Had the opportunity to join BBC WorldService Weekend today to discuss a range of current issues ranging from US–Iran tensions, energy markets, and illicit flows to platform risks! Listen here in these 3 links: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w... www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w... www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w...

🔔 CLAS & @camgeopolitics.bsky.social presents: Colombia’s Armed Conflict in Regional and Global Context: Peace Prospects, Venezuela Spillover, and Geopolitics Ahead of Elections Dr @annetteidler.bsky.social (University of Oxford) 📆 Wednesday 18 March | 5:00pm 📍 Room S1, ARB 🔗 bit.ly/4qVgSY2

Very much looking forward to discussing "The Trump Effect" with fellow panelists Maryhen Jiménez, @tomlongphd.bsky.social & David Doyle later at St Antony's College, @ox.ac.uk today! www.lac.ox.ac.uk/event/main-s...

In this @aljazeera.com explainer, I discuss how Mexican cartels obtain weapons & why most firearms seized in Mexico originate in the US. Addressing the problem requires treating southbound gun trafficking as seriously as northbound flows of drugs & people.Read more: www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/03...

Spoke with France 24 on El Mencho. Decapitation strategies can weaken organisations but also trigger fragmentation and renewed violence while trafficking networks remain resilient. Long-term impact depends on addressing demand. Here's the article: www.france24.com/fr/am%C3%A9r...

Hybrid Event Join us for a field-based discussion on the Sinjar Peace Agreement & the challenges facing Iraq’s Yazidi community. Speaker: Giorgi Gigauri, Visiting Fellow 🗓 3 March 2026, 5 PM 📍 Allen & Overy Room, Pembroke College & Online Register: forms.office.com/Pages/Respon...

Spoke w/ BBC News on El Mencho. Removing leaders doesn't dismantle broader crime systems. These groups are embedded in transnational supply chains that adapt to disruption. Without addressing demand and structural drivers, violence and trafficking will persist. Read here: www.bbc.com/portuguese/a...

I was interviewed by @aljazeera.com on El Mencho's killing in #Mexico. My key message: Kingpin arrests matter symbolically, but globally networked illicit supply chains are built to withstand leadership loss. @socsci.ox.ac.uk Article: www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/...

NEW EVENT! Colombia’s armed conflict in regional and global context What are the prospects & obstacles for peace in Colombia? Dr @annetteidler.bsky.social explores security challenges and what to expect from the upcoming election 🗓️ Mar 18, 5-6.30 PM 🗺️ Cambridge, CB3 9DP 🔗 bit.ly/4qVgSY2

Spoke w/ @channel4news.bsky.social about El Mencho’s capture & unsettling retaliatory violence. The arrest is important, but global drug supply chains are resilient to leadership losses. Without reducing demand, underlying structures remain. Interview (watch @3:40): www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW4G...

Looking fwd to launching our webinar series tmw! @pembrokeoxford.bsky.social

I wrote for @ox.ac.uk on the US–Venezuela situation. One overlooked paradox: actions justified as fighting drug trafficking are likely to benefit it, by fragmenting authority and deepening instability. Read here: www.ox.ac.uk/news/2026-01... #GlobalSecurity #Venezuela #LatinAmerica

"It is so important that the international community really makes clear that we can't have unilaterial military action without any consent from others." Listen to Prof Annette Idler speaks on US-Venezuela from 11:48 👇 https://ow.ly/bkhW50XSVzH

Shared further analysis on BBC Radio Wales Breakfast on US intervention in VEN. Key contradiction: Rubio says this was a limited law-enforcement operation. Reality: 15,000 troops, 150 aircraft, major military build-up. Listen (11:48 - 16:29): www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... #Venezuela #GlobalSecurity

Associate Prof @annetteidler.bsky.social explores the potential impact of US interventons in #Venezuela on stability in the region and worldwide. 👇

I spoke with BBC News Brazil about #Venezuela. Removing Maduro may be welcomed by many, but the method sets a dangerous precedent. It blurs the line between law enforcement and military aggression and risks a return to unilateral interventionism. www.bbc.com/portuguese/a...

I spoke with BBC World News about the rapidly evolving situation in Venezuela. Removing an illegitimate ruler does not automatically produce stability, and coercion without legitimacy risks turning crisis into prolonged insecurity. #Venezuela #GlobalSecurity Watch: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACzO...

