'When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist,' the Norwegian Nobel Committee said as it announced Maria Corina Machado as the winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize

My new op-ed with @lkfazio.bsky.social: Trump sent a 'compact' to our universities. They should reject this devil's bargain. Any institution that yields to these broad and intrusive demands would forever be subservient to the whims of the government. www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...

🚨 Very flattered to have a piece, w/ the terrific @miacosta.bsky.social, in the new @apsa.bsky.social Experiments Newsletter! In it, we offer some thoughts on how to think about how "realistic" experimental results are. Might be useful for students 😁 connect.apsanet.org/s42/newslett...

"many ... wrongly believe there would be one clear unambiguous moment where we go from 'democracy' to 'authoritarianism.' Instead, this is exactly how it happens — a blurring here, a norm destroyed there, a presidential diktat unchallenged. Then you wake up one morning and our country is different."

No one would have any confusion about what is happening if they saw it in another country.

Wow. A group of top scholars at Harvard just sent a letter to its president, Alan Garber, warning against surrendering to Trump. Signatories include Steven Levitsky, Dani Rodrik, Ryan Enos, Theda Skocpol, and Steven Walt. Someone forwarded it to me. Read it here:

Also, *every* authoritarian goes after universities and the media. These institutions have flaws now - in some cases, very deep ones. But the attacks on those flaws are pretextual. Treating them otherwise normalizes deeply authoritarian acts.

"Moralization and Foreign Policy Attitudes" (with the esteemed Sarah Maxey) is out today in Political Behavior: doi.org/10.1007/s111.... We examine who moralizes what foreign policies - and what consequences follow from moral conviction about foreign policy.

Our paper now published in the April issue of @pnasnexus.org - and perhaps getting a real-world test of its propositions... @yusakuhoriuchi.bsky.social, @kmatush.bsky.social , @kepowers.bsky.social (I don't necessarily like Trump's research design, though - how did he get that past the IRB?). :^(

Dartmouth removes main diversity and inclusion web page Apparently the website will be back shortly, after a "few small changes" are made to ensure that Dartmouth isn't practicing "illegal DEI."

My friend @casmudde.bsky.social offers a wise take, as usual. A key point re: agenda-setting: "...politics is largely about defining problems, not just solving them."

Teamed up with the brilliant trio of @yusakuhoriuchi.bsky.social, @kmatush.bsky.social, and @begoldsmith.bsky.social for this paper about the effect of US democratic backsliding (at pre-2025 levels) on foreign public opinion. Open access link below!

Stop pretending that the authoritarian repression is BECAUSE of the problems in {higher education, the media, the law, government, immigration policy, etc.}. This is what authoritarians do. If they didn't focus on these justifications, they'd come up with other ones.

Hey academic friends — universities need to stand together in the face of this onslaught. Please help mobilize your faculties, boards of trustees, etc to get your university’s leadership to stand with those already getting hit. Hiding won’t work. They are coming for you next.

Not exaggerating when I say I would like a personal, handwritten apology from every pundit who barfed out a dozen "the left wants to change the way you talk!" op-eds based on non-mandatory guidelines in obscure PDFs.

And here's the thing: institutional neutrality, even in its most robust version (Kalven/ Chicago) specifically calls for universities to speak out vociferously on *matters that directly impact their institutional mission*. If research funding ain't it, then what is??

Now *this* is a free speech crisis . . . in contrast to statistically small and periodic controversies over speakers on college campuses.

Job market students, consider doing an awesome postdoc with us at Dartmouth! Position could be filled by development, trade, applied. Because we don't have a PhD program, you can get a lot of time with faculty here. Also it's in New Hampshire ⛷️🚵‍♂️🏔️🛶 Link below, deadline is in 2 weeks, please share!

New article with @briantfinch.bsky.social is now available online with OA at @risjnl.bsky.social We argue for broadening the scope of audience agency theorized in securitization by bringing in the ontological security lens, centering the importance of routines. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

In tenure decisions, context matters. New research from Lauren Rivera et al uses an experiment to show that including Covid impact statements in tenure files leads to more favorable decisions, because it helps evaluators recognize structural constraints. sociologicalscience.com/articles-v11...

Job alert: A little late to the game, but we're searching for a tenure-track assistant prof in comparative politics. We're particularly interested in scholars who study East Asia, Southeast Asia, and/or South Asia. Details: apply.interfolio.com/151639

Pretty stunned and honored to have won the Best Book Award by APSA’s Conflict Processes Section for my work, Governing for Revolution. Thanks very much to the committee @jaylyall.bsky.social, @oliverkaplan.bsky.social, @ladyprofessor.bsky.social for giving so much of their time and consideration.

What do we know about the relationship between nationalism and international [email protected] and I answer this burning question in our new State of Nationalism review: stateofnationalism.eu/article/nati... polisky | nationalisky

We also have some amazing datasets for folks interested in doing methods research! E.g. the data from our recent report comparing six online samples with ~30k cases and 28 benchmark variables is freely available to anyone who wants it.

Hey #polisky check out my new article w/ Brandon Yoder @ajpseditor.bsky.social It's open access thanks to the Big10 Academic Alliance. Thread for anyone interested in the security dilemma, signaling, reassurance, or rationalist/constructivist theory. 1/4 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Come work with me on research and Bright Line Watch! Research Associate in Quantitative Social Science apply.interfolio.com/136516 Position starts August 2024; application review begins 1/15. Profs: Please share w/your students! Previous associates have gone on to Stanford, Google & data science

Applications for BTG's 2024 International Policy Summer Institute (IPSI) are now open! Professors (all ranks) and postdocs interested in policy outreach and public engagement are encouraged to apply! ALL are welcome. Please share with your networks! bridgingthegapproject.org/programs/ipsi/

A new podcast interview with Eleonora Mattiacci about her new book "Volatile States in International Politics": newbooksnetwork.com/volatile-sta... Queued up for today's afternoon run! polisky

Dartmouth's Dickey Center is now accepting applications for the 24-25 Postdoctoral fellowships in U.S. foreign policy and international security. Fellows can expect intellectual engagement, policy-oriented visitors/workshops, and time for research. Apply! dickey.dartmouth.edu/programs/sec...

Proud that my piece on respectability is officially out at APSR. It’s open access! The piece matters a lot to me bc it reflects my strong belief that Black people’s political & social lives warrant deep study & deserve their place in our field’s “top” journals. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Hot off the presses at ISQ: To what extent do individual economic (mis)fortunes drive populist beliefs? Brian Rathbun and I argue that populism stems from beliefs that globalization makes the rich richer, not from individuals' bank accounts. academic.oup.com/isq/article/... polisky