'Georgia is not an isolated case. It is part of a global web of anti-gender discourse promoted by conservative NGOs, religious movements, and political actors, from Poland and Hungary to the United States and Latin America.'

When bisexuals were erased from the Stonewall monument narrative, many, even within some queer and queer-friendly circles that I saw, treated it as a hostile yet somewhat random if not ridiculous move. It was anything but random 👇

I recently read a BA thesis on the prevalence of "anti-gender" ideology in #farright party manifestos. It was quite good overall, but when it came to choosing a graph style and colour palette, the student did the funniest thing👇

The image capturing this year’s iconic moment may turn out to have no author in a traditional sense.

I understand that Rochowanski may be critical of the international non-profit system, and I share some of that criticism, but her testimony here was appallingly poor, and also fundamentally cynical toward victims of political repression in Georgia and elsewhere.

A Georgian police officer casually asked 21-year-old protester Luka Jabua if he was bisexual after he was taken to a police station in December. When Luka said no, the officer replied that he was, and was just wondering if Luka was too (he's not).

What’s up with these children of God? Gen Z’s rightward shift put into perspective, with nods to religiosity stats, and digital spirituality and influencer culture. Also: opens with smartphones and circles back, I loved the structure

It's horrifying to hear something like this from a child Interviewing a minor who has survived a traumatic incident is deeply problematic, even with all key consents (a guardian, a mental health professional, a minor). Public-interest angle: Americans needed to hear this (I hope it still matters)

Repressive regimes exploit counter-terrorism and anti-extremism mechanisms to target critics and diaspora members, a practice that also poses a serious threat to the national security of host states. Important report from @icct.bsky.social‬.

Hungary’s Viktor Orbán is exporting his far-right agenda to Latin America. Through Madrid-based think tanks, CPAC, and alliances with leaders in Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil, his regime is promoting anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ+, and anti-gender policies across the region. Read more:

'I would have no problem with a political jurisdiction saying you need to be in church every Sunday or whatever the details are under the right circumstances - Rev. David Ramirez I suppose the whole debate represents the more ‘integrative’ flank of the U.S. Lutheran community

True, but just to note: their more mainstream cousins will likely push into academia even more fervently in the decades ahead (Screengrab from '“Feminist Lies” to “White Replacement”: Digital Anti-Feminist Forumsas Spaces of Collective Radicalization' www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...)

Hey. Metaphor for the sociology of religion just dropped. apnews.com/video/sweden...

Framing US-style protections as reliable guardrails ignores how they’ve proven fundamentally unreliable and overstates their ability to contain the very authoritarians they’ve helped empower.

The family picture at the White House.

Kudos to Chancellor Merz for making the point that ceasefire is vital to any progress toward peace agreement.

I talked on @aljazeera.com about the protests in Serbia and government violence w. Mirko Dautovic & Tatjana Kekic youtu.be/ay0WOq9pA54?...

'I don't believe that the younger generations are going to be much more different than the older generations when it comes to using and abusing nationalism’ - Faris Kočan, Prof at Ljubljana University 'Generations of our partens are more progressive than my generation' - Danilo Kalezic, pol analyst

At the Alaska meeting, Putin sat with two competent members of his otherwise criminal entourage. Building a loyal and corrupt yet competent vertical is no joke, takes time.

An insightful, non-reductive look at how North Caucasus residents are coerced or why they're volunteering to fight in Russia’s war against Ukraine

Interesting as expected, especially @casmudde.bsky.social's take on techno-fascists, radicalisation and public media, and, in the closing, on whether voters are drifting further right culturally

New from me and @yasemingacar.bsky.social in @uk.theconversation.com, summarising our recent work on the role of reappropriation/reclaiming stigmatising labels in identity politicisation, empowerment, and collective action. theconversation.com/why-people-r...

'While the far-left militants are outnumbered by far-right fighters, they nonetheless represent a significant trend—one that is often overlooked and understudied by scholars due to the dominant focus on the far-right threat.'

Also worth noting that the “Trump Route” idea isn’t very new, either – U.S. and EU officials were proposing the private company compromise in 2022-3. This iteration seems to have come together very quickly, though – until now the Trump administration has had virtually zero policy in the Caucasus.

No right of return for displaced Armenians, no peacekeeping, no safeguards against flare-ups? Shrinking Russia’s role is one thing, but this isn’t peace, it’s a Trump photo-op fueled by his Nobel Prize fixation, and U.S. commitment probably ends just there, unless we see more soon.

Scary but necessary watch. Queer people in Colombia have such bravery. youtube.com/watch?v=J9n0...

Far-right extremists using games platforms to radicalise teenagers, report warn www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

If everyone needs a reminder of the prevailing state ideology in Russia

‘I believe an Azerbaijani recognition will do the cause more harm than good’ oc-media.org/why-im-beggi...

Azerbaijani media outlets are actively reporting on the Circassian Genocide. To date, only Georgia and Ukraine have formally recognised the Circassian Genocide.

A sort of gender-essentialist progressiveness? Given the terribly toxic gym bro culture, I’ll take it

Beyond digital repression: techno-authoritarianism in radical right governments www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Why is almost every academic paper I want to read locked behind a paywall? How did we let publicly funded research become luxury items? 🤢

'IRI survey results show the church has enjoyed a big bump in approval, with 58 percent this year saying they were “very” or “somewhat satisfied” with the institution, a full 10 percent rise over the responses given in 2024.'

Pasha Dashtgard on Why American Men Feel Trapped open.substack.com/pub/contrari...

The EU is imposing sanctions on EU police minister Ben Gvir and finance minister Smotrich for their genocidal conduct. Both these gentlemen have previously been convicted of acts of terrorism in Israeli courts. Slovenia is the first to implement the EU rules. www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...

I’m spotting a colony of angry varicose veins on my legs. If they don’t retreat by September, I might consider moving around more, but giving my varicose veins a fair window for now 🤞

'Break my spiirit and I'll have two spirits' <3 Oh I will miss Andrea

‘The messages, shared via a popular messaging application, inform the recipient of the official measures highlighting the criminal liability they bear for their actions pursuant to national legislations’

And fascinating series too. I’m genuinely excited watching it, as if I’m discovering the story of evolution for the first time 😃

Leviathan Movement in Serbia - one of the worst cases of animal rights activism morphing into something else Interesting study here: is.muni.cz/th/e7izn/Fra...

This movie will do more to highlight sovereign citizens than anything I can do. I am hoping it is a good thing, but time will tell: variety.com/2025/film/re...

Citizen by gender: How transgender people fought discrimination in the USSR Between Stalin's ban on sexuality studies and Putin's crackdown on LGBTQ+, there have been successful cases of gender-affirming surgery and even times of relative freedom.

Cognitive rigidity (binary thinking), Emotional volatility (impulsive, explosive, volatile), Amygdala (fear, insecurity), Prefrontal cortex (rationality, critical thinking, decision-making) IMO... accurate. The 4 psychological markers of ideological extremism bigthink.com/mini-philoso...

Perhaps a good time to re up the New Fascism Syllabus, an online repository of resources on neofascism, populism, and authoritarianism, including a research repository and relevant secondary literature. newfascismsyllabus.com