Time to re-up my @verfassungsblog.de post from 2023 about the "EU's Faustian Bargain" w/ Orbán: "if the EU continues to treat the rule of law as a bargaining chip and to make promises it won’t keep, for how much longer will our Union remain a club worth joining?": verfassungsblog.de/the-eus-faus...

The Centre for the Study of France & the Francophone World (CEFMF) is hosting many brilliant francophone scholars @utoronto.ca in 2025/26 via two speaker series: “States & Legalities under Stress” & the “French History Seminar.” Find out more/join our listserv: munkschool.utoronto.ca/cees/centre-...

And Justice Sotomayor remains one of only two voices on the "Court" who consistently show us what "speaking truth to power" looks like. Unfortunately, as an institution the SCOTUS instead seems intent to remind us daily what "faustian bargains" look like

New York LGA to Toronto YYZ this evening. Stunning @aircanada.bsky.social

🗳️ Restoring democracy after years of erosion is hard work 🇪🇺 In a new IGCC blogpost, @chrishillion.bsky.social , @tommasopavone.bsky.social & I argue that "frontsliding" may require restorative disobedience—proportionate defiance of entrenched illiberal structures. 👉 ucigcc.org/blog/poland-...

Restoring democracy after years of erosion is hard work: it takes more than democrats winning an election. This is the lesson @chrishillion.bsky.social, @ascherz.bsky.social & I derive from Poland in a new blogpost discussing our paper on “democratic frontsliding” in the EU: tinyurl.com/mvz3acbz

@silje-hermansen.bsky.social presented work with @louisabo.bsky.social and @tommasopavone.bsky.social on the conditions under which the European Court of Justice will accept novel legal arguments advanced by private parties #ecprgc25

Nice to see @economist.com discussing my research with @tommasopavone.bsky.social on the decline in law enforcement by the @ec.europa.eu - “The sleeping policeman at the heart of Europe” economist.com/europe/2025/... from The Economist

The neighborhood raccoons didn’t know my flights were cancelled today, and that I’d be there to witness them “moving in” to my outdoor deck to live their best summer life 😂🥰 videos in the replies below @toronto.ca #TorontoRaccoons

Toronto has been on a hiring spree! Some context though: @uoft.bsky.social has long attracted int’l talent. I’m lucky to be on faculty at a world-class university in a diverse global city. Coming here is an incredible opportunity regardless of what happens down south: www.nytimes.com/2025/06/28/w...

100%. Today's ruling highlights as clearly as ever that the US Supreme Court -packed/coopted during Trump's 1st term- is at war w/ the lower federal courts. The lower courts are trying to defend rights & the rule of law, but the Supreme Court is enabling executive aggrandizement & trampling rights

𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗽𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿 w/ @chrishillion.bsky.social & @ascherz.bsky.social! How can governments restore liberal democracy after a period of democratic erosion? We theorize "democratic frontsliding" & how obstructions to frontsliding can be overcome, using Poland/the EU as a case: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

𝗙𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 in @bjpols.bsky.social! We show the @eucourtofjustice.bsky.social neither favors the "haves" nor has a pro-business bias: it consistently levels the odds for disempowered individuals & spotlights support for their rights. Why 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 the haves come out ahead? Read on: tinyurl.com/28662tae

This paper is a must-read for anyone interested in gender bias and judicial decision-making. Congratulations @louisabo.bsky.social!

Liberalism - and democracy - wins the day in Canada, in an election result that would have been inconceivable just two months ago. A clear rejection of reactionary rhetoric & American expansionism, a clear endorsement of competent leadership & pivoting towards Europe www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

I’m so grateful to @lisasundstrom.bsky.social for penning a truly insightful & generous review of #TheGhostwriters. Lisa raises illuminating similarities/contrasts between Euro-lawyers in the EU & lawyering before the ECtHR- a promising path for future research! Read it here: doi.org/10.1017/lsi....

To retain its status as a regulatory superpower, the European Union must remind itself—and show the world—that regulation and economic dynamism are not inherently at odds, argue Anu Bradford, @rdanielkelemen.bsky.social, and @tommasopavone.bsky.social.

New from Anu Bradford, @rdanielkelemen.bsky.social & I in Foreign Affairs: As the US pressures the EU to surrender its rights-based regulatory power, we show that this fight stretches back decades, what the EU stands to lose & how to revive what makes it great: www.foreignaffairs.com/europe/europ...

Welcome to @uoft.bsky.social, Chagai! We're so lucky to have you join our intellectual community. @uoft.bsky.social is on quite the fantastic hiring spree :)

If you missed @bernardharcourt.bsky.social's fantastic CEFMF keynote lecture @uoft.bsky.social on "Cooperation in Conflictual Times," the recording is now up- check it out! www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShVm...

Marine Le Pen & other RN elected officials are found guilty by the criminal section of the Tribunal de Paris of embezzling EU funds. The scheme was centralized & coordinated w/ Le Pen @ center. She gets 4 yrs prison (2 suspended, 2 in house arrest)+ 5 yr ban from office -including '27 Pres elections

Great to see @uoft.bsky.social Political Science amongst the top 15 departments worldwide for citations & impact of our scholarship - including in the top 5 for impact of recent publications! 💪🥳

ECSA-C members have shared their responses to Frédéric Mérand’s thought-provoking article on Canada-Europe relations in Policy Options. Check out their insightful perspectives: www.ecsa-c.ca/copy-of-covi.... #CanadaEurope #EURelations #Geopolitics #ECSACanada #Canada #Europe #EUCAnet

100% agree: time for Canada’s brain gain. Hoping @mark-carney.bsky.social takes this seriously & proposes a plan for the federal gov’t to help Canadian unis recruit talent. In Ontario, hope Doug Ford & @uoft.bsky.social do the same. Seize the moment, support researchers: macleans.ca/politics/its...

