Daan Delespaul
@ddelesp.bsky.social
PhD’ing @KU Leuven // Cleavage theory, voting behaviour & political sociology // 🇧🇪 politics
Pinned
Daan Delespaul
@ddelesp.bsky.social
· Oct 28
Ever wondered why Flanders and Wallonia vote so differently? 🇧🇪🗳️
In my second PhD chapter – out now in EPSR – we look at cleavage structures in both regions
Very (!) happy to see this published: cambridge.org/core/journal...
In my second PhD chapter – out now in EPSR – we look at cleavage structures in both regions
Very (!) happy to see this published: cambridge.org/core/journal...
Reposted by Daan Delespaul
📢🎓 PhD position in our "Perceptions of Democracy in the Age of Populism" project
💶 Good salary & money for conference travels
📝 Interdisciplinary supervision team
🌍 Trondheim 🇳🇴 lively student city with great nature
🗓️ DL 10.10.
www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...
Thanks for sharing & RT! #polisky #EUsky
💶 Good salary & money for conference travels
📝 Interdisciplinary supervision team
🌍 Trondheim 🇳🇴 lively student city with great nature
🗓️ DL 10.10.
www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...
Thanks for sharing & RT! #polisky #EUsky
Ph.D. Position in European Studies (307748) | NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Job title: Ph.D. Position in European Studies (307748), Employer: NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Deadline: Saturday, October 10, 2026
www.jobbnorge.no
September 8, 2026 at 7:41 AM
📢🎓 PhD position in our "Perceptions of Democracy in the Age of Populism" project
💶 Good salary & money for conference travels
📝 Interdisciplinary supervision team
🌍 Trondheim 🇳🇴 lively student city with great nature
🗓️ DL 10.10.
www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...
Thanks for sharing & RT! #polisky #EUsky
💶 Good salary & money for conference travels
📝 Interdisciplinary supervision team
🌍 Trondheim 🇳🇴 lively student city with great nature
🗓️ DL 10.10.
www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...
Thanks for sharing & RT! #polisky #EUsky
Wallonia's remarkable lack of a far-right party is attracting international attention, so I was invited to summarise my thesis in @fesonline.bsky.social's IPS journal!
👉 www.ips-journal.eu/topics/democ...
👉 www.ips-journal.eu/topics/democ...
Europe’s last indomitable village
While the far right has swept across Europe, it has failed to take root in Belgium’s south. Could Wallonia be a model for the rest of the continent?
www.ips-journal.eu
August 19, 2026 at 1:37 PM
Wallonia's remarkable lack of a far-right party is attracting international attention, so I was invited to summarise my thesis in @fesonline.bsky.social's IPS journal!
👉 www.ips-journal.eu/topics/democ...
👉 www.ips-journal.eu/topics/democ...
In 2024 doorbraken MR en Les Engagés de hegemonie van PS. Is de Franstalige kiezer nu eindelijk verrechtst? En blijft Wallonië in 2029 een 'Gallisch dorp' tegen radicaal-rechts?
Laatste Sampolcolumn voor het zomerreces! 🌞(www.sampol.be/2026/06/zijn...)
Laatste Sampolcolumn voor het zomerreces! 🌞(www.sampol.be/2026/06/zijn...)
Zijn van alle Galliërs de Franstaligen de dappersten?
In 2024 doorbraken MR en Les Engagés de hegemonie van PS. Is de Franstalige kiezer nu eindelijk verrechtst? En blijft Wallonië in 2029 een 'Gallisch dorp'...
www.sampol.be
July 1, 2026 at 7:52 AM
In 2024 doorbraken MR en Les Engagés de hegemonie van PS. Is de Franstalige kiezer nu eindelijk verrechtst? En blijft Wallonië in 2029 een 'Gallisch dorp' tegen radicaal-rechts?
Laatste Sampolcolumn voor het zomerreces! 🌞(www.sampol.be/2026/06/zijn...)
Laatste Sampolcolumn voor het zomerreces! 🌞(www.sampol.be/2026/06/zijn...)
I recently had the opportunity to talk about my doctoral thesis, Astérix and Belgian stereotypes in @brusselstimes.com 🎙️📊
www.brusselstimes.com/belgium/2046...
www.brusselstimes.com/belgium/2046...
Are Flemish people really more right-wing than Walloons?
Flanders is often called a right-wing region, while Walloon attitudes skew much more to the left. But, as research shows, it's not that simple.
www.brusselstimes.com
June 17, 2026 at 3:27 PM
I recently had the opportunity to talk about my doctoral thesis, Astérix and Belgian stereotypes in @brusselstimes.com 🎙️📊
www.brusselstimes.com/belgium/2046...
www.brusselstimes.com/belgium/2046...
