Read on Twitter
Before people think I am depressed (again), let me share my reflections of the past months and lay out my plans for next few years. #AsIfAnyoneCares https://twitter.com/CasMudde/status/1335700644326465538
1. I am a strong believer of regular reflection on what I am doing, personally and professionally, to ensure that I live as much as possible according to my own desires and wishes and adjust my life to possible changes in my preferences (or structure in which I operate).
2. I guess this is one of the good things that came out of two major depressions and a few years of therapy!
3. Let's start with the good things first, which really are 85% of my life:
- I am very happy in my family life and have enjoyed much more time at home with my two boys (7y and 1y old).
- I am happy with my job as academic.
- I am happy where I live and (therefore) where I work.
- I am very happy in my family life and have enjoyed much more time at home with my two boys (7y and 1y old).
- I am happy with my job as academic.
- I am happy where I live and (therefore) where I work.
4. In the last 4-5 years I have prioritized my (self-chosen) role of "public intellectual", focusing on columns, public speaking, even punditry. This was driven mostly by my concern about rise of populism/far right.
5. This also came at a cost, most notably the ability to stay up-to-date on academic debates and literature as well as write more solid academic work.
6. In the next years I will decrease my "public intellectual" role, mostly notably my "punditry". I will give fewer comments, interviews, and lectures, particularly for purely performative causes and on topics at periphery of my academic expertise.
7. I will also write fewer columns, and focus primarily on analysis rather than opinion -- that choice, in and by itself, will ensure that I can publish fewer columns/op-eds.
8. As I have said for years now, but will now do (even) more, I want to read much more academic work. And I want to combine broader work with a clearer focus again.
9. As far as I'm concerned, I am pretty much done with #populism -- I have largely said what I wanted to say and my heart and mind are not in most of the current debates in the literature (which is a personal choice, not a judgment on that literature or the scholars).
10. Somewhat related, I am not very interested in working on authoritarianism, democratic erosion, let alone fascism, which are all topics I might teach on, but don't want to research on. (personal choices)
11. Most importantly, I want to return to my first love, i.e. European party politics. More in the tradition of the late Peter Mair than the early Peter Mair, i.e. Hollowing the Void rather than Party Organizations, although with some Bartolini & Mair in it.
12. To be clear, I am NO Peter Mair. He is, however, both my academic mentor and my academic model. How I miss him and how political science and politics could have used his insights in past decade.
13. What this means, in the long run, is that I want to write a book on the Transformations of European Politics, probably for Hurst, but this is a long-term plan (5+ years).
14. In the "short" term, it means I will finally commit to writing a successor to my 2007 book for Cambridge. It will be a bit less dense, and undoubtedly less original, critical state of the art of the "fourth wave" of populist radical right parties in Europe.
15. I believe too much literature still treats PRRPs as "challengers" and their move into the mainstream has fundamental consequences for how best to study them.
16. I combine this "return to the far right" with staying connected to @CrexUiO , where I plan to work with many colleagues on far right politics in Europe (and beyond).
17. After many years of not really diving into purely academic debates, and reading about all aspects of PRRPs in Europe, I am actually eager and interested again. I worry about being able to make a "major" contribution, but, ultimately, that is up for others to decide.
18. I also plan to finally do some work on conceptualization, operationalization and measurement with my friend and colleague @kchadclay -- write a textbook and teaching grad courses (drawing upon human rights and far right/populism to make general methodological points).
19. Importantly, I will work more on "political parties" than on "the far right". I have never done much original research on the non-party far right or on far right terrorism/violence and will stay even further away from this literature (not my strength).
20. As a partial retreat to academic work, I will also be even less connected to, and involved in, both anti-far right activism and CVE -- I never was, really, but I connected more to these world in past years than ever before.
21. We all have a role to play, and we play them best when we stay independent and true to our own values, rather than delude them to create larger numbers.
22. All of this is to say that I want to recenter as an academic, to be able to be a good and genuine "public intellectual" -- my strength is not my activism, devotion, or eloquence, but my specific knowledge and understanding.
23. To have that level of knowledge, you have to prioritize and specialize, but not too much. And to have impact, you have to remain centered and not become a cliché or a grifter/pundit (and there is lot of pressure into that direction).
24. I remain strong supporter of society-relevant research, and of combining academic research with public outreach, and will remain more publicly involved than most academics. But I also think you should do what you want to do, if you can, not what others want you to do.
25. Thanks for enduring this long semi-narcisistic rant. Obviously, I will also try to adjust and change my Twitter behavior -- less is more -- even though hat might be hardest of all. #TheEnd
