🚨 NEW ISSUE 🚨 🌏 Special section on how the rise of Asia reshapes international financial affairs 🗣️ Articles on ghosting diplomacy, ASEAN and human rights, India's China strategy and more 🤝 Policy paper on China and 'America First' 📚 25 book reviews Read the issue > academic.oup.com/ia/issue/101/5

NEW #openaccess Article: published in International Affairs: 'Competing or complementary: Chinese loans and international bonds in Sri Lanka's default', co-authored with Umesh Moramudali. academic.oup.com/ia/article/1... 1/

I am thrilled to announce the call for papers for the 16th AIPEN meeting at the University of Queensland, 5-6 Feb 2026. Full details in the link. Please share among your networks. www.ppesydney.net/call-for-pap...

New (open access!) paper out now with Eric Helleiner and Hongying Wang in New Political Economy: "A less reluctant (green) Atlas? Explaining the People’s Bank of China’s distinctive environmental shift" 1/ A brief thread 🧵 doi.org/10.1080/1356...

On the recent challenges to the foundations of dollar hegemony from Stephen Miran to Donald Trump by Madison Cartwright @mkonings.bsky.social @shaharhameiri.bsky.social @tomchodor.bsky.social www.ppesydney.net/trump-versus...

If you're going to read just one piece about Trump's tariffs, make it this one. americanaffairsjournal.org/2025/05/trum...

New: LeeJones and I authored a short piece for East Asia Forum on development financing's miserly convergence, based on our article in Development and Change. eastasiaforum.org/2025/05/11/t...

Great news! This article is now available #OpenAccess. Check it out: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

NEW: Lee Jones and I have a new article out in @ripejournal.bsky.social, 'Explaining China's approach to the global governance of sovereign debt distress: a state transformation approach'. tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... 1/

Apply to come work with us! @campolis.bsky.social Assistant Professor in Development Studies (Fixed Term) www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/50918/

China won't be replacing US aid in Africa or anywhere that easily. Overall, China has been in retrenchment mode for a while, and while some anecdotal evidence could emerge of China moving in to capitalise on US retreat this needs to be put in perspective. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

With the slashing of USAID, this article in @devandchg.bsky.social is very timely: By @shaharhameiri.bsky.social & Lee Jones "This article supports the convergence thesis but argues ... this convergence is on a less generous middle ground ... both sides are retrenching."

I've long argued that Confucius Institutes have no place on university campuses - not because they're particularly dangerous, but because only units that fully respect academic freedom should be on campus. If they want to run in the CBD that's fine by me. www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

Another great paper from members of the @scwobservatory.bsky.social

Glad to see many of my works have also been freely pirated to feed the AI bots. I've rejected publishers' requests for my materials to be used but who cares, the technology companies have taken them anyway.

NEW: #OpenAccess article by @DrLeeJones and me in Development and Change: 'International Development Financing in the Second Cold War: The Miserly Convergence of Western Donors and China'. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.... 1/

What will happen when the people who learned to think for themselves aren't around anymore? www.cjr.org/tow_center/w...

We are organising a workshop! 🙂 While striving for autonomy amid growing geopolitical pressures, China’s also creates new dependencies in global trade, finance, & technology: Beyond Hegemony: China’s Quest for Domestic Autonomy, Creation of Global Dependencies? check the CfP: tinyurl.com/5a4c949r

If even half of this story is true, and even if this is his typical opening gambit bluster, this is appalling from Trump - pure gangsterism. The postwar era is truly over. Australia better take note. We have to hedge our bets a lot more than we have been. www.telegraph.co.uk/business/202...

I had a great time presenting on China's approach to sovereign debt restructuring at the Social Scientists' Association of Sri Lanka. Many thanks to B. Stanthakumar for the invitation! If you're interested in the paper, you can watch me present it here www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHsU...

It'd be better to have fewer, better funded PhD scholarships, than what we have right now. I'm assuming that overall funding won't increase, which is a reasonable assumption.

Really looking forward to speaking soon as this SSA Sri Lanka event in Colombo on some of the research I've been doing with Prof Lee Jones on China's approach to the global governance of sovereign debt restructuring.

And in today's least surprising news: China's growth figures aren't very credible www.ft.com/content/f987...

