With Hungary’s crucial election a few days away, its National Election Office has published a list of accredited international observers (n. 859). Having spent nearly a decade researching the behavior of international observers, I decided to take a closer look 😊

www.valasztas.hu/en/internati...

David Byrne's new album is worth checking out!

Fairness and Belonging: Public Attitudes Towards Migration and Symbolic Boundaries In Australia, ideals of fairness, merit, and inclusion are said to be reflected in national identity through the concept of the fair go. While the fair go embodies the right to fair opportunities for....

It's thrilled city population me today because Juliet Pietsch, @cosmohoward.bsky.social & I's latest Fair Go work is out now. Interested in what Aussies think Fair Go means & whether those beliefs explain attitudes to the inclusion of migrants? Check it out!

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Fascinating stuff from @bspiesbutcher.bsky.social and the gang - check it out!

The 1st publication from the 2025 Cooperative Election survey was launched yesterday

prepared by the Macquarie Housing & Urban Research Centre, this report explores perceptions of housing affordability and perceived solutions

(thread)

Housing and the 2025 Federal Election: Between Crisis and Inertia Join our free webinar for key insights into housing and politics—ideal for researchers, students, and policymakers tackling Australia's housing crisis.

How did #Housing shape the 2025 #auspol Election? Come to our free webinar.

We analyse new data to see how generation, tenure and voting shape housing politics

With @emmabaker.bsky.social @shaunratcliff.bsky.social and @everybodyshome.bsky.social Maiy Azize

events.humanitix.com/webinar-on-h...

Thanks for your interest - I hope you'll read the article. Policy capture and a lack of structural reform are important problems - my paper suggests these aspects of crisis leadership are challenging for individual MPs. So good they're locally responsive, but not the whole story!

Now that the Deloitte report, about the government's unlawful administration of mutual obligations, is making international headlines, it's worth looking at what's actually in it (apart from AI slop) and WHY it was actually commissioned

A thread👇

This paper had a long genesis (here I am getting caught in the rain during fieldwork in 2020) and thanks are due to many people not least of all the MPs who volunteered their time to explain their work to me and all the others I pestered for feedback over the years!

However, I also find a resilient democracy should be responsible, as well as responsive, and overwork, distrust in politicians and their own representative priorities present challenges for MPs as crisis leaders!

I find using 28 interviews & a survey of ~100 state and federal MPs that they prioritise work which helps build up their service & symbolic connections – coordinating with local civil servants, understanding the impacts & danger signs in their communities & supporting people who are suffering.

In crises we expect our national leaders to be there for us - emotionally and practically coordinating emergency responses/support for those affected. We also hope that our politicians look forward to prevent future disaster. But what about 'on the ground' in individual MPs' constituencies?

Constituency representation as crisis leadership: Understanding the potential of policy, service, and symbolic connection-building in response to disasters Abstract. In this paper, I investigate how Members of Parliaments’ (MPs) performance of the important job of connecting constituents to the representative

Interested in MPs' constituency work and how well suited it might be to crisis leadership during disasters like floods, fires and pandemics? I am chuffed to have my new paper out now in Parliamentary Affairs to help answer these questions. Check it out!

academic.oup.com/pa/article/d...

How do democracies respond to extremist attacks? Selen A Ercan, Jordan McSwiney, Emily Beausoleil, Claire Fitzpatrick & @andreafelicetti.bsky.social explore 2 approaches to resilience- ‘bouncing back’ & deepening democracy. Read OPEN ACCESS: buff.ly/I5TbA9U

@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social @sagepub.com

The parliamentary voting behaviour of ‘teal’ independent MPs I examine the voting behaviour of ‘teal’ independent MPs in Australia’s 47th Parliament, addressing ongoing debates about whether these MPs function as effectively as a cohesive party. Using data f...

How do the Teals actually vote in parliament? Do they resemble a party in this way? @palesl.bsky.social has the answers in this new research note in @ausjpolsci.bsky.social @auspsa.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

I been enjoying a lot of Adrian Tchaikovsky stuff lately. City of Last Chances and Cage of Souls were fun.

Had the pleasure of reviewing Civic Engagement in Australian Democracy for the AJPH. Excellent chapters on compulsory and early voting, the Voice referendum and the role of the public, judges and NGOs in democracy - check it out! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Democracy Sausage Episode: Safety nets below and a roof above Political scientists Mark Riboldi and Pandanus Petter join Democracy Sausage to discuss housing policy, safety nets and the fair go. How do politicians talk about housing, and does it impact policy? W...

How do politicians talk about housing, and does it impact policy?

#ICYMI Political scientists @markriboldi.bsky.social & @pandanuspetter.bsky.social join @marijataflaga.bsky.social to discuss housing policy, safety nets and the fair go.

