UCL – University College London UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).

Do you know any PhD students who would like to help teach British Politics at UCL for a term next year?

If so, we have a PGTA role! Please do share this ad among your networks.

www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...

Vote Compass Australia 2025 - Australia Votes - ABC News See how your views align with Australian parties using Vote Compass. Use the Vote Compass website and make an informed choice in the 2025 Federal Election.

Australian friends! We're pleased to announce that the 2025 Vote Compass is now live: votecompass.abc.net.au

Explore how your views compare to parties and candidates, and what the parties/candidates are saying on the issues.

🗳️🦘🇦🇺

From @voxpoplabs.bsky.social

Vote Compass - 2025 Canadian Federal Election Use this interactive survey designed by political scientists to calculate your alignment with the candidate platforms.

Vox Pop Labs (@voxpoplabs.bsky.social) has launched the 2025 Canadian Federal Election Vote Compass! 🗳️🇨🇦

Vote Compass is an interactive tool designed to help you see how your views align with those of the major parties.

If you’re curious about where you stand, give it a try!

votecompass.cbc.ca

'Young people care about democracy' During advanced voting for the 2025 provincial election, McMaster’s first student-run polling station got out the youth vote.

For the most recent Ontario election, we organized an advance polling location on @mcmasteruniversity.bsky.social's campus, staffed entirely by students.

Read the summary here:
dailynews.mcmaster.ca/articles/you...

#Cdnpoli

French scientist denied US entry after phone messages critical of Trump found France’s research minister said the scientist was traveling to Houston for a conference when his phone was searched

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

This is really scary. Legitimacy requires criticism.

Why use #deliberative processes? What are some challenges in organising mini-publics? How can we incorporate more voices from the Majority World? 🤔

ICYMI: @joannacm.bsky.social reviewed 6️⃣ handbooks on deliberative processes

🔓https://delibdemjournal.org/article/id/1603/

Shawn Micallef: How the Toronto Region Board of Trade got lost in traffic The only thing that will make getting around Toronto better is fewer cars and more people taking public transit, cycling or walking. There is no other way.

How the Toronto Region Board of Trade got lost in traffic. My Toronto Star column on their terrible congestion task force report & how they’ve lost their way of late. $billions on a 401 tunnel? Where’s the rational business people now?

www.thestar.com/news/gta/how...

Cartoon of people around a campfire. The text says "Yes, the planet got destroyed. But for a beautiful moment in time we created a lot of value for shareholders."

Tom Toro's excellent cartoon, as relevant now as it was when it was first published.

BP shuns renewables in return to oil and gas - BBC News The energy giant has announced its strategy after rivals also rowed back on green energy plans.

This story just sums up the state of the world in 2025.

BP announced it's cutting renewable energy investmnets, instead focusing on increasing oil and gas production - because some investors are unhappy its profits and share price are lower than rivals.

www.bbc.com/news/article...

EPSR early view: Kübler and Rochat on "Nonparticipation in democratic assemblies: factors, reasons, and suggestions." www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

This whole article is bleak, but the figure is especially shocking. Excellent stuff from @thelocal.to

thelocal.to/ontario-post...

#onpoli

Exciting post delivery! Looking forward to getting stuck into the articles, inc from @pspada.bsky.social @alexmgeisler.bsky.social and others.

Thank you @imprintacademic.bsky.social // find out more at imprint.co.uk/product/jos

One thing I love about @criterion.bsky.social: you can watch the full credits. There’s no “if you liked that, you may also like…” immediate pop-up ad as soon as the credits hit.

Anti-DEI activists believe a 'neutral,' merit-based status quo was disrupted by 'wokeness'. It never existed. Donald Trump’s authoritarian regime did not take long to impose 1984-style thought policing and overt censorship on scientists and government agencies, forcing the removal of what amounts to thousands...

NEW POST: Anti-DEI activists believe a 'neutral,' merit-based status quo was disrupted by 'wokeness'. It never existed.
emmettmacfarlane.substack.com/p/anti-dei-a...