Reposted by Daan Delespaul
📣 GASPAR is looking for a new PhD Candidate!
Interested in working on political ambition or on how parties continue to structure the political debate through party cues?
📅 Deadline for applying is July 8th
Any questions? Contact @bramwauters.bsky.social
More information below 👇
Interested in working on political ambition or on how parties continue to structure the political debate through party cues?
📅 Deadline for applying is July 8th
Any questions? Contact @bramwauters.bsky.social
More information below 👇
June 1, 2026 at 6:53 AM
📣 GASPAR is looking for a new PhD Candidate!
Interested in working on political ambition or on how parties continue to structure the political debate through party cues?
📅 Deadline for applying is July 8th
Any questions? Contact @bramwauters.bsky.social
More information below 👇
Interested in working on political ambition or on how parties continue to structure the political debate through party cues?
📅 Deadline for applying is July 8th
Any questions? Contact @bramwauters.bsky.social
More information below 👇
Reposted by Daan Delespaul
🚨 I'm recruiting a PhD student for a new project on Parties' social group ownership, based in the @vd-researchgroup.bsky.social research group at KU Leuven!
Deadline for applying is 26 June, estimated starting date is 1 Oct 2026.
All info is here 👉 www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jo...
Share widely!
Deadline for applying is 26 June, estimated starting date is 1 Oct 2026.
All info is here 👉 www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jo...
Share widely!
1 doctoraatspositie in kiesgedrag
1 PhD position to research how parties build connections with social groups
www.kuleuven.be
May 19, 2026 at 5:32 AM
🚨 I'm recruiting a PhD student for a new project on Parties' social group ownership, based in the @vd-researchgroup.bsky.social research group at KU Leuven!
Deadline for applying is 26 June, estimated starting date is 1 Oct 2026.
All info is here 👉 www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jo...
Share widely!
Deadline for applying is 26 June, estimated starting date is 1 Oct 2026.
All info is here 👉 www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jo...
Share widely!
Reposted by Daan Delespaul
Voor De Gids op Maatschappelijk Gebied schreef ik een stuk over de rol van identiteit om stemgedrag te verklaren. Ondanks maatschappelijke veranderingen en groeiende volatiliteit blijft identiteit van belang!
🔗 visie.net/de-gids-arti...
@visiemagazine.bsky.social | @vd-researchgroup.bsky.social
🔗 visie.net/de-gids-arti...
@visiemagazine.bsky.social | @vd-researchgroup.bsky.social
We kiezen nog steeds met onze groepsidentiteit
De afgelopen decennia is het kiesgedrag in België fundamenteel veranderd. Kiezers zijn volatieler...
visie.net
March 25, 2026 at 2:50 PM
Voor De Gids op Maatschappelijk Gebied schreef ik een stuk over de rol van identiteit om stemgedrag te verklaren. Ondanks maatschappelijke veranderingen en groeiende volatiliteit blijft identiteit van belang!
🔗 visie.net/de-gids-arti...
@visiemagazine.bsky.social | @vd-researchgroup.bsky.social
🔗 visie.net/de-gids-arti...
@visiemagazine.bsky.social | @vd-researchgroup.bsky.social
Reposted by Daan Delespaul
Was just reading a vg article by @ddelesp.bsky.social on how the far right have been denied political space in francophone Belgium not only by the cordon sanitaire médiatique but also by success of social democrats in keeping focus on the socio-economic issues. www.revuepolitique.be/electorats-f...
Électorats flamand et francophone : si loin, si proches ? - Politique
Parmi les démocraties d'Europe occidentale, la Belgique fait figure d'exception. Le pays connaît deux systèmes politiques strictement séparés, les Flamand·es
www.revuepolitique.be
February 28, 2026 at 10:13 AM
Was just reading a vg article by @ddelesp.bsky.social on how the far right have been denied political space in francophone Belgium not only by the cordon sanitaire médiatique but also by success of social democrats in keeping focus on the socio-economic issues. www.revuepolitique.be/electorats-f...
Reposted by Daan Delespaul
🚨 New WP w/ @leonardocarella.bsky.social on OSF
doi.org/10.31235/osf...
We usually think that social identities precede preferences
We show the reverse is also true: people update their social identities to match their immigration preferences
Focus: class identity in 🇬🇧 + Christian identity in 🇮🇹
doi.org/10.31235/osf...