"The era of protectorates and trustees ended with decolonisation". Professor Annette Idler provides an assessment of the US military's operation in Venezuela.👇 https://ow.ly/OyqU50XRXWx

“The removal of Maduro creates not clarity but a dangerous power vacuum." -- Prof @annetteidler.bsky.social talked to @theipaper.com "Without Venezuelan ownership and regional backing, any attempt at US-led governance risks rapid destabilisation rather than transition.” inews.co.uk/news/explosi...

On LBC discussing the shocking US military intervention in #Venezuela. This goes far beyond Venezuela: it raises major legal and security risks, sets dangerous precedents, and lacks a clear plan for what comes next. #GlobalSecurity #InternationalLaw #USForeignPolicy www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDX2...

Will the US invade Venezuela? We ask @annetteidler.bsky.social, @stevelevitsky.bsky.social, and Boris Muñoz to look beyond the pretext of drug trafficking to puzzle out US motivations and weigh the pros and cons of invasion. https://loom.ly/5AiSOs4

"Trump claimed at some point that Maduro is emptying prisons and asylums. There's no evidence that this is true." Associate Prof Annette Idler examines US policy towards Venezuela, questioning security claims and highlighting the risks of escalation.👇 https://ow.ly/nri450XN3Kp

Why is the US escalating pressure on Venezuela now? In my interview for @harvard.edu @weatherheadcenter.bsky.social ’s Epicenter, I discuss why the threat is constructed, how US politics intersects with geopolitics, and why a drug war won’t yield stability epicenter.wcfia.harvard.edu/articles/why...

Spoke with BBC News about the U.S. carrier strike group now off Venezuela — the biggest deployment in the region in decades. What’s driving it? Pressure on Maduro. War-on-drugs politics. Oil + great-power competition. Rising regional tensions. Watch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4Qn...

"Global trade and digital connectivity is what turned these Brazilian factions into networked global organisations." Associate Prof Annette Idler explains Brazil's role in global drug trafficking. 👇 https://ow.ly/ghjp50XuI4l

Spoke w/ Estadão on Brazil’s role in global cocaine routes. Rio’s violence is tied to EU demand, West African transit, and record Andean production. The war on drugs has failed — we need smarter, networked solutions. Article: tinyurl.com/2a9z5fxx Watch: tinyurl.com/va93dx37

We’ve launched the CONPEACE Report—a decade of research on turning conflict actors into architects of peace. Featured in El País: “So much is at stake—lives, wellbeing, progress, trust in the future. [This report] must be taken seriously.” Report: tinyurl.com/CONPEACE El País: tinyurl.com/bdxdb5cj

🎙️ I joined #BBC #Radio4’s Briefing Room to discuss the U.S. military build-up near #Venezuela — a move that could reshape regional security and global power dynamics. @pembrokeoxford.bsky.social @socsci.ox.ac.uk 🎧 Listen here @ 15:52: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

“What we see here is largely performative, it’s a show of power.” Associate Prof Annette Idler explores the motives of US involvement in Venezuela on BBC Radio 4's Briefing room. Listen here 👇 https://ow.ly/vU3750Xok0p

"These recommendations are not only valid in the case of Colombia, but are also relevant for other countries seeking to transition from armed conflict to peace effectively and sustainably." Read about Assoc Prof Annette Idler's report outlining 10 years of research👇 https://ow.ly/S4bL50XnCBw

I was interviewed by @france24.com on Trump’s new not-so-covert CIA operations in Venezuela. Turning covert ops into public theatre is about signalling toughness, not strategy—it risks cycles of retaliation. @pembrokeoxford.bsky.social @blavatnikschool.bsky.social www.france24.com/en/americas/...

⚠️ U.S.–Venezuela tensions are rising — and the risks extend far beyond Caracas. In my interview w/ @newsweek.com, I discussed why military escalation won’t fix the problem. Re-engagement, not confrontation, is key for regional stability. @pembrokeoxford.bsky.social www.newsweek.com/us-could-fir...

"What really needs to be done is to transform the war on drugs into something focused on public health issues." Associate Professor Annette Idler explains how rising cocaine use worldwide is strengthening Brazil’s criminal factions.👇 https://ow.ly/nXkk50Xkeb0

Spoke w/ @bbcbrazil.bsky.social about how record global cocaine use empowers transnational groups like Brazil’s Comando Vermelho. Brazil is transit hub & market where violence & demand feed each other. We must move from crackdowns to smarter, prevention-based strategies. www.bbc.com/portuguese/a...

