The Trump tariffs are bad news for Japan, South Korea, beyond the economic costs. Asia was hardest hit. Tariffs drive Asian states towards China. Maybe thats the point. Maybe USA is ok with Chinese dominance of Asia. We wrote about this dilemma for Seoul/Toyko theconversation.com/slammed-by-t...

The South Korean mediascape is quite overwhelming right now, but it shows a democracy in crisis after the martial law decree. Reports reveal that the Yoon administration was serious about thwarting democracy and establishing military rule. The fallout is severe, but the next steps are unclear.

I'm teaching a class on South Korean politics on Friday. Not a specialist, but one thing missing from much of the coverage, also the posts here on bsky: Massive protests every few years & impeachment of multiple presidents is not a sign of a 'healthy democracy'.

President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law in South Korea, citing alleged anti-state activities by opposition forces. This extremely surprising move grants the military authority over civilian affairs. Why did this happen? Some context and thoughts are below. apnews.com/article/sout...

Where did all the furries go? The last time I was on Bluesky, there were furries left, right, and centre. Back today, not a single furry. Which is great, as I'm here for politics, international relations, Japan, East Asia, and increasingly Europe. Good luck to the furries, wherever they end up.

An excellent article examining what happened to the left in sweden during covid - how did a left-wing government end up the poster-child of libertarians? jacobin.com/2023/11/swed...

This new article from TIME about Zelensky’s struggle to maintain Western support and about Ukraine’s eroding military capacity is one of the most damning, depressing things I’ve read about the war for some time. time.com/6329188/ukra...

During Trumps visit to Sweden in 2018, Trump thought that Sweden was already in NATO. When the prime minister explained that Sweden only cooperated with NATO in certain areas, Trump responded "maybe we should do that" Anyone who's surprised by Trump wanting out of NATO haven't been paying attention

Edited by me👇I am super excited!🤩Please share widely🙏

Call for papers: Special Issue titled "Grappling with the Climate Crisis: Emotionally, Psychologically, Existentially", exploring the international politics of climate change sense-making. Edited by @nckc.bsky.social. Deadline for abstracts Nov 30. Thanks for sharing! cjir.iir.cz/index.php/cj...

Way too many people don't get that christian dominionism is apocalyptic accelerationism VERY LITERALLY SEEKING to hasten their vision of the Biblical end of the world. That is not hyperbole or misinterpretation or a joke. And they have VERY CAREFULLY worked their way into the halls of U.S. power.

finished teaching a course on East Asian international relations. the students were pessimistic about the prospects for peace. also very little idealism in the classroom. pragmatic relativism dominates. the west has no moral authority, let china be china, etc.. polisky

Läs @paulinasokolow.bsky.social modiga text om vågen av antisemitism som drabbar svenska judar efter Hamas terrordåd. www.flamman.se/som-vansterj...

this is the kind of analysis i was looking for.

this article doesn't really offer any answers, but provides very useful background

This is doing the rounds . . mad it's ten years old. evergreen. worth a watch www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmCK...

Fascinating article. Turns out tons of highly cited econ articles all rely on the same deeply problematic source of population data. All kinds of implications for studies of long-term development, military outcomes, war, etc. The perils of data monocultures... polisky

Opinion: Super Mario 3D World Is Not That Special, As Our World Is Also 3D (Guest Column by Neil deGrasse Tyson)

twitter right now is just ppl screaming at each other over the semantics of denunciation and solidarity can anyone recommend accounts here on bsky, with quality insight and analysis on events in gaza/israel/broader region? polisky

@profmusgrave.bsky.social can you add me to the polisky feed please, much appreciated!

to be clear, not saying that 'western' realist theory isn't susceptible to the same critiques. but 'moral realism' seems so obviously self-serving . . feels like we are going backwards. yet 'serious' people take it seriously... #polisky #irtheory

teaching chinese IR theory today. Yan Xuetong's moral realism seems like self-serving CCP propaganda. But he wins prizes, and 'serious scholars' endorse him as a great thinker. What I am missing?

People outside Sweden think it is a socially progressive country. True in some areas, but it has some of the harshest drug laws in Europe. It has the highest rate of overdose deats in the EU. And now the worst gang crime in the EU. arbetet.se/nyhetsbrevsa...

speaking as a total non-expert, i found this to be a really measured, informative analysis of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, particularly the part on Armenia's strategic mistake www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...