We usually think that social identities precede preferences
We show the reverse is also true: people update their social identities to match their immigration preferences
Focus: class identity in 🇬🇧 + Christian identity in 🇮🇹
February 23, 2026 at 10:57 AM
🚨 New WP w/ @leonardocarella.bsky.social on OSF
doi.org/10.31235/osf...
We usually think that social identities precede preferences
We show the reverse is also true: people update their social identities to match their immigration preferences
Focus: class identity in 🇬🇧 + Christian identity in 🇮🇹
doi.org/10.31235/osf...
We usually think that social identities precede preferences
We show the reverse is also true: people update their social identities to match their immigration preferences
Focus: class identity in 🇬🇧 + Christian identity in 🇮🇹
Reposted by Daan Delespaul
NIEUW VERKIEZINGSONDERZOEK
Bij de verkiezingen van 2024 was het Franstalige electoraat voor het eerst volatieler dan het Vlaamse, leert nieuw onderzoek. (www.sampol.be/2026/01/de-g...)
Bij de verkiezingen van 2024 was het Franstalige electoraat voor het eerst volatieler dan het Vlaamse, leert nieuw onderzoek. (www.sampol.be/2026/01/de-g...)
De grote stemshift: hoe België van kamp wisselt
Bij de verkiezingen van 2024 was het Franstalige electoraat voor het eerst volatieler dan het Vlaamse, leert nieuw onderzoek.
www.sampol.be
January 15, 2026 at 6:21 AM
NIEUW VERKIEZINGSONDERZOEK
Bij de verkiezingen van 2024 was het Franstalige electoraat voor het eerst volatieler dan het Vlaamse, leert nieuw onderzoek. (www.sampol.be/2026/01/de-g...)
Bij de verkiezingen van 2024 was het Franstalige electoraat voor het eerst volatieler dan het Vlaamse, leert nieuw onderzoek. (www.sampol.be/2026/01/de-g...)
Reposted by Daan Delespaul
Achter de kiesuitslag van juni 2024 gaan grote stemverschuivingen tussen de politieke partijen schuil. Een onderzoek van de KU Leuven legt die voor het eerst bloot. Dit zijn de tien belangrijkste lessen.
Het verborgen verlies van N-VA, het plafond van Vlaams Belang en de groene jongerenvlucht: de stemverschuivingen bij de verkiezingen in 2024 blootgelegd
www.demorgen.be
January 15, 2026 at 6:35 AM
Achter de kiesuitslag van juni 2024 gaan grote stemverschuivingen tussen de politieke partijen schuil. Een onderzoek van de KU Leuven legt die voor het eerst bloot. Dit zijn de tien belangrijkste lessen.
De eerste van 2026: Zijn Vlaamse en Waalse kiezers écht uit elkaar gegroeid?
Met dank aan het geweldig fijne @stukroodvlees.bsky.social! 🥂
Met dank aan het geweldig fijne @stukroodvlees.bsky.social! 🥂
Nieuwe blog: Zijn Vlaamse en Waalse kiezers uit elkaar gegroeid? https://stukroodvlees.nl/?p=18374
January 7, 2026 at 8:44 AM
De eerste van 2026: Zijn Vlaamse en Waalse kiezers écht uit elkaar gegroeid?
Met dank aan het geweldig fijne @stukroodvlees.bsky.social! 🥂
Met dank aan het geweldig fijne @stukroodvlees.bsky.social! 🥂
Reposted by Daan Delespaul
Check out this article, available #OpenAccess on #FirstView.
Third dissertation paper is out now in @govandopp.bsky.social!
OA: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
It studies the ideological structure of European electorates – finding broad similarities between countries, despite that party electorates and social groups remain structured nationally
OA: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
It studies the ideological structure of European electorates – finding broad similarities between countries, despite that party electorates and social groups remain structured nationally
October 15, 2025 at 7:58 AM
Check out this article, available #OpenAccess on #FirstView.
Third dissertation paper is out now in @govandopp.bsky.social!
OA: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
It studies the ideological structure of European electorates – finding broad similarities between countries, despite that party electorates and social groups remain structured nationally
OA: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
It studies the ideological structure of European electorates – finding broad similarities between countries, despite that party electorates and social groups remain structured nationally
October 14, 2025 at 7:24 AM
Third dissertation paper is out now in @govandopp.bsky.social!
