Can a leader’s watch affect political legitimacy? Luxury can be political communication as much as personal taste. I explored the intersection of power, symbolism and luxury in this piece for @albawabanews.bsky.social #PoliticalScience #MiddleEast #Horology www.albawaba.com/news/luxury-...

Honoured to be featured by the #unitednations following the 3rd UNITAR International Research Conference, discussing global governance, pandemics and AI. Watch here: youtu.be/qIWg20Mjtwk?...

I’m pleased to see my latest article republished by the Euro-Burma Office. It explores why Khun Sa’s legacy still matters for understanding Myanmar’s borderlands, where armed groups continue to combine territorial control with illicit economies. intpolicydigest.org/in-myanmar-a...

Jordan isn’t just Petra. It’s one of the best places to understand the Arab world through history, hospitality, politics and culture. I wrote about 7 reasons to visit Jordan 🇯🇴 www.albawaba.com/editors-choi... @albawabanews.bsky.social

Khun Sa was once accused of controlling a large share of the world’s heroin trade. Unlike Escobar, he wasn’t killed. Unlike Noriega, he wasn’t captured. He retired. My article explores what his legacy can tell us about Myanmar today: intpolicydigest.org/in-myanmar-a... #Myanmar #OrganizedCrime

I lived in Amman for several years. One thing that often surprises visitors is that beneath the headlines, it’s a city of ordinary lives, ambitions, culture and community. Jordan deserves to be known for more than regional turmoil. #Jordan #Amman #MiddleEast #Travel #Politics

If Muslims or members of the Asian and Black community had set fire to white people’s homes with children running for their lives, do you think we would be discussing legitimate concerns or focussing on who radicalised them and ideological and contributing cultural factors?

Yesterday at Oxford Brookes University discussing migration, climate change and conflict at a UN-partnered roundtable. A reminder that today’s challenges rarely fit neatly into a single policy box.

At #Oxfordbrookes today for a UN-linked discussion on climate change, migration and conflict. A key theme: these crises increasingly reinforce one another. Environmental pressure, displacement and instability rarely exist in isolation. #ClimateChange #Migration #Conflict #Oxford #GlobalGovernance

Follow me on YouTube for commentary on #covid #narcotics and #dictatorship: youtube.com/@drnicolaiwr...

Follow me on #Tiktok for exclusive videos and insights: www.tiktok.com/@dr.nicolai....

World’s toughest job interview. One candidate. The world watching. #UN #Geopolitics The next Secretary General #Iran #IAEA

Honoured to have been elected as a Councillor. Looking forward to meeting residents, listening to local concerns, and contributing constructively to our community here in Kingston. Public service begins with listening.

13.64 billion Covid vaccine doses by 2024. One of the largest coordinated campaigns in human history — reshaping politics, trust, technology and state power across the world. We are still living in the aftermath. #Covid19 #Geopolitics #History #Pandemic #Reels @bloomsburypol.bsky.social

Quiet evening with Covidocracy. Strange how crises linger long after the headlines disappear. #books #politics @bloomsburypol.bsky.social @bloomsburyacademic.bsky.social

1.3 billion people under lockdown. The largest lockdown in human history. #Covidocracy #India #Politics #Geopolitics @bloomsburypol.bsky.social www.bloomsbury.com/uk/covidocra...

The Malaysian government is prepared to take Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the alleged kidnapping and torture of activists from the Gaza-bound Global Sumud humanitarian aid flotilla, local media reported Monday, Anadolu reports. www.middleeastmonitor.com/20260525-mal...

My latest for #manandculture: assessing António #Guterres’ legacy as UN Secretary-General — from #COVID and #AI to private power, war, and the limits of global cooperation. The UN can warn and convene. States still decide whether to act. manandculture.com/2026/05/asse...

At the United Nations in Brussels discussing AI, financial crime, and the changing role of Gulf states. AI is compressing the time they have to react to crises and risk. Power belongs to systems that can adapt fastest. @unitar.bsky.social #AI #Geopolitics #MiddleEast #UAE #FinancialCrime

From Saudi Arabia to COVID politics, one theme resurfaces: crises reshape legitimacy faster than most societies realise. Reflecting on power, emergency politics, Trump, China and @bloomsburypol.bsky.social Covidocracy after this week’s UN discussions in Brussels. #Politics #Covidocracy #Governance

From lockdown governance to AI governance. The vocabulary changes. The questions about power do not. A pleasure speaking at the United Nations in Brussels this week on AI and political legitimacy. #AI #UN #Politics #Covidocracy #Brussels @bloomsburyacademic.bsky.social @unitar.bsky.social

At the United Nations in Brussels discussing AI. The most important AI debate is not whether machines become intelligent. It is who gains authority when societies enter crisis. Pandemics accelerated states of exception. AI may accelerate them further. #AI #Governance #PoliticalTheory #Covidocracy

Back to #London after speaking at the #UnitedNations conference in #Brussels on #AI, governance, and #financialcrime. A reminder that power rarely disappears during crises. It adapts.