#AUListen 🎧 #DemocracySausage ausi.anu.edu.au/news/democra...

New Closing the Gap data show Australia is on track to meet just four targets, while another four are getting worse. It’s time for a new approach.

👉 Read the full story: theconversation.com/progres...

New article & 1st from my PhD! Is there a rel’ship between letters from the public to the Prime Minister & topics of speeches. I find evidence of deliberate, systemic non-responsiveness. The PM knowingly ignored this form of public opinion. @govandopp.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1017/gov....

The Greens’ expulsion of a co-founder is unlikely to jeopardise the party’s future The expulsion of co-founder Drew Hutton shows transgender rights and safety are not negotiable for the party.

The latest from me in @aunz.theconversation.com theconversation.com/the-greens-e...

In this episode I reference a paper by @cosmohoward.bsky.social and I where we analyzed narratives and strategies in Oz Parliament around the phrase 'Housing Crisis' 2020-2023 check it out:

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

Democracy Sausage: Safety nets below and a roof above Political scientists Mark Riboldi and Pandanus Petter join Democracy Sausage to discuss housing policy, safety nets and the fair go.

@marijataflaga.bsky.social @markriboldi.bsky.social and I have a chat about UBIs & crisis thinking in housing and social welfare policy. I haven't listened, so if I say anything regrettable just know I've grown and changed since back then (yesterday). 😱🏠💰🗣️

reporter.anu.edu.au/all-stories/...

Pol comm; representation; & leg affairs scholars! Check out UKMP Inbox - a database of UK MP's enewsletters. Builds on @dcinbox.bsky.social and canberrainbox.com.au.

@ecpr-polcom.bsky.social @psa-parliaments.bsky.social @psaexecpolitics.bsky.social @psaepop.bsky.social @psabcpe.bsky.social

Recalibrating labour-capital relations: a typology of consensus politics under the Albanese Labor Government This article examines the Albanese Labor Government's adoption of ‘consensus politics’ as a governing strategy, drawing comparisons with the corporatist approaches of previous Australian Labor gove...

We know the Albanese government won by a landslide in the 2025, but does this mean that Albo's model of 'consensus politics' is the way to go? @emilyrosefoley.bsky.social
& Rob Manwaring dig in on 'consensus politics' in contemporary social-democratic politics www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Making sense of Robodebt’s failures is key to cultural reform in the APS - ANU Policy Brief ANU research shows many public service leaders failed to communicate with staff about the lessons and implications of the Robodebt scandal.

2yrs since #Robodebt Report, we turn our attention to whether the APS is responding/learning. In this ANU Policy Brief @mariamaley4 & I look at how the broader APS is responding.

policybrief.anu.edu.au/aps-leaders-...

@themandarin.bsky.social @anucrawfordschool.bsky.social

A New Australian Politics: Rupture or Realignment Please join us on at the University of Technology Sydney on Tuesday 23 September 2025, for a public event on the future of Australian democracy. Is Australia entering a new political era? With a record majority off a near record low primary vote, the new parliament continues the rise of new electoral coalitions, unsettling our assumptions about class, gender, race, and power. Our stellar panellists George Megalogenis, Frank Bongiorno, Elizabeth Humphrys, Ben Spies-Butcher, and Emily Foley will be engaged in a wide-ranging discussion exploring whether we’re witnessing a rupture or a realignment in Australian politics, and what it means for political life today. The conversation will explore how the traditional party duopoly is being eroded under pressure from shifting demographics, growing economic inequality, and increasing political disillusionment. What happens when the working class no longer feels represented, and when younger, more diverse voters no longer see themselves in the major parties? Tuesday 23 September — UTS Green Lecture Theatre Building 7 — Room 025 (full location details below) Register here: https://events.humanitix.com/a-new-australian-politics-rupture-or-realignment Speakers George Megalogenis is an author and journalist with over thirty years’ experience in the media, including over a decade in the federal parliamentary press gallery. His latest Quarterly Essay, Minority Report, explores the strategies and secret understandings of a political culture under pressure. Frank Bongiorno is based at the Australian National University and author of several works of Australian history, including The Eighties: The Decade That Transformed Australia (2015) and Dreamers and Schemers: A Political History of Australia (2022). He is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and the Australian Academy of Humanities. Elizabeth Humphrys is the Head of Discipline of Social and Political Scie…

Hello Sydneysiders! On Tuesday 23rd Sep join Frank Bongiorno, George Megalogenis, @bspiesbutcher.bsky.social, @lizhumphrys.bsky.social & me for our public event A New Australian Politics: Rupture or Realignment. Registration is free & we'd love to see you there! events.humanitix.com/a-new-austra...

Amen

democracy is tricky, gimme a break!