OA: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
It studies the ideological structure of European electorates – finding broad similarities between countries, despite that party electorates and social groups remain structured nationally
OA: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
It studies the ideological structure of European electorates – finding broad similarities between countries, despite that party electorates and social groups remain structured nationally
Reposted by Daan Delespaul
#OpenAccess from @govandopp.bsky.social -
A Common Two-Dimensional Structure? Comparing Demand-side Political Spaces of Eight European Democracies - https://cup.org/4ohFZ6N
- @ddelesp.bsky.social
#FirstView
A Common Two-Dimensional Structure? Comparing Demand-side Political Spaces of Eight European Democracies - https://cup.org/4ohFZ6N
- @ddelesp.bsky.social
#FirstView
October 9, 2025 at 1:20 PM
#OpenAccess from @govandopp.bsky.social -
A Common Two-Dimensional Structure? Comparing Demand-side Political Spaces of Eight European Democracies - https://cup.org/4ohFZ6N
- @ddelesp.bsky.social
#FirstView
A Common Two-Dimensional Structure? Comparing Demand-side Political Spaces of Eight European Democracies - https://cup.org/4ohFZ6N
- @ddelesp.bsky.social
#FirstView
Reposted by Daan Delespaul
JUST OUT: "Boundaries and Cleavages: Elements of a Cultural Sociology of Political Divides."
OA: direct.mit.edu/ecps/article...
It develops what the cultural sociology of group formation can contribute to research on political cleavages.
(And why "Somewheres vs Anywheres" really doesn't cut it.)
OA: direct.mit.edu/ecps/article...
It develops what the cultural sociology of group formation can contribute to research on political cleavages.
(And why "Somewheres vs Anywheres" really doesn't cut it.)
October 8, 2025 at 1:42 PM
JUST OUT: "Boundaries and Cleavages: Elements of a Cultural Sociology of Political Divides."
OA: direct.mit.edu/ecps/article...
It develops what the cultural sociology of group formation can contribute to research on political cleavages.
(And why "Somewheres vs Anywheres" really doesn't cut it.)
OA: direct.mit.edu/ecps/article...
It develops what the cultural sociology of group formation can contribute to research on political cleavages.
(And why "Somewheres vs Anywheres" really doesn't cut it.)
Happy to report that I'm officially #PhDone!
Thanks for joining me on this journey – in particular to supervisors @swyngedouwm.bsky.social, @cecilmeeusen.bsky.social & Koen Abts, and jury members @lwestheuser.bsky.social, @rdassonneville.bsky.social, @rlachat.bsky.social & Gert-Jan Put.
Thanks for joining me on this journey – in particular to supervisors @swyngedouwm.bsky.social, @cecilmeeusen.bsky.social & Koen Abts, and jury members @lwestheuser.bsky.social, @rdassonneville.bsky.social, @rlachat.bsky.social & Gert-Jan Put.
October 6, 2025 at 7:34 AM
Happy to report that I'm officially #PhDone!
Thanks for joining me on this journey – in particular to supervisors @swyngedouwm.bsky.social, @cecilmeeusen.bsky.social & Koen Abts, and jury members @lwestheuser.bsky.social, @rdassonneville.bsky.social, @rlachat.bsky.social & Gert-Jan Put.
Thanks for joining me on this journey – in particular to supervisors @swyngedouwm.bsky.social, @cecilmeeusen.bsky.social & Koen Abts, and jury members @lwestheuser.bsky.social, @rdassonneville.bsky.social, @rlachat.bsky.social & Gert-Jan Put.
Reposted by Daan Delespaul
Radical left support increases for those who study more than their parents and do not achieve upward class mobility, as well as for those who experience upward class mobility but continue to struggle financially www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
The unfulfilled promises of upward mobility and support for radical left parties in Western Europe
In recent decades, educational expansion has produced a large swathe of university graduates which labour markets are increasingly less able to absorb…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 6, 2025 at 6:37 AM
Radical left support increases for those who study more than their parents and do not achieve upward class mobility, as well as for those who experience upward class mobility but continue to struggle financially www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Daan Delespaul
🤝 @jochemvanagt.bsky.social, Katrin Praprotnik, @luanarusso.bsky.social, and @markuswagner.bsky.social show that when the mainstream right signals openness to govern with the far right, it eases tensions on the right but amplifies antipathy on the left 👇
🔗 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
🔗 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Partisan affect and political tolerance in the context of shifting norms: the effect of coalition signals towards the radical right
Mainstream political actors in many countries face the challenging decision of how to engage with radical-right parties. While some systematically exclude them from power, others accept them as coa...
www.tandfonline.com
October 1, 2025 at 1:04 PM
🤝 @jochemvanagt.bsky.social, Katrin Praprotnik, @luanarusso.bsky.social, and @markuswagner.bsky.social show that when the mainstream right signals openness to govern with the far right, it eases tensions on the right but amplifies antipathy on the left 👇
🔗 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
🔗 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Why do the Walloon social democrats have the most ethnocentric electorate of Francophone Belgium?
