Would you rather: NATO or this illustrious club?

Just insane.

Great @jeffcolgan.bsky.social analysis of Trump's return to petro-imperialism, for @goodauth.bsky.social goodauthority.org/news/trump-m...

Today seems a good day to unveil my theory that Trump II has us living in a re-boot of the 1980s: increasing great power competition, “greed is good,” drug cartels are the biggest threat to national security, and it’s ok to openly invade Latin American countries.

Venezuela this morning. Threatening Iran, while Rubio is chomping at the bit to go into Cuba. Congress had steadily abdicated its war powers even before this Congress gave up its powers over anything. 2026 is going to be a violent one.

“Tell us, old man: what did the end of the US-led global order look like?” Me:

Hey, AI, give me an example of the resource curse. The A.I. Boom Is Driving the Economy. What Happens if It Falters? www.nytimes.com/2025/11/22/b...

I hope I never forget the revolting feeling of standing at the front of a classroom, warning students that they should carry evidence of immigration status or citizenship, and helping them understand how to respond if federal agents try to kidnap them or their friends off the street. #ICE

I’d add that Dems also need to decide who they are, and for whom they are, independent of Trump. Yesterday’s results are another example of Trump’s utter lack of coattails. There’s good reason to think, with a little help from a healthy opposition party, Trumpism goes away with Trump.

For the producers and consumers of research out there: I’m teaching my grad seminar on Global Illicit Economies in the spring. I like to assign whole books. If you’ve published a book recently (or know of one) that fits the topic (broadly defined), I’d love to consider it!

OUTRAGEOUS NEWS!! Far-left anti-ICE protestor uses mustard gas against fed… What’s that? Not gas? Just….mustard? Oh.

Dick Cheney was to George Bush what Russell Vought is to Donald Trump.

2 TT ass't prof jobs in @ncstate.bsky.social's dep't of Poli Sci! Politics of E. Asia & politics of race and ethnicity. Happy to answers ?s about the positions, NCSU, and life in N Carolina. Full ads below. Race & Ethnicity: jobs.ncsu.edu/postings/224... E. Asia: jobs.ncsu.edu/postings/223...

I know we’re all supposed to acknowledge that the only way of seeking knowledge in the social sciences now is through experiments. But testing people’s propensity to donate money under one condition or another by asking MTurk workers seems to strain the limits of credulity, doesn’t it? #rant

Job alert (w/links)! NC State University’s Poli Sci dep’t is hiring for TT assistant professor in East Asian politics: jobs.ncsu.edu/postings/223... Committee will start reviewing applications in one month. Happy to answer questions about the dep’t, university, life in North Carolina. #academia

Another job alert! NC State Poli Sci is hiring an East Asia specialist. Specialty otherwise is open. 2-2 teaching load, including in the Masters of Int’l Studies program, as well as undergrad. Very chill department. One of that fastest growing cities in the US. Ask me! jobs.ncsu.edu/postings/223...

Academic job alert! The Dep’t of Political science at NC State will be hiring for a race/ethnicity position this fall. The general madness with universities has meant we’re still waiting in final details from HR, but the position and funding have been approved. Be ready! Happy to answer questions.

Has an automatic spot on my Illicit Markets seminar for this spring! Cool work, @tiscornia21.bsky.social and Chelsea Estancona!

For those keeping track of the rules, if you quote Charlie Kirk’s words (in a critical light), you will get fired. If you call for the euthanization of homeless people on the most popular network in the US, you might have to issue a 5-second apology. Please update your files.

Absolutely right. Political debates shouldn’t lead to death. And death shouldn’t blind us to the misogynistic, racist, nationalist, anti- democratic hate that Charlie Kirk espoused.

Texas State Rep. Nicole Collier spent the night on the House floor after refusing to agree ‘to round-the-clock monitoring by state troopers’ www.keranews.org/texas-news/2...

Feel like one political party kidnapping an opponent should be bigger news

Now do the same for sanctions and Cuba.

