New study of 381,000 political speeches finds that liberals use more complex language than conservatives

… As earlier findings indicate, our research shows that politicians from socially liberal parties use more complex language than politicians from socially conservative parties. We analyzed 381,609 speeches delivered by politicians from Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. These speeches include not only those of 12 prime […] Read more »

Don’t fool yourself. The political center won’t recover anytime soon.

British media and political elites are chattering about a possible new, centrist party forming after 12 members of Parliament defected from the Labour and Conservative parties. Such speculation from elites is understandable, as the defectors’ anti-Brexit stance largely mirrors their own. But, once again, they are missing the forest for […] Read more »

Two-Thirds Oppose US Withdrawal From Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty

As the Trump administration has formally initiated the process of withdrawing from the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia, saying that Russia has persistently violated the Treaty, a just-completed survey of American voters finds that two thirds oppose taking this step, opting instead for staying within the Treaty and […] Read more »

The counterrevolution to populism is happening all over the world

It’s not just in the United States. The counterrevolution to populism is happening all over the world, and it’s turning the old left-right political axis on its head. In country after country, the rise of anti-immigrant parties or movements is forcing many supporters of traditional center-right parties to recalibrate. Culturally […] Read more »