Closing tomorrow! Come and work with us at the Global Security Programme @pembrokeoxford.bsky.social @ox.ac.uk as postdoc: www.pmb.ox.ac.uk/vacancy/post...

"Trump is signalling that Washington is prepared to move beyond sanctions and rhetoric." Assosicate Professor Annette Idler spoke to Channel 4 News as President Donald Trump sends US warships towards Venezuela. 👇 https://ow.ly/4VIs50XitrW

Spoke with @channel4news.bsky.social on U.S. pressure on Venezuela. We need to move from coercion to cooperation — militarising complex crises only fuels instability. @pembrokeoxford.bsky.social @socsci.ox.ac.uk #GlobalSecurity #Venezuela #WarOnDrugs Watch at 3:56min: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQoQ...

Professor @annetteidler.bsky.social spoke on #LBC about how phone thefts are part of wider networks of illicit flows—from local street crimes to global supply chains. 🎧 Listen from minute 26:30: 🔗 www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yqlt... #IllicitFlows #OrganisedCrime #Security #LBC #Oxford

"They have a portfolio approach to different types of organised crime." Annette Idler speaks to Andrew Marr on LBC on the importance of looking at the bigger networks of organised crime – rather than individual gangs. From 26:36👇 https://ow.ly/cwZI50X8lal

🌍 Hiring!Join me @pembrokeoxford.bsky.social @ox.ac.uk as Postdoc in Global Security—working on Contested Cross-border Spaces,Illicit Flows&Order. If you think across borders&disciplines, this is for you! 🕘 Deadline: 31/10/2025 🔗 pmb.ox.ac.uk/vacancy/postdoctoral-research-fellowship-global-security

Great to speak w/ Andrew Marr on @lbc.co.uk about how phone theft isn’t street crime, it’s part of global illicit supply chains, linked to routes, logistics & financial systems used e.g. for drugs, weapons & human trafficking. Watch @ 27:01: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yqlt...

Spoke to LBC on Sunday about the UK gov’s crackdown on ads promoting migrant smuggling. A good idea in theory—but without real enforcement & focus on big players, it risks missing the mark. It’s a global illicit economy, not just a local PR problem. 🎥 tinyurl.com/9pxztc6p

"We need to think about how to actually target the big, the large intermediaries, the brokers, the heads of those gangs." Prof @annetteidler.bsky.social speaks to LBC as the UK gov. announces plans to make it illegal to promote Channel crossings on social media. ⬇️

We recently hosted the Rhodes Symposium on International Security at Rhodes House. The event was organised and moderated by #RhodesScholars Jupneet Singh and Fahad Abdulrazzaq and the panel featured alumnus Admiral Stuart Munsch, alumna Jen Easterly and Professor @annetteidler.bsky.social.

🌍 What does peacebuilding look like in an age of illicit flows? Dr @annetteidler.bsky.social‬ shares her field insights from Colombia to Myanmar, and how research can shape real-world UN practice. 🔎 Read the UNSSC spotlight:

How do #illicitflows shape #conflict, #peacebuilding, & state fragility across borders? Feeling honoured to be hosted by #UNSSC for a webinar on this on 29 May 2pm-3pm BST. Register now: tinyurl.com/3maxn4xz Explore topic now in spotlight interview: www.unssc.org/news-and-ins...

Who really controls borders in conflict zones? A new article co-authored by @annetteidler.bsky.social explores how porous borders – where rules exist but aren't enforced – give rise to hybrid sovereignties, where states and armed groups both govern. 🔗

'Do we want short term enforcement or long term social strategies?' Associate Professor in Global Security @annetteidler.bsky.social spoke to #BBCWorldService ahead of the Ecuadorian election, which took place over the weekend. Listen from 45:02👇 www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

🆕 Violent local groups can influence nationally important infrastructure projects. Dams in Colombia & Myanmar were only possible with the cooperation of FARC and KIA respectively. New International Studies Quarterly article co-authored by @annetteidler.bsky.social explores this👇 buff.ly/3QuAbYu

🚨 New Research Alert! 🚨 with @annetteidler.bsky.social How do violent non-state actors (VNSAs) shape the fate of massive infrastructure projects? Our new article in International Studies Quarterly reveals the hidden forces behind global megaprojects. 🧵👇 👉 academic.oup.com/isq/article/...