Somehow we've found ourselves back in the 19th century. Between an economy of day labourers, and the masses cheering an anarchist assassin of the rich and powerful, all we need to complete the picture is the return of great power rivalry... hang on...

The global south's debt crisis is far from over. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

This is correct. If I had a dollar for every time I heard that China needed, or was about, to shift towards domestic consumption I wouldn't need to work for a living. Everyone knows it, but it hasn't happened for several decades. It probably will eventually, but largely due to a crisis forcing it.

I suggest we cut the middleperson and go straight to AI-authored papers that read only by AI. Think of the efficiencies!

If you read one 🧵 today, make it this one. My eyes rolled so hard reading this piece on Greece's 'recovery' in @financialtimes.com that I got dizzy.

Agreed. It all boils down to 'extend and pretend'.

I guess that's what happens when your political system allows the fourth most popular choice to be the PM. Will Macron just rule by decree from now on, or compromise?

Vale Associate Professor Emma Hutchison. polsis.uq.edu.au/article/2024...

Surely, Yoon's position is now untenable and he must step down.

I know this is only 2024, but I believe we might already have a hot contender for the most idiotic political act of the 21st century. edition.cnn.com/world/live-n...

What makes it more problematic is that China is so big that it is capable of simultaneously challenging the high value added and low value added segments of most value chains, thus potentially encroaching on the share of both Global North and Global South countries.

Biden's pardoning of his son makes a mockery of the rule of law and gives no foundation for future criticism of Trump when he pardons whomever he likes. For ordinary Americans, this just reinforces the view that the system is deeply corrupt and serving the elites, a narrative that's MAGA-friendly.

Members of the BRICS are now scratching their heads, thinking 'doesn't he know this thing has a snowflake's chance in hell of going anywhere?!' apnews.com/article/trum...

And if it is happening, this 'Japanification' of China is happening at a much lower level of income and consumption.

What's the world's highest risk job? Underwater cable diver? Tightrope walker? Lion handler? nope. It's China's defence minister. www.ft.com/content/6414...

I'm delighted for Australia's vice chancellors - now that the government intends to cut their pay to match the rest of the public sector they can finally go after those private sector jobs they said were the reason they needed to be paid so much in the first place. x.com/AlisonBarnes...

HE has a big problem in western lib dems. The politics has shifted dramatically from peak neoliberalism, rejecting the cosmopolitan attitudes of globalisation. Otoh there's no wider mobilisation w/ unis drafted towards a national project. We’re still expected to live or die by the income we generate

One thing that government and university management have in common is taking academics' time for granted.

A great PhD opportunity under the guidance of a distinguished scholar in a beautiful city.

PLEASE SHARE: New PhD scholarship opportunity to work with me on my ARC-funded project examining how states and societies in Asia and the Pacific are responding to the emerging Cold War between the US and China. Details on how to apply are in the link. study.uq.edu.au/study-option...

If you've not had enough hearing me discuss @tomchodor.bsky.social and my recent book, The Locked-Up Country, I'm on The Minefield, ABC Radio National, talking to Scott Stephens and Waleed Aly about the state and what we could and should expect from it. www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

Recently, @tomchodor.bsky.social and I went to talk about our book, The Locked-Up Country, on the Bungacast podcast. Check it out if you're interested to learn what the book is about. bungacast.com/2023/11/28/3...

The whole point is that most countries don't want to choose. I don't think the emergence of blocs in the current context is a likely outcome.

This is the future, people - waiting endlessly on hold to speak to someone who could do something about robots malfunctioning.

The mutual constitution of neoliberalism and 'wellness' has reached its apogee. x.com/zeithistorik...

I had a brilliant time launching The Locked-Up Country last night at ReadingsBooks in Melbourne with @tomchodor.bsky.social. Many thanks to Paul Barclay for his expert moderation, to the staff, to UQP for organising, and to all the people who came to listen.

PLEASE SHARE! Looking forward to the Melbourne launch of The Locked-Up Country, Tue 21 Nov at Readings Bookshop, located in the magnificient State Library. RSVP now to join @TomChodor and me in conversation with Paul Barclay. www.readings.com.au/events/book-...