Title page of our paper, “The Politics of Black Classification: Sociopolitical Cues and Racial Perception,” with Lauren Davenport (Stanford) and Hunter Rendleman (UC Berkeley), dated April 14, 2026. Abstract: What makes someone Black in American society today? From Donald Trump questioning Kamala Harris’s racial identity to Joe Biden’s claim that hesitant Black voters “ain’t Black,” American politics frequently brings questions of racial authenticity and belonging to the surface. Yet political science often approaches race as a fixed attribute rather than a social construction. Here, we seek to understand how Americans define blackness in social and political life. Using a conjoint experiment with a racially diverse sample that includes Black, white, and mixed race Black-white respondents, we evaluate how ascribed and acquired traits influence perceptions of blackness. The results show that inherited characteristics—particularly parentage and skin tone, which are the strongest determinants of racial classification—play a central role, while sociopolitical cues such as partisanship, neighborhood context, and spousal race also influence racial classification. Using a continuous measure, we also show that respondents make graded assessments of blackness rather than purely binary classifications, with some individuals perceived as more Black than others. Black respondents are more likely than white respondents to classify a broader set of profiles as Black, consistent with a more inclusive understanding of racial membership, yet they also place greater emphasis on shared political identity. These findings clarify how racial categories are socially constructed and why that construction carries real political and social consequences.

Our paper, “The Politics of Black Classification: Sociopolitical Cues and Racial Perception” (w/ Lauren Davenport & @hrendleman.bsky.social), has been conditionally accepted at Perspectives on Politics!

Sharing abstract below. Long time coming, but we are really proud of this paper.

More soon!

Text from article: ‘He said claimed links to Iran were a "very serious line of inquiry". "We've seen a pattern ... people taking cash as it looks like quick and easy money. Teams I led have put in prison individuals like Dylan Earl, who is serving a 17-year prison sentence for acting on behalf of the Wagner Group; in that case, Russian connected. But this is part of the modern hybrid war fought by proxies." Vicki Evans, the deputy assistant commissioner, has previously said most of the recent incidents have been claimed online by the group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia. It had recently claimed responsibility for attacks across Europe, including at Jewish and Israeli premises, Evans said. "This is recruiting violence as a service, and the people who conduct that violence often have little or no allegiance to the cause and are taking quick cash for their crimes."’

Some interesting details in this piece on the anti semitic attacks in London.

#criminology #crimsky #hatecrime

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

It’s cause, not effect. Starmer’s lack of voluble backers is not because he is unpopular, it has same root cause as his unpopularity: there is no such thing as Starmerism, the PM has no real personal achievements to speak of, so there is nothing for anyone to *defend*.

Péter Magyar: Hungary’s next leader energised voters but is ‘a dark horse’ Ex-government insider turned Orbán critic is authentic and passionate but his proposed policies are short on details

How different is new Hungarian Prime minister Magyar to Orban? According to this article, it’s not especially clear.

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

If Hitler died in ‘38 and the German Nazi party installed a semi-moronic, racist clown to lead the party and continue AH’s project, the clown would still be a fascist.

I also don’t buy Sandbrook’s argument that to be a fascist leader you have to have created a coherent intellectual project.

But even if that is a definitional line that must be crossed, doesn’t it gloss over the fact that at the very least Trump is the knowing figurehead of a neo-fascist movement?

On Thursday, Florida's Board of Governors removed sociology from the general education curriculum of every university in the state. Chancellor Ray Rodrigues attacked the @asanews.bsky.social as illegitimate.

On behalf of sociologists everywhere, I respond to them in today's @miamiherald.com:

It’s a good point by Goodwin. Though my posts themselves are not peer reviewed, the studies I use for my polemical diatribes are. So essentially it’s peer reviewed

This boy was jailed for 3.5 years today

Detective Chief Superintendent James Dunkerley, head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, said the case should be "a warning to all about the dangers of extreme online content which can have real life consequences"

www.nytimes.com/2026/03/25/w...

🚨ANNOUNCEMENT🚨 #TheoreticalCrim is currently accepting proposals for our 2028 Special Issue. If you are interested in guest editing for Theoretical Criminology, submit your proposal before APRIL 15. Submission guidelines here: journals.sagepub.com/pb-assets/cm...

Did he know that Douglas Murray wrote a very similarly titled book, with essentially the same argument?

Especially ironic that they’re writing this in the journal of Alvin Gouldner too

You will be shocked to learn that another contributor to that issue is even less savoury

bsky.app/profile/kare...

Excerpt from the text of the article under discussion: “The second is a tremendous narrowing of what is, and indeed what can, be studied. If social science researchers can only seek out oppression there are many things that can't be studied. Importantly it means that the position of the omnipresence of oppression cannot be evaluated or studied. It also means, in practice, that anything contradicting the axiom or its implications cannot be studied. It is almost impossible to seriously discuss or study, for example, disparate performance along almost any dimension between men and women or different ethnic or "racial" groups.”

