The threat of having civilisations erased is in large part why states seek and build nuclear weapons in the first place.

strange to live in an era in which gender theory explains literally everything

Ever fallen in love with a translation app?

Two things can also be true at the same time. A person who is deeply narcissistic and full of grievances may be more likely to undermine institutional safeguards through multiple mechanisms (their decisions, inner circle, public persuasion of key constituencies).

Countless political scientists have expressed this on social media, but there’s still a lot of hesitation to talk about personality and psychology in the journals. Yes there’s a history of pseudoscience around this. No that’s not an excuse to avoid actual science if it’s challenging.

America is Disintegrating Because of a Dangerously Mentally-Disturbed President bandyxlee.substack.com/p/america-is...

Relying on AI for mil decisions may also shift the weight of responsibility

Credible medical professionals have been warning about him since 2017. IR folks have something to learn from psychiatrists like Bandy Lee, especially where the conversation concerns personalist rulers. This doesn’t negate the importance of institutions in constraining harmful behavior of course

Political scientist Chris Blattman, at the other site: “I began very skeptical of this more ideological take on Putin’s motivations but I must admit the evidence has mounted.”

1/ (Book reactions) Why We Fight, by Chris Blattman @chrisblattman.bsky.social . How do wicked problems transform into easy problems? Some lessons from public health history. [Long 🧵. Link to full post at the end and in bio]

1/ It’s been 25 years since (political science’s) Perestroika. Some unsolicited suggestions, with love: -keep the methodological rigor -consider alternative meaningful ways to organize subfields, such as:

1/ Nine questions about causes of war and paths to sustainable peace for Buddh(AI) - a conversational AI trained to respond as a secular Buddhist teacher. 🧵 Note: you can explore the tool for yourself at the link below (not an endorsement, no affiliation): buddhastiftung.org/ask-buddhai-...

1/ “Rationalist explanations for war” (1995) by @jfearon.bsky.social turns 30 and remains one of the most assigned texts in IR. This 🧵 unpacks the classic paper, originally published in @iojournal.bsky.social, and how it can help us understand current conflicts, including Russia-Ukraine war.

1/Review 🧵: The Peace Formula by economist @dominic-rohner.bsky.social TLDR: Engaging, thoroughly researched book that offers a strong foundation, if at times incomplete, for domestic peace. bookshop.org/p/books/the-...

60% of jobs in advanced economies face AI disruption. We're sleepwalking into a future where a handful of billionaires own all the AI infrastructure while millions lose their livelihoods. But what if everyone received a monthly dividend funded by the engine driving AI? Meet The AI Dividend 🧵

1/ UVA’s president resigned after pressure from the Trump administration over the university’s DEI policies. While some have chosen to fight, others capitulated despite being in a position to resist. One path to change institutional behavior? Impose costs on compliance.

1/ Brief note: Milgram on disobedience positivepeace.github.io/2025/06/24/m...

1/ Psychological assessments are widely used for high-responsibility civilian and military roles - but not for heads of state. Let’s explore potential benefits and limitations of this idea. 🧵

One purpose of this is to diminish the US government’s ability to look out for the health and safety of Americans. But what does it say about a person and their fitness to lead when they put down other people and desire for them to be in trauma?

The flashy thing from #MenInBlack but for healing hatred and delusion 😎🗽