Reasonably Political

In this episode, I sit down with John Kenny, a political scientist at the University of Southampton, to explore why some politicians are perceived as authentic while others come across as fake or scripted.Drawing on research on political authenticity, John explains what makes politicians seem authentic to voters, why authenticity matters for political evaluations, and how these perceptions shape how individuals evaluate political leaders and vote.We also discuss why authenticity is often associated with populist politicians, how social media affects perceptions of authenticity, and why voters sometimes value politicians who appear blunt, unscripted, or unconventional.This episode explores how authenticity has become one of the  important qualities in modern politics, and why perceptions of being “real” can shape political success just as much as competence or policy positions.The research discussed in this episode is based on the following articles:Dieter Stiers, Jac Larner, John Kenny, Sofia Breitenstein, Florence Vallée-Dubois and Michael Lewis-Beck. 2021. "Candidate Authenticity: `To Thine Own Self Be True' " Political Behavior 43(3): 1181-1204.John Kenny and Lucas Geese. 2025. "An Authenticity Expectations Gap? A Comparison of Publics' and Members of Parliament's Views on Politicians Being True to Themselves" Polity 57(2): 350-369.

In this episode, I sit down with Philippe Mongrain to explore how citizens and politicians think about representation, and what happens when they are not on the same page.Drawing on evidence from 13 democracies, Philippe and his co-authors, Nino Junius and Nathalie Brack, show that most people don’t want politicians to simply follow public opinion—but also don’t want them to ignore it. At the same time, they find that politicians tend to see their role differently, placing more emphasis on leadership than on acting as a transmission belt for public opinion.This episode breaks down a key tension at the heart of modern democracies, and why it may help explain why so many people feel unrepresented today.The research discussed in this episode is based on: “As You Wish? Public Preferences for Models of Representation and MPs’ Role Orientations,” published in the European Journal of Political Research.