"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it was beautiful." My father has selected this quote by Gabriel José García Márquez for his death notice. Of course, he is right. Still, it will take time until I will be able to fulfil his final wish.

Word is getting around!

I always knew @xinfan.bsky.social was a prolific writer, but I just learnt from Amazon how incredibly expansive his 2021 monograph is. 😲

Ein guter Artikel von @romandeckert.bsky.social zur Rolle Deutschland's im Sudan: www.rosalux.de/news/id/5367...

📢 As you are all busy preparing your syllabi for next academic year, here's our offer to you: If you are assinging a chapter of Shifting Sovereignties as a class reading, we are happy to join you via Zoom to be part of a lecture or a class discussion.

A new podcast on international students in the UK. The title is brilliant @jasonilagan.com. It was lovely chatting with @heather-rolfe.bsky.social and @bdmabrams.bsky.social. Thank you so much for hosting the conversation @ioe.bsky.social .

🇨🇩 I used to show photos of these in class to talk about Lumumba, NAM and the Cold War. I have now gotten the physical artefacts so I can let students look at them instead and also discuss stamps as a historical source.

I wish you all a very happy Eid al Adha. عيد أضحى مبارك.

Und in hellen Leuchtbuchstaben flimmert „Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz“ über dem neuen deutschen Exil-Campus für Harvard.

Das muss diese »garantierte Wissenschaftsfreiheit« sein, von der Doro Bär spricht.

Na liebe Hannas... fühlt ihr euch schon ausreichend verarscht? www.spiegel.de/politik/deut...

4/6/25 - nocturn

I was waiting for the opportunity to use a Expanse gif in my Shifting Sovereignties posts... I should do that more often 😇

It must be rather rare that books get the approval of academics as an academic book & by their 8-year olds thanks to their lavish images and illustrations. www.h-net.org/reviews/show...

First publication of articles in a book forum about Jens Bartelson’s great book Becoming International. I was intrigued by the way the book ends with hope that a planetary perspective will enable the creation of an alternative to international relations.

Cambridge Global Economic History Seminar, 19 May: Lisbeth Rodrigues (Porto), ‘Beyond almsgiving: The financial role of charitable institutions in early modern Portugal and its empire’. 17:15 UK time in Audit Room, King's College, Cambridge. Or online: subscribe at www.hist.cam.ac.uk/event-series...

To the cartoonist who drew this, well done.

Lastly, yesterday we announced the election of 337 new Fellows, Associate Fellows, Members and Postgraduate Members to the Society. We look forward to meeting and working with them to support history and historians. If you'd like to join them (and us), please do apply bit.ly/45lOzr0 #Skystorians

15/5/25 - nocturn

🙏 Thank you for everyone who came to the presentation in Bristol yesterday and especially @allanpang.bsky.social for taking these photos.

🗣️ Today in Bristol!

Okay, so you don't trust the death count by the Gaza Ministry of Health? What then do other estimates say how many people died? Well, as reported by the Economist, most likely between 1.5x and 2x what the Gaza Ministry of Health estimates. Meaning, up to 5% of the strip's total population!

Next week in Bristol!

A complete breakdown of the international system is in progress: instead of sanctioning Netanyahu and his ministers for their serial war crimes, western governments offer funding and diplomatic cover while suppressing domestic critics of Israel

8️⃣ MAY (the day after tomorrow) 🕓 in Leiden!

I’m so excited to reveal the cover of Galileo’s Fame! The @upittpress.bsky.social has done an amazing job with the design, showcasing a stunning seventeenth-century depiction of the goddess Fama. I can’t wait to hold the book in my hands in just a few months.

🏇 🐴 Sovereignty is everywhere... Sovereignty wins 151st Kentucky Derby www.bbc.co.uk/sport/horse-...

📅 🗣️ Join us for the Cambridge book launch of "A Century of State-Making in Iraq: Baghdad, Kurdistan, and the Development of the Constitution" www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/book-launc... @camhistory.bsky.social

Meet me in Leiden!

UK tightening student visas during a uni funding crisis at the moment some of the biggest spenders on higher education are looking around for a new destination would be an impressive example of governing by polling against the economic interests of the country

🇪🇬 What have the Americans done for the Suez Canal which would legitimise this claim on Egyptian sovereignty?

Meet me in Newcastle!

THE MO SIEWCHARRAN PRIZE 2025 An opportunity for young writers. That's why I agreed to be one of the Judges this year. Attending the zoom meeting on 30 April will help many.

Impressions from the Kurdish Studies conference in Erbil. (Photos by different colleagues.)

My mom calls me a traveling salesman for words. I am on the way from Erbil to Preston, where we launch "A Transdisciplinary Study of Global Mobilities: Identities on the Move" tomorrow. The event is hybrid. I hope to see you there!

It looks like the Royal African Society - publisher of African Arguments - may have gone bust.

🇮🇶 I am excited to be in Erbil for the 4th International Conference of Kurdish Studies where I am looking forward to present my recently published chapter "Wilson in Versailles and the Kurdish Question" to a Kurdish audience. bsky.app/profile/miha...

It was great to receive our three publications on the same week. You can find the publications in the thread below

I am pleased to share my new publication “Saudi’s NEOM: A New ‘Utopian City’ Gluing the Jewel to the Crown”. The chapter engages with neoliberal urbanism and authoritarianism focusing on NEOM www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...

"As for the inevitable death ... I want a loud death, I don't want me in a breaking news story, nor in a number with a group, I want a death that is heard by the world, a trace that lasts forever, and immortal images that neither time nor place can bury." www.euronews.com/culture/2025...

“Many academics tell us they’re avoiding US travel entirely due to genuine fears about border detention and visa issues” www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

🚨 We're gifting someone a copy of the book. All you need to do is tell us why it should be you — and be the most convincing at doing so.

I would have never thought that we get this much traction on Bluesky!

☕ Today I got my History against the Grain cup, for participating in the podcast. You can listen to the episode below.

🇩🇪 The new German coalition treaty mentions sovereignty 25 times. Twice in reference to Ukraine, twice about European sovereignty and 21 times discussing digital and data sovereignty. cdn.prod.www.spiegel.de/media/20aa55...

On April 25 we are launching the edited volume in which I have published a chapter on the Afro-Palestinian community. The event is hybrid. I look forward to seeing you virtually, or in person in Preston.

Check out these impressions from the book talk today at the British University in Egypt. Thank you to the team in political science for hosting the event, thank you to everyone who came, and a special thank you to Professor Hadia and Professor Amany. www.instagram.com/reel/DIMHmQr...