$Trump and $Melania crypto tokens illustrate the risks posed by trendy meme coins Donald Trump’s launch of his meme coin — coupled with low public understanding of crypto assets — could lead to financial losses from risky and speculative investments.

Great article from @sheluchin.bsky.social on meme coins, campaign financing, and potential impact on 🇨🇦

"While these coins may seem like a joke or a new way to engage with politics, the absence of proper regulations could leave political supporters vulnerable to exploitation for financial gain."

Just a few days left to apply for this. Deadline is Friday 31 January...

Paper is open access. Authors @fabioellger.bsky.social @hannohilbig.bsky.social @riazsascha.bsky.social and Philipp Tillmann.

💡 Great article in @bjpols.bsky.social on local newspapers & political polarization:

... "we demonstrate that local newspaper exits increase electoral polarization. [...] following local news exits, consumers substitute local news with national tabloid news."

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Latest updates and events from Participedia Community updates including Participedia School 2025, an upcoming Teaching Café, open-access articles, and more!

✨ ICYMI ✨

🤓 Our January Newsletter dropped this morning! This month, we talk about the launch of #ParticipediaSchool2025, our next #TeachingCafé, recent publications, and more.

Click the 🔗 to give it a read: mailchi.mp/participedia...

📧 And don’t forget to subscribe! Happy reading! 📰

With one clarification: abortions are sometimes needed for reasons other than saving a life, and that is also valid

Important question: when and which political parties lie?

This new publication is pretty clear in its findings: radical-right populism is the strongest determinant for the propensity to spread misinformation.

Based on an analysis of 32 million tweets in 26 countries.

doi.org/10.1177/1940...

For more on trends in democratic innovation in Canada - and the areas where we could improve - check out our full article here: doi.org/10.1017/S000...

Fresh from @joannacm.bsky.social and me: a look at how setting up embedded, ongoing democratic innovations - rather than just occasionally dipping our toes into the waters of innovation - could help better connect policy makers and the public, incorporating findings from our recent article in CJPS.

American Journal of Political Science | MPSA Journal | Wiley Online Library Local governments play an important role in addressing the climate crisis. However, despite public support for climate action, local policy responses have been limited. We argue that (1) biased belie...

Encouraging politicians to act on climate: A field experiment with local officials in six countries.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

(6) newDemocracy Foundation & UN Democracy Fund: Enabling National Initiatives to Take Democracy Beyond Elections. www.newdemocracy.com.au/wp-content/u...

(4) OECD: Eight ways to institutionalise deliberative democracy www.oecd.org/en/publicati...
(5) OECD: Innovative citizen participation and new democratic institutions: Catching the deliberative wave. www.oecd.org/en/publicati...

Facilitating Deliberation: A Practical Guide — MosaicLab Everything you’ll ever need to know about facilitating a memorable and meaningful deliberation. This book is a comprehensive and practical guide to planning, designing and delivering impactful deliber...

Handbook links:

(1) DemocracyNext: Assembling an assembly guide. assemblyguide.demnext.org
(2) MosaicLab: Facilitating deliberation – A practical guide. www.mosaiclab.com.au/the-big-book
(3) OECD: Evaluation guidelines for representative deliberative processes. www.oecd.org/en/publicati...

I discuss why deliberative mini-publics / deliberative processes; conflation between the terms deliberation and deliberative processes; requirements for representation; challenges of institutionalisation; and how to incorporate more voices from the Global South.

My book review for @delibdemjournal.bsky.social - I review six handbooks about running #deliberative processes from DemocracyNext, MosaicLab, newDemocracy and OECD Public Governance.

See the review here: delibdemjournal.org/article/id/1...

#polsky #deliberativedemocracy

Hi Bluesky! First post here and I'm excited to share my new project: CryptoCommons.ca 🇨🇦 -- a publicly accessible database that tracks & categorizes Canadian politicians' policy positions on digital currencies. The database includes all statements made in the House of Commons.