New article out today in @iojournal.bsky.social that tackles a pressing question: As the US retreats from democracy promotion, will autocracies abandon liberal norms and return to overt repression? Our @danieladonno.bsky.social Jon Pevehouse and @cjschneider.bsky.social answer: not so fast.🧵1/

Looking forward to this book event on "Crowded Out" @watsonschoolbrown.bsky.social featuring the dream team of Patricia Bromley, Judith Kelley, and Kathryn Sikkink - the event will be streamed, so please join us online! events.brown.edu/watson/event...

Excited that my article, "To Agree or Not to Agree: Hawks, Doves, and Regime Type in International Rivalry and Rapprochement," is now out at International Security. @intsecurity.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social @belfercenter.bsky.social. direct.mit.edu/isec/article...

Global development in crisis: Responding to America’s retreat fiia.fi/en/publicati...

Glad to have my research with @jenniferhadden.bsky.social featured in this article: "After the aid cuts: What's next for INGOs?" www.devex.com/news/after-t...

Glad to have our @jenniferhadden.bsky.social @foreignaffairs.com article featured in @wsj.com by Walter Russell Mead - “Authors Sarah Bush and Jennifer Hadden put their fingers on one of the most important international developments of our time.” Thank you! www.wsj.com/opinion/the-...

Brilliant survey by @sarahbush.bsky.social and @jenniferhadden.bsky.social that puts the "foreign agent" laws into perspective. Those were/are a big part of the problem, but the factors driving the decline of NGOs' power in global governance go a lot deeper and wider.

Rubio Restricts U.S. Criticism of Tainted Foreign Elections www.nytimes.com/2025/07/18/u...

Read @sarahbush.bsky.social‬ and @jenniferhadden.bsky.social on how governments around the world are undermining NGOs—and making it harder for civil society to work on politically sensitive issues, including human rights and environmental protection.

Happy Fourth of July

Insightful and important piece on the rise and fall of NGOs by @sarahbush.bsky.social and @jenniferhadden.bsky.social. Sobering analysis of the factors that have led to the waning power of civil society worldwide.

“Overall, the NGO sector has less political opportunity and capacity than it once had,” write @sarahbush.bsky.social and @jenniferhadden.bsky.social. “The result is an end to the era of NGOs—a boon to autocratic governments that have seen their advocacy as a threat.”

Insightful piece by @sarahbush.bsky.social and @jenniferhadden.bsky.social (for your fall syllabi): reader.foreignaffairs.com/2025/07/03/t...

Trump Is Undermining Policies Against Transnational Repression www.lawfaremedia.org/article/trum...

"A must-read for scholars of organizational theory, international institutions, and global civil society." Crowded Out: The Competitive Landscape of Contemporary International NGOs by @sarahbush.bsky.social & @jenniferhadden.bsky.social, Out Now & #OpenAccess #PoliSci #NGO 💙📚 cup.org/4ni11SN

With @sarahbush.bsky.social & @laurenrprather.bsky.social we document the rise of low-quality election monitors who legitimate host elections regardless of fraud & show that authoritarian-led regional IOs--esp. those anchored by Russia--have pioneered the tactic link.springer.com/article/10.1...

📢 New Book! I’m so happy to share that “Crowded Out” – my new book coauthored with @jenniferhadden.bsky.social – is now out with @universitypress.cambridge.org. Here’s why we hope you’ll want to read it. 🧵 1/

The International Collaboration Section is thrilled to announce its 2024 award winners! Many thanks to the award committee members for their hard work. 🧵

Thought provoking and creative! I converted a final paper assignment to an oral exam assignment in my spring class in large part due to AI concerns, and I was extremely happy with the results.

This is a very good and detailed piece on the impacts of the administration’s proposed reorganization of the Bureau of Democracy, Rights, and Labor (DRL) www.justsecurity.org/114200/state...

My fantastic colleague @sarahbush.bsky.social has a new book ("Saturation Point"), which is featured in Penn's Arts and Science magazine. omnia.sas.upenn.edu/story/satura...

