Populist citizens in four European countries: Widespread dissatisfaction goes with contradictory but pro-democratic regime preferences

Are populist citizens a threat to democracy? Some philosophers view populism and democracy as irreconcilable conceptions of governing. Another line of thought describes populism as useful democratic corrective. Drawing on nationally representative surveys from four European countries, this study investigates how European populist citizens think about democracy. Descriptive analyses reveal that populist worldviews only weakly predict how people think about democracy. On average, populist and non-populist citizens aspire to similar kinds of political systems and both endorse liberal-democratic institutions. Yet, populists and non-populists differ in the degree to which they hold inconsistent beliefs. Citizens with populist outlook more frequently express contradictory demands that political institutions cannot possibly deliver. Based on these findings, we conclude that most populist citizens do not pursue an elaborate anti-democratic conception of governing. Rather, the widespread dissatisfaction among populists may create an indeterminate openness for institutional change that political elites could steer in different directions

Left behind and united by populism? Populism’s multiple roots in feelings of lacking societal recognition

A prominent but underspecified explanation for the rise of populism points to individuals’ feelings of being “left behind” by the development of society. At its core lies the claim that support for populism is driven by the feeling of lacking the societal recognition one deserves. Our contribution builds on the insight that individuals can feel they lack recognition in different ways and for different reasons. We argue that—because of this multifaceted character—the common perception of being neglected by society unites otherwise heterogeneous segments of the population in their support for populism. Relying on data from the German Longitudinal Election Study (GLES) Pre-Election Cross-Section 2021, our preregistered study investigated the multiple roots of populist attitudes in feelings of lacking societal recognition in two steps. First, our results indicate that, from rural residents to sociocultural conservatives or low-income citizens, seemingly unrelated segments of society harbor feelings of lacking recognition, but for distinct reasons. Second, as anticipated, each of the distinct feelings of lacking recognition are associated with populist attitudes. These findings underscore the relevance of seemingly unpolitical factors that are deeply ingrained in the human psyche for understanding current populist sentiment. Overall, by integrating previously disparate perspectives on the rise of populism, the study offers a novel conceptualization of “feeling left behind” and explains how populism can give rise to unusual alliances that cut across traditional cleavages

Highly indistinguishable single photons from incoherently and coherently excited GaAs quantum dots

Semiconductor quantum dots are converging towards the demanding requirements of photonic quantum technologies. Among different systems, quantum dots with dimensions exceeding the free-exciton Bohr radius are appealing because of their high oscillator strengths. While this property has received much attention in the context of cavity quantum electrodynamics, little is known about the degree of indistinguishability of single photons consecutively emitted by such dots and on the proper excitation schemes to achieve high indistinguishability. A prominent example is represented by GaAs quantum dots obtained by local droplet etching, which recently outperformed other systems as triggered sources of entangled photon pairs. On these dots, we compare different single-photon excitation mechanisms, and we find (i) a "phonon bottleneck" and poor indistinguishability for conventional excitation via excited states and (ii) photon indistinguishablilities above 90% for both strictly resonant and for incoherent acoustic- and optical-phonon-assisted excitation. Among the excitation schemes, optical phonon-assisted excitation enables straightforward laser rejection without a compromise on the source brightness together with a high photon indistinguishability

Special issue conclusion : The GLES Open Science Challenge 2021 in hindsight: experiences gained and lessons learned

Die GLES Open Science Challenge 2021 ist ein Pilotprojekt, das zeigt, dass Registered Reports ein geeignetes und gewinnbringendes Publikationsformat in der quantitativen Politikwissenschaft sind, die dazu beitragen können, die Transparenz und Replizierbarkeit im Forschungsprozess zu erhöhen und somit substanzielle und relevante Beiträge für unsere Disziplin zu liefern. Das Ergebnis ist die Veröffentlichung dieses Sonderheftes mit sieben Registered Reports, die auf Daten der German Longitudinal Election Study (GLES) basieren, die im Rahmen der Bundestagswahl 2021 erhoben wurden. Dieser abschließende Artikel des Sonderheftes bringt die Perspektiven von Autor*innen, Gutachter*innen, Organisator*innen und Herausgeber*innen zusammen, um eine Bilanz der verschiedenen Erfahrungen und Lehren zu ziehen, die im Laufe dieses Projektes gewonnen wurden

First Sagittarius A* Event Horizon Telescope Results. I. The Shadow of the Supermassive Black Hole in the Center of the Milky Way

We present the first Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) observations of Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), the Galactic center source associated with a supermassive black hole. These observations were conducted in 2017 using a global interferometric array of eight telescopes operating at a wavelength of lambda = 1.3 mm. The EHT data resolve a compact emission region with intrahour variability. A variety of imaging and modeling analyses all support an image that is dominated by a bright, thick ring with a diameter of 51.8 +/- 2.3 mu as (68% credible interval). The ring has modest azimuthal brightness asymmetry and a comparatively dim interior. Using a large suite of numerical simulations, we demonstrate that the EHT images of Sgr A* are consistent with the expected appearance of a Kerr black hole with mass similar to 4 x 10(6) M (circle dot), which is inferred to exist at this location based on previous infrared observations of individual stellar orbits, as well as maser proper-motion studies. Our model comparisons disfavor scenarios where the black hole is viewed at high inclination (i > 50 degrees), as well as nonspinning black holes and those with retrograde accretion disks. Our results provide direct evidence for the presence of a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, and for the first time we connect the predictions from dynamical measurements of stellar orbits on scales of 10(3)-10(5) gravitational radii to event-horizon-scale images and variability. Furthermore, a comparison with the EHT results for the supermassive black hole M87* shows consistency with the predictions of general relativity spanning over three orders of magnitude in central mass

The micro logic of tactical protest voting : a comparative analysis

electoral behavior ; tactical protest voting ; electoral system

Replication Data for: "Anticipated Election Result and Protest Voting: Why and When Canadian Voters Signal Discontent."

Contains materials to replicate all analyses in the pape