitative methods skills.

⏳ 4 (+2) years | 🗓 DL 16.01; Start March/April 26

More info:

Congestion pricing after one year: How life has changed. How life has changed in the New York area, according to data on traffic, transit and the responses of 600 readers.

Congestion pricing is an unqualified success in NYC. It would be great to see it expanded to every city with decent public transit options. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...