Checking in from parental leave to share my latest paper with @carnegiedcg.bsky.social! What's behind the contemporary anti-gender backlash? How does it manifest across different countries and regions? And why has it been difficult to mount an effective response? 🔽 🔽 🔽

We have some very exciting new books from @cambridgeup.bsky.social, including 'Tolkien and the Mystery of Literary Creation' by Giuseppe Pezzini for all the #LOTR fans, 'Global Challenges to Democracy', and many more. 🤩 Check them out here: 🔗 www.cambridgebookshop.co.uk/collections/new-books

In a new essay, Robert Keohane and the late Joseph Nye argue that soft power matters, even in the short run—and warn that by fixating on coercion, “Trump is neglecting a key source of American strength.”

Excited for this book’s release. I got an early look (blurbed it!) and taught from the chapter on transnational sports last month. The links between democracy, autocracy, human rights, and global sports (including NBA, LIV, Olympics) sparked great discussion in class.

This piece in the NY Times correctly hones in on why international students are vital to US interests Kicking them out will destroy the research & development pipeline that has propelled the US into global leadership in science & tech

A nice feature from @sas.upenn.edu dives into my forthcoming book with @jenniferhadden.bsky.social -- "Crowded Out: The Competitive Landscape of Contemporary International NGOs" omnia.sas.upenn.edu/story/satura...

WHYY has published a story on the implications of the Trump administration's decision to gut USAID for the work of researchers in our lab (PDRI-DevLab). You may find it interesting: whyy.org/articles/pen...

An insightful piece

Kicking off my time at @harvardash.bsky.social, @sharangrewal.bsky.social and I reflect on how the Trump administration's open embrace of illiberalism could fuel increased global repression -- but also protest -- during Trump's second term.

This fits very well with research on why men in developed countries are more opposed to climate change mitigation policies than women by @sarahbush.bsky.social and Amanda Clayton. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

This is a dangerous development. “The State Department is changing its mind about human rights” www.npr.org/2025/04/18/n...

President Trump has frozen billions of dollars in federal funds in an attempt to rid higher education of what he calls its woke ideology. Our reporter spoke to the president of Princeton University, Christopher L. Eisgruber, who has vowed to fight. Listen to "The Daily."

Coming soon… 👀

Insightful piece.

Grateful that @h-diplo.bsky.social published a roundtable on “Monitors and Meddlers” today - the book that @laurenrprather.bsky.social I published in 2022 issforum.org/ISSF/PDF/RJI...

Informative piece that covers a number of important points about humanitarian aid. The links show the human consequences of the US' drastic cuts as well as the broader context, which includes many European donors also cutting aid.

bsky.app/profile/reil... this is bonkers and deeply disturbing. Private security, DOJ, DOGE, and the DC police together worked to take control over a private building the government *does not own* and dismiss the staff *whom the president does not employ,* removing them, it seems, with armed force

My story: I’m a single father and cancer researcher whose wife died of a rare cancer. Science and biomedical research is personal to me. Here is my op-ed in my hometown newspaper. Pls fwd. www.vindy.com/opinion/edit...

Some scattered thoughts after the most shocking and horrible moment of US diplomacy most of us have ever seen. Not even sure what the point of writing anything about this is, but here goes. 1/

We're on the Hill! @pfirchow.bsky.social @apaczynska.bsky.social @democracyprofdc.bsky.social and Louis Berg are delivering the Open Letter to Congress as we speak. Over 217 scholars of foreign assistance have signed to demand Congress take action. @schatz.bsky.social

Glad to have participated in this event. Recording for those who are interested: youtu.be/TGMUyTmC5P0?...

In 2024, two billion people in over 70 countries exercised their right to vote in national elections. The results were all over the map. Join us as we discuss w/ @ndidemocracy.bsky.social President @tcwittes.bsky.social and @upenn.edu's @sarahbush.bsky.social: www.eventbrite.com/e/the-state-...

Updating my spring syllabus and wanted to re-share a teaching resource I created in 2023 with Ryan Pike and @jenniferhadden.bsky.social - it's an educational case study called that can be downloaded for free here: shopcases.som.yale.edu/products/pro...

International election monitoring and the US election with @laurenrprather.bsky.social theconversation.com/internationa...

If you teach a prospectus writing class for PhD students in political science and are willing to share your syllabus with me, please let me know! 🙏

Polisky! With @danieladonno.bsky.social @parzetterberg.bsky.social, we are excited to share this new open access article in the American Political Science Review. Can autocrats burnish a reputation for democracy by advancing women’s rights? www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

And here's the link to the final podcast version: newbooksnetwork.com/monitors-and... cc @laurenrprather.bsky.social @labdelaaty.bsky.social @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social