In the late 1960s, conservatives like Allan Bloom and Walter Berns fled the American academy for the University of Toronto. Five and a half decades later, liberals like Stanley and Snyder—undoubtedly with more to come—are fleeing the US and finding refuge there again.

Is Canada becoming a member of the EU just pie in the sky? A much deeper process of Canada-EU integration is more feasible than we think: my contribution to an ECSA-C debate on @fredericmerand.bsky.social's call to ponder "How Canada could get much closer to Europe:" www.ecsa-c.ca/post/a-reali...

Finally, the real Zeitenwende!

Not one ounce of fight in the Dem leadership. Breathtaking spinelessness. Schumer’s got to go.

From Canada with love, here it is, your moment of Zen www.theguardian.com/environment/...

One week until @bernardharcourt.bsky.social’s keynote lecture at @uoft.bsky.social on “Cooperation in Conflictual times!” Do join us for this timely and important conversation on March 14 at 5PM: register to attend & get more info here: munkschool.utoronto.ca/event/cooper...

@vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu proposes a “Rearm Europe” plan unimaginable just a few months ago. Here’s to hoping this vital pivot from words to action continues to gather momentum: Europe needs to take charge of its own destiny 👏

A great honor, thank you @eustudies.bsky.social! We can’t wait to celebrate with colleagues & friends at #eusa25!

Merci pour cette recension incroyablement généreuse de mon livre, #TheGhostwriters! Et bien sûr, ceux qui sont intéressés par le rôle des "euro-avocats” ne peuvent pas manquer les recherches de @lolaavril.bsky.social!: • www.jstor.org/stable/10.23... • doi.org/10.3917/poeu...

Snowmageddon scenes from around the Annex & St. George neighborhoods of Toronto #onstorm #onwx

Midnight update: we have received 10-15cms of snow in the St. George neighborhood of Toronto so far (snow depth around 35-40cms). & The worst of this blizzard isn't until tomorrow, where 30+cms will fall. GTA in the bullseye for this snowmageddon, forecast on track #onwx #onstorm

Here’s my (almost final) forecast: historic storm for southern ON that may rival the Jan ’’22 blizzard. Many spots from the GTA thru Montreal will receive 45cms+ & high winds will cause major drifting. Light snow begins this PM, brief lull overnight, then chaos tomorrow #onwx #onstorm

I don't know why (as of 4PM) Environ Canada hasn't yet issued strongly worded watches/warnings highlighting storm threat. Growing # of forecast models are predicting potentially record-breaking snow for parts of ON & GTA w/ blizzard conditions. Still some uncertainty, but risk is real #onstorm #onwx

Here’s my 1st guesstimate @ a snow map. A lot of spread in the forecast models, but growing confidence in a major storm/blizzard for the Great Lakes, ON, & QC-including for areas hit by significant snow this week. Some north/south shifts likely/details to pin as models converge #onwx #onstorm

Another potentially significant winter storm will develop over the Great Lakes Sat into Sun. Details to be sorted but this would be my initial guess of who’s most likely to be impacted & how. Some computer models are going very crazy w/ it, others less so. Keep 👀 out, Toronto friends! #onwx #onstorm

The St. George neighborhood of Toronto this morning, with 30cms of fresh snow! And more on the way this weekend 😬 #onwx #onstorm

Extraordinary snowfall rates @uoft.bsky.social’s St. George campus, along w/ blowing & drifting snow #onwx #onstorm

Comparatively I'm currently of two minds re-Trump 2.0: •Trump will be worse than Orbán, Kaczyński, Erdoğan &co in capturing/weaponizing the central state (& it's a more powerful state!) •Trump's Achilles heel is civil society, which is more active/decentralized & less state-dependent than elsewhere

Great Lakes/ON final winter storm update: Models are settling on below solution. Sharp cutoff in snow accumulations means lots of over/under potential, esp. across southern ON. Brief changeover to sleet/rain along ON coastline probable. Generally 10-20cms for Greater Toronto, highest inland #onwx

😱Alarming dispatch from @unlawfulentries.bsky.social on the silence/complacency in many US law schools. This is why @kimlanelaw.bsky.social argued that the rule of law "is too important to leave only to the lawyers" in her autocratic legalism article (chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/uclrev/vol85...)

Interesting lessons/strategies, but these are valuable in good times & bad. In bad times, the key is in the timing, sequencing & tradeoffs: Which do you deploy first? How quickly should you act? When do you combine strategies vs. prioritize one? When do you abandon a strategy? & who gets to decide?

Meteorology is my hobby. A major winter storm is headed for the Great Lakes on Wed night-Thurs: Here’s my prelim take. Models initially trended stronger/north; now settling a bit south. For Toronto, minor track shifts could make difference between 5cms of snow mixed w/ rain or 30+cms of snow #onwx

Politics nowadays are pushing society toward confrontation rather than cooperation. On March 14, @ronlevi.bsky.social & I are thrilled to host @bernardharcourt.bsky.social for a keynote lecture on working together in these conflictual times. Register & join us: munkschool.utoronto.ca/event/cooper...

Trump's proposing that America carries out the world's largest ethnic cleansing in decades - and keep the land for itself. So Trump can build resorts on Gaza's Med coastline. He's a monster.

This scene captures so much of why I will miss David Lynch: a turning point that upends your theory of the film, Badalamenti’s dream music, a nighttime road illuminated by the flash of headlights, and characters who are as lost in their emotions as you are: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cStx...

🎉🎉🎉 A great start to the new year! And happy birthday, @movadek.bsky.social! Looking forward to this!