Very grateful to André Steiner for his engaging and generous review of Disruption in the June 2026 issue of Zeitschrift für Geschichtswissenschaft:

I was glad to contribute to the roundtable on Mark Kramer’s excellent book. Perhaps the most interesting part was the news that Kramer will publish *next year* a three-volume series on the Soviet bloc, which promises to set a new standard and should be on everyone’s reading list

Next book to review. I am very much looking forward to reading „Disruption“ by @mdegroot51.bsky.social.

Tornado warning

Abandoning NATO, the greatest alliance in history, would be a strategic mistake of epic proportions

Second order effect of the Iran war: not just countries hosting U.S. bases reconsidering whether it increases their security.

Just a reminder that the Washington Treaty defines the geography of NATO’s mutual defense pledge — at U.S. insistence in 1949 — to prevent allies from committing us to their wars outside of Europe.

I've written at least two op-eds that are sitting in the mailboxes of editors that may or may not publish them. So here's a preliminary take: "One can believe the regime deserved to fall and still believe this war is a disaster in the making." hedgeofstate.substack.com/p/farce-again

Again, for emphasis: russia has not agreed to ANYTHING. Nearly 100% of the media coverage presents the current situation as: if Ukraine agrees to giving up Donbas, there will be peace. That is not the case! Stop acting as if it were.

Teaching or researching U.S. history post-45? Join @carrienbaker.bsky.social Scott Laderman, @davidgreenberg.bsky.social and @mdegroot51.bsky.social for a webinar on understanding U.S. history in 1960s–80s. Tomorrow at 5:00 PM Eastern, I'll be moderating! #historians #bskyhistorians #ushistory #oah

After Researching Tenure’s History, Tennessee Lawmaker Drops Bill to End It www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-t...

In Munich "I did not meet a single person of any nationality who thinks that the American-European relationship is returning to business as usual" www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

ICYMI: I feel this didn’t get enough attention because it was published in the runup to the Munich Security Conference, but this open letter by every single US Ambassador to NATO since 1998 (and until the Trump appointee) and all but one SACEURs since 1997 on NATO’s value is worth reading.

we need to talk about that Ring Super Bowl ad

Really sad to see the news. Playing for 9 was the thrill of a lifetime for me.

Gov. Tim Walz: "Thank God we have video, because according to DHS, these seven heroic guys took an onslaught of a battalion against them or something. It's nonsense, people. It's nonsense and it is lies."

Before every meeting or even phone call with Zelinskyy, Trump first calls Putin. That should tell you something. It is a strictly one-way street since he never calls Zelinskyy, EU leaders, or anyone else before talking with Putin. Clearly, Putin's approval matters to him.

The National Security Archive posted transcripts of Bush/Putin conversations in 2001, 2005, and 2008. Well worth reading. nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-boo...

HOOSIERS!!!

44 percent off @cornellupress.bsky.social books, including my own, with the promo code below. Lots of great choices!

Book workshops are *fantastic.* Whether or not resources are an issue, the Zoom version (2-3 hours) works incredibly well and makes it much easier for participants to attend. Other book workshop tips 🧵:

This is an important thread

Contemporary European History is looking to hire a new managing editor — come work with us! 🌟 Deadline is November 30. @conteurohistory.bsky.social www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

A wild-eyed Christopher Lloyd explaining that the only way to close the inter-dimensional wormhole from the Cubs winning the World Series is to play another World Series in the "null hour" when clocks are turned back.

On behalf of all Giants fans: get it done, Toronto!

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/o... Want to understand Reagan's trade policies? You have to understand the three P's: principles, pragmatism, and politics....

Donald Heath reflecting on his time in Nazi Germany before formal US entry into WWII: "The Nazi officials in Berlin never missed an occasion to say to me that America had 'nothing to fear from Germany' and from what has happened in Europe, but they could hardly keep from laughing when they said it."

More on Reagan v Trump on tariffs www.wsj.com/opinion/reag...

The US is imposing sanctions on Russia’s two biggest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, aiming to “degrade” Putin’s war chest and support Trump’s effort to end the war in Ukraine. The move marks the first time the Trump administration has imposed direct costs on Moscow over its full-scale invasion.

Many thanks to @mitpress.bsky.social for generously making the digital version of my book, Weapons in Space, open access! It can be accessed here: direct.mit.edu/books/oa-mon...

A terrific book!

I'm thrilled to have an article in the fall volume of International Security on the role of allies in U.S. space power during the Cold War!

Horrible news!

“A European diplomat briefed on the White House meeting described the meeting as a mess and said Trump also ‘went on and on’ about ‘his grievances of not having gotten the Nobel Peace Prize.’” Another embarrassing performance. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...

"The US president tossed aside maps of the frontline in Ukraine, insisted Zelenskyy surrender the entire Donbas region to Putin, and repeatedly echoed talking points the Russian leader had made in their call a day earlier" on.ft.com/4n9nlNd

The Hoosiers are for real!

Now that's how you end a homestand. Michael Wagaman delivers the takeaways from the Giants' dominant win over the Orioles ⬇️

We still fail to appreciate how significant an event the 2008 global financial crisis was for the trajectory of the world economy.

Our friends at the Office of the Historian have been busy! Out today are three chapters from Foreign Relations of the United States, 1977-1980, Volume XXVII, Western Europe: Canada, West Germany, and the Nordic countries. history.state.gov/historicaldo... #FRUS

A fabulous @warontherocks.bsky.social piece by James Graham Wilson about the release of new FRUS volume National Security Policy, 1985–1988. As he notes, the declassified docs empower readers to interpret the Reagan administration's Strategic Defense Initiative & modernization of strategic forces 🗃️

Coming this December: a great addition to Columbia's Global America series.

Ukraine already tried "territories for peace" in 2014. It didn't work. In 2022, Pu invaded again. The complexity of the war isn't in who gets to control Donbas today. It is how to stop Ru from invading again given Ru's insistence that Ukr belongs to it. Trump is ignoring the issue and has no plan.

Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine

Really excited to get this #FRUS volume out the door!

Here we go! The Mershon Center @mershoncenter.bsky.social at THE Ohio State University is hosting the 2026 Summer Institute of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations @shafrhistorians.bsky.social - take a look, apply, all are welcome, open to advanced PhD candidate + early career🗃️

The University at Albany, SUNY Center for Policy Research is seeking a one-year post doctoral research fellow for the Project on International Security, Commerce, & Economic Statecraft (PISCES). Position to start early September! www.cpr-pisces.org/postdoc-rese...

This is GREAT. We (i.e., faculty and students at state public universities) should hold a "Knowledge Fair" in every state capitol building.

Reagan, December 1981: "We who were going to balance the budget face the biggest budget deficits ever."

Visit our virtual display booth for the #SHAFR2025 Annual Meeting. Use promo code 09EXP40 to take 40% off and redeem free shipping on these titles (US only, excludes Leuven UP). @shafrhistorians.bsky.social #ForeignRelations See all featured books: www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/our-shafr-20...