I love the ‘for example’ in the final sentence here. Just picking out some topics completely at random.

🌊📢 CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

Special Issue (Dec 2026) – Blue Criminology, Revista Electrónica de Criminología

Contributions on green/blue criminology and Earth system governance

📝 English or Spanish
📅 Deadline: April 30, 2026

#CallForAbstracts #BlueCriminology #EcologicalJustice

Mine is all in the eyebrows

And I think this is illustrative of a huge limitation Patterson and his colleagues’ worldview. There is such myopia in these critiques, which view social sciences as largely a battleground between social justice proponents and those that want to defend social hierarchy.

I read it yesterday, and the article just isn’t good/rigorous on a very basic level. Certainly not the level of depth I’d expect in a sociology journal.

In relation to quoted skeet…

What do we all make of this claim?:

“The anti-police mentality in… much of academic criminology is politically driven, empirically flawed, and harmful to public safety.”

Some of the those sample topics could be quite interesting, in fairness. I could write about anti-police rhetoric in the media, but could not envisage responding to such a call for papers (not that they would be interested in my perspective anyway, I assume).

Call for papers in Theory and Society journal. Reads: "The state’s monopoly on violence is a fundamental requirement for maintaining social order in complex societies. In the absence of effective law enforcement, peace and prosperity are unattainable. This contention, articulated most famously by classic thinkers such as Thomas Hobbes and Max Weber, has long been foundational in social theory. However, if your familiarity with the literature on policing in limited to contemporary sociology, you are presented with a starkly different view—one in which law enforcement is presented as an institution of racial oppression and violence rather than a mechanism for public safety. Like many bad ideas born in the ivory tower, the anti-police sentiment favored by sociologists and criminologists has found its way into mainstream journalism and political debates. Following the 2020 murder of George Floyd, calls to “defund the police” gained traction, bolstered by social movements and academic scholarship. This ideological shift led to reductions in law enforcement driven by policy changes and declining morale among officers. Recruitment and retention of police officers have also suffered in this climate of hostility. The consequences of de-policing have been devastating in many urban communities. The anti-police mentality in sociology and much of academic criminology is politically driven, empirically flawed, and harmful to public safety. This special issue seeks to offer a necessary course correction by elevating research, theory, and commentary that illuminates the various ways policing promotes – or could promote – public safety and social order."

Continues: "The format is flexible. Empirical, theoretical, review, and perspective pieces will all be considered. Ideal contributions will vary from 1000-6000 words. The due date is June 1st, 2026. Sample topics include but are not limited to the following: • Success stories in problem-oriented policing • The role of policing in crime declines and crime prevention • Ideological bias against scholars working with law enforcement • Challenges officers face in an environment of “progressive” prosecutors • Investigations of what the police does right, such as the number of lives saved • Technological and organizational innovations • Crimes and acts of hostility against on duty police officers • Cross-national and international perspectives on law enforcement • Critical analyses of anti-police rhetoric in academia and media outlets • Critical analyses of the use of consent decrees to regulate police departments • (Auto)ethnographic research on policing from the perspective of law enforcement"

Sorry, I didn't realise a log-in is needed!

Yes, lots of poor quality. Just mind-boggling how they can't find anyone to make these arguments in a rigorous way...

I try to give my policing students a good diet of perspectives, helping them to questions assumptions about policing from opposing sides. What I want for them is journal output that focuses on quality whatever the orientation, and I don't see good potential for that here. Maybe I'll be proved wrong

...which sadly seems to be the main purpose of this journal now.
Police scholarship is vibrant, with a range in quality like many fields. The most respected scholars in police scholarship are not like anything described in the call for papers. Critical debate is good - but should be 'above the belt'

I find the aspersions cast on sociological/criminological police studies in this call for papers quite immature. The field is progressed with quality research from a plurality of approaches, not settling scores from Twitter arguments...

link-springer-com.uwe.idm.oclc.org/collections/...

I propose that the crimes of normal, innocent men should no longer be against the law

Somewhat brave tactic to use your national news column to boast about a series of crimes you have committed.

Under no circumstances let Sitwell onto a criminal law course.

Palantir extends reach into British state as it gets access to sensitive FCA data Exclusive: Allowing US tech firm to analyse intelligence in name of tackling fraud raises fresh concerns over privacy

Prof Michael Levi...said...AI is a potentially valuable technology to tackle financial crimes. But he said it was “a relevant question as to whether Palantir’s owners might tipoff their friends about methodologies”

shorturl.at/apefc

Hatzola NW Hatzola North West - Emergency Ambulance Service

9) Here is the Hatozla NW Website. The loss of four ambulances will have a significant effect on their ability to operate.

If you're able to donate something - anything - please consider it - hatzolanw.org

Thank you. Thread ends.