Almost 1.30 am. Flight cancelled after @unitar.bsky.social conference. Hotel booked. #Cambridge can wait. As @bloomsburypol.bsky.social #Covidocracy discusses, #power systems are disrupted. But they always find a response to crisis #Brussels #UN @brusselsairport.bsky.social I’m watching you

Nothing captures the state of modern governance quite like a delayed midnight flight between Brussels and London. @bloomsburypol.bsky.social @atifajiwa.bsky.social #Politics #Geopolitics #AuthorSky #Brussels

Added “Get delayed in the heart of Europe” myself, but Brussels Airport provided the inspiration. @brusselsairport.bsky.social 😊

Brussels → London after the @unitar.bsky.social #AI conference. Back to writing. Like #pandemics ideas spread #Covidocracy @bloomsburypol.bsky.social @atifajiwa.bsky.social

The Iran war has hurt Gulf economies, but the effects have differed across the region.

At the #UN AI conference in Brussels, one resurfacing theme: AI is rapidly becoming a governance and sovereignty issue, not just a technology issue. Who controls the infrastructure matters as much as who builds the models. #AI #Governance #Geopolitics @unitar.bsky.social @atifajiwa.bsky.social

At the #UN in Brussels discussing AI and banking @unitar.bsky.social One uncomfortable reality: finance already knows how to profit from risk. AI may create faster, less transparent and more systemic forms of it. The next financial crisis could involve algorithms as much as banks. #AI #Finance

Spent the evening walking through Brussels after speaking at the #UN. Strange city in the best way — medieval facades surrounding conversations about AI governance, cyber conflict, sanctions, and the future of state power.

Interesting conversations at the UN today on AI, governance, and political risk. The biggest stories of the next decade may emerge where technology, organised crime, cyber conflict, borderlands, and state power collide. #AI #Geopolitics #CyberSecurity #PoliticalRisk #UN #Borderlands

At the UN today: the SDGs were designed for a more stable world. Now they face AI disruption, cyber conflict, war, inflation and collapsing trust in institutions. The real question is no longer whether we achieve the goals — but whether the system behind them survives. #SDGs #UN #AI #Geopolitics

At @unitar.bsky.social m, policymakers and analysts keep arriving at the same conclusion: #AI is no longer a future debate. It is already reshaping governance, security, finance, and political power. Most states are not ready.

At the United Nations in Brussels discussing AI governance, risk, and resilience. The next arms race may not be over territory or oil — but algorithms, infrastructure, and information. Interesting times to study power. @bloomsburyacademic.bsky.social #AI #Geopolitics #AIGovernance #UNITAR

At @unitar.bsky.social ’s Everything AI conference in Brussels, one question divided the room: when is AI l “high risk”? That debate shapes regulation, security, liability, and m geopolitics. The AI race isn’t just innovation. It’s about governance. #AI #AIGovernance #CyberSecurity #EUAIAct

#AI is an opportunity for #globalgovernance but can be a new #technology for #criminals. Discussing #moneylaundering #AI and the #UAE amid #Iran at the @unitednations1945.bsky.social @unitar.bsky.social

At the United Nations in Brussels today for @unitar.bsky.social Everything AI conference. Speaking this evening on stress-testing AI through the lens of security and disaster risk management. The AI era is no longer just technological — it’s geopolitical. #AI #AIGovernance #UNITAR #Brussels

Opening @unitar.bsky.social with discussing how #AI is changing #education

#Brussels. At the United Nations @unitar.bsky.social conference: AI, governance, and the future of power. The next race: algorithms, infrastructure, and information. From narco-states to digital states, power is evolving. #AI #Geopolitics #UnitedNations #ArtificialIntelligence #CyberSecurity

In Brussels for UN meetings @unitar.bsky.social The argument of @bloomsburypol.bsky.social Covidocracy: pandemics do not pause politics — they reorganise power. Some states weakened. Others expanded surveillance, authority and technological control. Those changes did not disappear after Covid.

Ready for @unitar.bsky.social #unitednations conference in #Brussels with @bloomsburypol.bsky.social #Covidocracy @atifajiwa.bsky.social

Delighted to announce that I am councillor for Canbury Gardens ward in #Kingstonuponthames @libdems.org.uk

Buried in declassified CIA files: the blueprint of modern narco-politics in #Myanmar. Researching The Opium Statesman. More soon.

@unitar.bsky.social I’ll discuss using #AI to detect financial crime in #UAE. But the more I research power, the more I conclude: States don’t fight illicit systems. They absorb, weaponise, and profit from them. True during #Covid. True in the Golden Triangle. True in the age of AI?

I wrote #Covidocracy on how crises protect #power. Soon back @unitar.bsky.social (13-14 May) in #Brussels on #AI and #financialcrime because the next crisis isn’t a #pandemic It’s #energyshock and invisible money Understand the system before it shifts @bloomsburypol.bsky.social #Covidocracy

Back at the @unitar.bsky.social (12–14 May) speaking on AI + financial crime. Will AI solve illicit finance? It won’t. It will scale it. Faster fraud. Smarter laundering networks. With pressure on hubs like the UAE since the Iran conflict, this isn’t theoretical. Are we already behind?

So true… #BookSky

Pandemics didn’t just test political systems—they reshaped them. Why did some governments emerge stronger? Covidocracy looks at China, Saudi Arabia, the UK and the US.

Based on case studies from China, Saudi Arabia, the UK and US, 'Covidocracy' uses novel analysis of public discourse to measure whether pandemics favor authoritarianism and erode democracies. 📘Out now: https://bit.ly/4txuUkq @nicolaiofarabia.bsky.social