I’ll never stop being amazed by all those who, in 2026, despite millennia of great power politics and decades of international relations scholarship behind us, are still surprised when great powers disrespect their preferred international norms of good behavior.

Is there any other instance in history of a leader being snatched away from a hostile capital without control of the ground?

Is there any other instance in history of a leader being snatched away from a hostile capital without control of the ground?

U.S. attack and transport helicopters also seen flying over Caracas.

Airstrikes are ongoing on the Venezuelan capital of Caracas.

~ Happy New Year to all! ~

The fall of Hulyaipole, a crossroads town that had held since 2022.

As Russian forces have finally seized the Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad agglomeration after many months of battle, they are likely to complete the conquest of the Donbas region sometime next year.

@dylanmotin.bsky.social, author of ‘How Louis XIV Survived His Hegemonic Bid,’ published an op-ed in the ‘Meer Magazine.’ Read here ➡️ tinyurl.com/35ckpwt8 #meerdotcom #AnthemPress #FrenchHistory #EarlyModernEurope #Hegemony #HistoryOfDiplomacy #newspaperarticle #newreads

The uncertain future of the Russian Navy www.meer.com/en/95283-the...

In this piece, I argue that although South Korea is facing an existential threat from Beijing, the growing temptation to target everyday Chinese citizens is a dead end. Far more productive ways to counter China exist. www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpre...

You can find a summary of my recent "How Louis XIV Survived His Hegemonic Bid" here ⬇️ www.meer.com/en/93877-wha...

I have a new article out with co-author Rute Ester Brasileiro da Silva on Brazil-China relations in Review of International Studies. It’s open access so free to read. You can access it here: doi.org/10.1017/S026...

📘 Pleased to share that Asian Affairs has recently published a thoughtful review of my book, Territorial Expansion and Great Power Behavior During the Cold War: A Theory of Armed Emergence (Routledge, 2025). 🔗 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... 📖 More about the book: www.amazon.com/Territorial-...

Sharing my recent interview with the Financial Times Chinese Edition where I discuss the current security landscape in Northeast Asia and Korean foreign policy issues: ftchinese.com/story/001108...

I defended the 'yes' position in the debate 'Is war inevitable?'. If you're interested in war or international politics, give it a try! www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Sdi... #OpenToDebate

My review of Jim Pomeroy’s “Alliances & Armor.” www.militaryhistorychronicles.org/article/1448...

Me with my new book! Available on all your favorite platforms.

Some insights from 'How Louis XIV Survived His Hegemonic Bid.'

🆕📕

📕 How did Louis XIV survive his failed bid for hegemony? My new book with @anthempress.bsky.social explores the Sun King’s war termination lessons, still relevant for great powers today. 🛒 Get it here: www.amazon.com/How-Louis-XI...

The U.S. foreign policy upheaval: back to the basics? www.meer.com/en/90716-the...

최근 출간된 『한국의 핵안보 프로젝트 2』에 저의 연구가 21장에 실렸습니다. 이번 장에서는 영국과 프랑스를 효과적으로 설득하는 방안을 다루며, 한국의 핵안보 환경에서 두 유럽 강대국이 가지는 전략적 의미와 외교적 레버리지를 분석했습니다. 핵안보, 외교전략, 한반도 안보정책에 관심 있는 분들께 이 책을 추천드립니다. 👉 product.kyobobook.co.kr/detail/S0002...

My review of "Negotiation Dynamics to Denuclearize North Korea" is out in the North Korean Review. jstor.org/stable/27393...

My latest article explores Vietnam's regional expansionism after 1975 and the international conditions that enabled, and ultimately contained, its ambitions. snuacwebzine.snu.ac.kr?p=8889

While Thailand and Cambodia edge toward war, my two recent books explore regional power politics, and the two countries feature prominently in both: 🌏 Territorial Expansion and Great Power Behavior During the Cold War 🌐 Bandwagoning in International Relations 🔗 www.dylanmotin.com/my-books

#OpenAccess from our new issue - Best Practices and Elite Belief: International Competition and State Modernization in Qing China and Meiji Japan - cup.org/4eHFG1y - Alexandre Haym & @dylanmotin.bsky.social

If you'd like to learn more about President Lee's policies towards China and Russia, you can check out @joelatkinson.bsky.social's and my appearance on KBS World from yesterday (episode from 07.08, at minute 8). world.kbs.co.kr/service/prog...

#OpenAccess from our new issue - Best Practices and Elite Belief: International Competition and State Modernization in Qing China and Meiji Japan - cup.org/4eHFG1y - Alexandre Haym & @dylanmotin.bsky.social

New article out in Asian Development Perspectives: “Who Won the San Francisco Earthquake?” The Impact of Disasters on International Politics 🔍 Not all disasters reshape world politics. 📉 Only those that shift the balance of power do. 🌍 Realists, take note. Read it here 👉 doi.org/10.22681/ADP...

My book Bandwagoning in International Relations is now in paperback! Grab it with 30% off at Vernon Press — use code OHSJ30. 🛒 vernonpress.com/book/2109 #IR #PowerPolitics #China #Russia #BookRelease

Iran’s predicament is a textbook example of why realists prize raw military power. If you have enemies and lack sufficient military capabilities, you get attacked, no matter how loud your rhetoric or how wide your network of proxies.

📘 My new book is out with Routledge! Territorial Expansion and Great Power Behavior During the Cold War explores why and when states like Egypt & Vietnam expanded to acquire resources. Grab a copy: www.routledge.com/Territorial-... #InternationalRelations #IR #SecurityStudies #MiddleEast #History

Could Presidents Lee and Trump be the key to peace in Korea? I explore this question in this new piece. nationalinterest.org/blog/korea-w...

A shocker, who could have possibly foreseen that? www.politico.eu/article/nato...

Nukes won’t protect you from everything. But in a rough neighborhood, a state without them is on a timer.

So much for "nothing ever happens."

Shifting power on the Korean peninsula? www.meer.com/en/87664-shi...

The ‘New Axis of Evil’: imminent danger or threat inflation? www.meer.com/en/86797-the...

🚨 India–Pakistan tensions are rising. One alliance that still shapes the region: China & Pakistan. I unpack it in Bandwagoning in International Relations. 📘 vernonpress.com/book/1913 #Geopolitics #IR #ChinaPakistan

Latest issue of free-to-access Journal of East Asian Affairs from South Korea’s Institute for National Security Strategy (INSS). (I am executive editor, with INSS Director Han Sukhee as publisher and Mason Richey as editor-in-chief). Submissions welcome, 1 million KRW honorarium.

You may find here my perspective on North Korean foreign policy. I make the case that the DPRK's foreign policy should be understood as primarily a realist one, responding rationally to the international incentives that weigh on it. link.springer.com/chapter/10.1...

Why Indonesia can qualify as an offshore balancer, and why it matters in this new piece.

I lay out here the case for a South Korean nuclear deterrent, arguing that it would benefit American security by allowing the US to refocus on China while having South Korea maintain the balance on the Korean Peninsula. thehill.com/opinion/inte...

Check our new piece on Qing China’s decline and Meiji Japan’s rise!

A short piece concerning the situation in Congo. Rwanda and Congo Clash as Major War Brews in Central Africa www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/rwanda-and-c...

If you want to hear me ramble about North Korea and stuff ⬇️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZZm...

With the new administration coming into power shortly, check my new National Interest piece. nationalinterest.org/blog/korea-w...