I lay out some hypotheses (and cool graphs!) – out now in @sampolmaandblad.bsky.social
I lay out some hypotheses (and cool graphs!) – out now in @sampolmaandblad.bsky.social
Migratie en het tweestromenland van de Belgische sociaaldemocratie
PS heeft het meest migratiekritische electoraat van Franstalig België. Desondanks staan de Waalse socialisten niet te boek als een welvaartschauvinistische partij.
www.sampol.be
September 11, 2025 at 10:21 AM
Why do the Walloon social democrats have the most ethnocentric electorate of Francophone Belgium?
I lay out some hypotheses (and cool graphs!) – out now in @sampolmaandblad.bsky.social
I lay out some hypotheses (and cool graphs!) – out now in @sampolmaandblad.bsky.social
Reposted by Daan Delespaul
Are you a junior scholar attending #ecprgc25 or #apsa25? Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to join a dynamic international research team at @sciencepoulb.bsky.social!
📢 Cevipol is hiring a full time postdoc researcher
🗓️ 1-year contract (possible extension)
📍based in Brussels
💼 Project: NOTLIKEUS
📢 Cevipol is hiring a full time postdoc researcher
🗓️ 1-year contract (possible extension)
📍based in Brussels
💼 Project: NOTLIKEUS
August 25, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Are you a junior scholar attending #ecprgc25 or #apsa25? Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to join a dynamic international research team at @sciencepoulb.bsky.social!
📢 Cevipol is hiring a full time postdoc researcher
🗓️ 1-year contract (possible extension)
📍based in Brussels
💼 Project: NOTLIKEUS
📢 Cevipol is hiring a full time postdoc researcher
🗓️ 1-year contract (possible extension)
📍based in Brussels
💼 Project: NOTLIKEUS
Reposted by Daan Delespaul
I'm hiring another postdoc (research-focused, for almost 5 years) for my @erc.europa.eu project on the educational cleavage!
I'm looking for someone with strong quantitative text-analysis skills (e.g. #NLP, #LLM, etc.) to study the role of political actors in cleavage formation.
I'm looking for someone with strong quantitative text-analysis skills (e.g. #NLP, #LLM, etc.) to study the role of political actors in cleavage formation.
July 25, 2025 at 12:37 PM
I'm hiring another postdoc (research-focused, for almost 5 years) for my @erc.europa.eu project on the educational cleavage!
I'm looking for someone with strong quantitative text-analysis skills (e.g. #NLP, #LLM, etc.) to study the role of political actors in cleavage formation.
I'm looking for someone with strong quantitative text-analysis skills (e.g. #NLP, #LLM, etc.) to study the role of political actors in cleavage formation.
Reposted by Daan Delespaul
How much competition within the right field?
❗Segmentation is eroding, especially among young voters❗
New article out by @siljahausermann.bsky.social @dpzollinger.bsky.social
@mrsteenbergen.bsky.social and myself
@ipz.bsky.social @wepsocial.bsky.social
tinyurl.com/ycxfx2aj
A short 🧵
1/7
❗Segmentation is eroding, especially among young voters❗
New article out by @siljahausermann.bsky.social @dpzollinger.bsky.social
@mrsteenbergen.bsky.social and myself
@ipz.bsky.social @wepsocial.bsky.social
tinyurl.com/ycxfx2aj
A short 🧵
1/7
July 8, 2025 at 11:04 AM
How much competition within the right field?
❗Segmentation is eroding, especially among young voters❗
New article out by @siljahausermann.bsky.social @dpzollinger.bsky.social
@mrsteenbergen.bsky.social and myself
@ipz.bsky.social @wepsocial.bsky.social
tinyurl.com/ycxfx2aj
A short 🧵
1/7
❗Segmentation is eroding, especially among young voters❗
New article out by @siljahausermann.bsky.social @dpzollinger.bsky.social
@mrsteenbergen.bsky.social and myself
@ipz.bsky.social @wepsocial.bsky.social
tinyurl.com/ycxfx2aj
A short 🧵
1/7
Submitted the thesis everybody
June 30, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Submitted the thesis everybody
Reposted by Daan Delespaul
Some afternoon thoughts on UK politics and AI exposure and how it’s so different by geography politicalwhiteboard.substack.com/p/the-collar...
The "collar flip"....what if class politics shifted in the UK?
Why the rise of AI, might change our politics in the UK (and US!)
politicalwhiteboard.substack.com
June 26, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Some afternoon thoughts on UK politics and AI exposure and how it’s so different by geography politicalwhiteboard.substack.com/p/the-collar...