Research
Published
Ethnic Media and the Mobilization of Identity
Giacomo Lemoli
Comparative Political Studies (2025), 58(5), 890–923
Abstract
This paper studies the relationship between ethnic media, which produce content in a minority language, and the success of ethnic parties. I argue that, by embedding cultural traits in entertainment products, media outlets can shape the salience of group identity, which helps parties’ mobilization efforts. I test this argument in the case of the Basque Country where, in the late phase of the Franco regime, an independent radio station operated by local clergy promoted the revival of regional language. Using contemporary, archival, and survey data, I show that exposure to ethnic radio increased support for new radical independentist parties and that the effect is driven by formerly Spanish-speaking municipalities with low historical support for Basque nationalism. I also show that radio increased bilingualism in subsequent generations and contributed to the bundling of ethnic identity revival and radical political ideology during the democratic transition.Terrorist Attacks, Cultural Incidents, and the Vote for Radical Parties: Analyzing Text from Twitter
Francesco Giavazzi, Felix Iglhaut, Giacomo Lemoli, and Gaia Rubera
American Journal of Political Science (2024), 68(3), 1002–1021
Abstract
We study the role of perceived threats from other cultures induced by terrorist attacks and criminal events on public discourse and support for radical right parties. We develop a rule which allocates Twitter users to electoral districts in Germany and use a machine learning method to compute measures of textual similarity between the tweets they produce and tweets by accounts of the main German parties. Using the exogenous timing of attacks, we find that, after an event, Twitter language becomes on average more similar to that of the main radical right party, AfD. The result is driven by a larger share of tweets discussing immigrants and Muslims, common AfD topics, and by a more negative sentiment of these tweets. Shifts in language similarity are correlated with changes in vote shares between federal elections. These results point to the role of perceived threats from minorities on the success of nationalist parties.Journal version PDF Online Appendix Working paper version Replication materials
Working Papers
Collective Memories of Violence and Political Attitudes: Evidence from a World War II Frontline
Giacomo Lemoli and Gloria Gennaro (2025)
Penalties for Particularism and Partisanship? Citizens’ Preferences for Legal Punishment of Clientelism
Jeremy Horowitz, Giacomo Lemoli, and Kristin Michelitch (2025)
Political Consequences of Natural Disasters: Evidence from a Massive Earthquake in Early Modern History
Leonardo Baccini, Paola Giuliano, Giacomo Lemoli, and Shanker Satyanath (2025)
Draft available upon request
Work in Progress
Ethnic Bias and Partisan Bias in Kenya: Evidence from Lab and Survey Experiments
Jeremy Horowitz, Giacomo Lemoli, and Kristin Michelitch
Networks and Dynamics of Violent Political Mobilization: Historical Evidence from Spain
Giacomo Lemoli and Sergi Martínez
Measuring Group Segregation and Contact in Space Through Names, Symbols, and Pictures
Violeta Haas and Giacomo Lemoli
Cosmos x IHS AI-Accelerated Scholarship Program Grant