It’s as if four-year university degrees really shouldn’t be about training people for some narrow job! Goodbye, $165,000 Tech Jobs. Student Coders Seek Work at Chipotle. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/10/t...

This piece, by @rhodesben.bsky.social , is the clearest and best statement I’ve read to date on what’s needed to turn back the MAGA Ponzi scheme. The ? is whether anyone will have the courage to do it. We’re Trapped in Trump’s Reality. This Is How We Escape It. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/11/o...

How does this get published? Is there any doubt what this is going to say? And oh by the way, there’s a significant conflict of interest in a guy who works for an investment firm saying you should invest. The Stock Market Is Getting Scary. What You Should Do. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/15/o...

Challenge: post your last photo taken in DC to show what a hellhole it is.

Here we go. It’s like crypto assets on speed: a pump-and-dump scheme that redistributes money from the working class and their 401ks to the wealthy. No pocket is too shallow to pick for these greedy bastards.

I am looking for a PhD student in Comparative Politics @powimz.bsky.social. My research focuses on political (in-)equality, representation, and responsiveness. I would be grateful if you could help to spread the word. stellenboerse.uni-mainz.de#/jgu/job/49637

Institutions signing these agreements seem to think they’re facing kidnapping: pay a ransom, get the hostage back, problem solved. But it’s a mafia-style protection racket: Pay us to stop busting up your shop now and know that you will continue to pay us whenever we want. Better to fight the mafia.

There’s plenty in this article that is disturbing. But tucked in there is the detail that @theatlantic.com has a “corporate partnership with OpenAI.” As a subscriber, I’d like to know what the nature of that relationship is.

A very interesting paper on the way domestic governance shapes how the wealthy use off-shore finance to hide their wealth.

This is Benjamin Netanyahu’s third visit to DC this year. War criminals should not be welcomed by any president or Congress. He should be held accountable for his crimes, not platformed. Beyond shameful.

SCOTUS is fundamentally broken.

Fascinating read tracing the long trail of racists dreaming of alligators killing people of color. “But the streams of authoritarian and racist thought are, if nothing else, predictable.”

IOW, hit dogs are howling. When a call for basic decency seems political to you, it says more about you and your politics than about the person calling for it.

The economy got half a percentage point smaller last quarter

Welcome to the toddlerocracy.

Hey look, @ericlipton.nytimes.com, I guess Elon’s decision to put millions into the President’s campaign wasn’t a bribe bc he hasn’t gotten want he wanted right. So it’s all cool, right?

For those of us trying to convince students (and colleagues) to be fundamentally skeptical of AI, this is an amazing resource. It’s going on my syllabi as assigned reading. Thank you , @guinz.bsky.social!

Very good, big-picture piece on the tension b/t Trumpian globalists and the nativist base. But recent budget debates suggest the MAGA base loses. Or maybe both lose because the administration’s policy incoherence. In which case, chaos.

Had this very discussion with a group of parents and students I met with recently. It seems like the days of “coding bootcamps” as a way to a career are behind us. But more than ever, the world needs people who can make sense of the changes all around us. Enter the humanities and social sciences.

I know not everyone thinks voting matters But the Wisconsin Supreme Court election totally changed Musk’s trajectory Elections really are effective in shifting behavior of those in power Got some important ones coming up in Virginia in little over 5 months… apnews.com/article/elon...

NASA scientists: as we face major budget cuts, how can we show the President that we, too, can be anti-science? Comms guy: how much does a gorilla weigh? Scientist: fully grown or adolescent?

Proud to have co-authored a chapter, with @etsingou.bsky.social , in this comprehensive effort. Ours considers how owning key financial infrastructures gives banks lots of power vis-a-vis states.

It’s tempting to say that this is the end of a saga, but when one party has proved itself willing to overturn free and fair elections, getting thru one election is just a warm-up for the shenanigans to follow. #ncpol

Fascinating. Also somewhat frightening. Actuaries at insurance companies for cruise ships are going to lose sleep.

People in the United States are so unbelievably naive about how corruption works. This is a “akshully it’s a republic not a democracy” level of argumentation here.