Conversations with Sergei Guriev

How recommendation algorithms operate on social media to establish relationships with the political positions of users? In order to answer this question, Tim Faverjon designed various models and analysed their predictions, specifically focusing on political attitudes and socio-demographic characteristics. He emphasises the importance of looking inside the algorithms rather than just observing thei...

The digital inequalities are considerable and directly linked to social inequalities: less money, less equipment, less time, less training. How is political activism developed in this context? With what consequences? Jen Schradie has been studying these questions for over 10 years by combining quantitative, qualitative and computational studies. By sharing her conclusions with us, she also tells u...

In the vast landscape of the Internet, YouTube is a giant, hosting over 14 billion videos that shape our digital experience. No one knew this number until Ethan Zukerma n and his team calculated it using an advanced method they developed. Not only did they count the number of videos, but they also classified them, providing a vivid picture of YouTube’s cultural and linguistic diversity. This analy...

Many studies have shown the limited effectiveness of factual corrections in changing deeply ingrained beliefs and attitudes. However, based on the results of his work, Yamil Velez is convinced that thanks to generative AI, researchers can create personalised rebuttals that adapt to individuals' stated positions. It may also be helpful to explore new ways to reduce polarisation and enhance critical...

One thing is certain: discrimination is not only perpetuated by algorithms which reflect societal biases, but multiplied. If the constitution of databases and configuration of algorithms must be rethought, it will not be enough. It is essential to rely on law, especially the Europen one which prohibits a large number of discriminations. These legal protections must be adapted and developed, consid...

Over the last decades, identity is rising as a new ideology influenced by postmodernism, postcolonialism, and critical race theory. While acknowledging the value of recognising and respecting diverse identities, Yascha Mounk invites us to be vigilant about the potential pitfalls of rigidly defining individuals solely based on their identity groups. It is crucial to strike a balance between celebra...

Political dynasties belong neither to the past nor only to authoritarian regimes. Think about the Trudeau family in Canada, Le Pen in France, or Kirchner in Argentina. An explanatory factor: having lived in a political environment provides skills.  Can the evolution of society towards a better level of education and more transparency put an end to these dynasties? Especially since we find a growin...

You could be driving home, on your usual route, and you are lost in thought. Next thing you know you are home, and you don’t remember having taken any of the turns. That is intuition, what many of us use to think about politics. But democratic politics requires that we say stop, you need to reassess and come to a different decision. That’s reflection. Are voters rational beings, choosing carefully...

Does it matter who controls the media? What are the democratic implications of the increasing concentration of the media industry in the hands of oligarchs? Is this a result of the weakening of the industry? What changes can we expect in the upcoming years? To answer these burning questions, Julia Cagé lays out some democratic solutions that her research finds promising to break away from editoria...

Egypt, which for so long has been a great referent in the Arab World, seems to be entering decline, politically and economically. Could its authoritarian military regime have something to do with this? In this new episode of our series on Democracy and Populism, we have the pleasure of welcoming Egypt expert Eberhard Kienle. We discuss the particularities of Egypt’s authoritarianism and its instit...

What encourages voters to support populist right parties? What has made Marine Le Pen’s discourse so powerful, especially with regards to its female vote share? What policies do radical right parties generally look for at the European Union level? Could support for the radical left and the radical right overlap? In this episode, Nonna Mayer, a specialist in radical ideologies and populism, answers...

Social networks pose very complex challenges to governments. Those who want to sell news have become very good at creating clickbait on negative news, knowing that we are naturally more sensitive to this kind of news. Social media discourse also contributes to exaggerating minority positions. Even scientific knowledge, which is one of the factors informing good government policy, can be challenged...

In this conversation, Alexander Etkind sets out the reasons why environmental challenges are largely ignored in Russia, by public authorities and more generally by society. If this is largely explained by the weight of fossil fuels in Russia's income, there are other factors to take into account, such as state ideology, education and demography. Alexander Etkind also presents his conception of the...

The vulnerability of agriculture and energy production to water scarcity is not so new. Historically, this issue has been mainly addressed through the regulation of water sharing. A major problem today is that the water scarcity is worsening and that past solutions are not sufficient to resolve the problem. What are the new parameters to take into account? What public policies should be put in pla...

The mobilisation of children for climate policies started in 2018, with Greta Thunberg benefiting from strong media coverage and social media.  After her speech at the UN Climate Action Summit, it became a concern at the level of international organisations. If children's rights were already a concern of UNICEF, the approach radically changed since international organizations had to consider young...

It’s a well-known fact that rich countries pollute more than poor countries. What is less taken in account is that it is within countries and especially inside emerging countries that inequalities in terms of pollution are increasingly significant. The middle classes, in India, China or Latin America, are beginning to pollute just as much as the western middle classes. What policies should be put...

Decay, frugality, green growth; so many concepts that invite us to rethink our growth appeal as it dominated the 20th century. Where does our conception of limitless economic growth come from? What would have been the opinion of the economists of the 18th and 19th centuries who have laid down the first ideas of what growth should be? What did they think about the relationship between growth and na...

What do social movements have to say about climate change? What is their role in local and global governance of climate change? How do climate activists coordinate alternative futures in a postapocalyptic present? Some people say individual changes are needed, while others think it should come from systemic change. How does the climate movement reconcile both?  Answers by Joost de Moor , a researc...

Small island states - that have 65 million inhabitants  - are all strongly impacted by climate change . What can they do, given their limitations in terms of financial and human resources ? Carola Klöck, who has been working on this subject for years, explains to us  their adaptation policies, their influence in international negotiations… Carola Kloeck   is an Associate Professor at the Sciences...

Welcome to the first episode of the environmental transformation series of the Sciences Po’s podcast “Conversations with Sergei Guriev”. In this series, Sergei Guriev talks with our best researchers to understand the fundamental issues of environmental transition. Let’s start with the decisive role of cities in building a sober world. Cities are the main sources of pollution, but they also are the...

Do you want to understand better the change that is happening in our societies and to our societies? The environmental transformation, the digital transformation, the challenges to our democracies coming from populism and authoritarian leaders, the rise of inequalities discrimination, globalisation,  the return of History in geopolitics? Sciences Po faculty is conducting frontier research on these...