The Rise of Social Media and the Fall of Western Democracy www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/o...

The six copies of the book titled “Hybrid Transnationalism and Repression: Turkey’s Diaspora Under Authoritarian Islamist Siege”, which I co-authored with my dear friend @ihsanylmz.bsky.social , have just arrived from the publisher.

It Begins With a Joke. Comics in the World’s Largest Democracy Know Where It Ends. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/w...

Horrible news to wake up to. My heart goes out to everyone affected. 💔

An absolutely depressing read on the state of higher education in the UK… solidarity with my colleagues.

This is US cooperation in transnational repression www.rferl.org/a/iran-us-de...

The week in Trump absurdities: from Turkey’s ‘rigged elections’ to ‘your countries are going to hell’

'It has been widely observed that the speed of America’s democratic slide surpasses that of other “elective autocracies” such as Narendra Modi’s India and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Turkey. But that understates Trump’s impatience.'

I'd describe the new push to recognize Palestine as "mostly harmless"... were it not for the fact that these efforts are mostly a fig leaf for not taking more aggressive action to stop what virtually every international human rights organization now describes as a genocide.

Breaking News: Britain, Canada and Australia formally recognized Palestinian statehood.

Today, Canada recognises the State of Palestine.   My statement: www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/stat...

The road to authoritarianism - total information control. bsky.app/profile/scot...

Australia's universities are blighted by a "culture of consequence-free, rotten failure", according to the former chair of a senate inquiry examining governance at public universities. ... "There's no other sector in the country where failure is rewarded so handsomely and with so little scrutiny."

I wrote for @theguardian.com about the “Unite the Kingdom” rally. High time to pull head out of the sand and learn from other countries — if only on what NOT to do!

Trump's emotional targeting of comedy figures is so telling. Hypermasculine strongmen DESPISE being made fun of. Again, look to Turkey. Experts literally testified on whether comparing Erdoğan to Gollum was an insult. A guy sharing a meme was jailed. And then there's the satire magazine closures.

My latest from @foreignpolicy.com "Just recently, Turkey stood out for its repeated assaults on international norms. Now, those norms have been shattered by a host of bigger and more aggressive actors, and Turkey looks almost calm in comparison. foreignpolicy.com/2025/09/17/t...

What Democrats Can Learn From Charlie Kirk www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/o...

My comments in FT “What the government seems to want to do is not destroy the CHP but to take it over; not to eradicate it, but to neuter it..." Turkey could then become like the joke about the Shah’s Iran “where there is a ‘Yes’ party and a ‘Yes, Sir’ party.” www.ft.com/content/423f...

My article "Film-Making the Nation Great Again" with @liselhintz.bsky.social is out now in @poppublicsphere.bsky.social! doi.org/10.1017/S153... We show how Turkey’s ruling party instrumentalizes history through emotionally evocative videos to legitimize the authoritarian incumbent 🧵

Warsaw opens metro station ‘express’ library to get commuters off their phones

The golden rule of reporting on neo-Nazis? Don’t interview them.

Daniel Andrews’ photo with dictators is a glaring reminder of Australia’s hypocrisy on human rights | Daniela Gavshon

“Diffusion of Digital Authoritarian Practices in China’s Neighbourhood: The Cases of Iran and Pakistan.” by Galib Bashirov, Shahram Akbarzadeh, @ihsanylmz.bsky.social and Zahid Shahab Ahmed in @democratization.bsky.social (2025) #AutumnReading

Here’s what you need to know to start your day

A new piece I wrote appearing in FOREIGN AFFAIRS today www.foreignaffairs.com/germany/warn...

Foreign interference can be hidden in plain sight. Here’s how countries use ‘sharp power’ in Australia theconversation.com/foreign-inte...

Foreign interference can be hidden in plain sight. Here’s how countries use ‘sharp power’ in Australia theconversation.com/foreign-inte...

The dam of Gaza genocide denial has well and truly broken. While Israel’s supporters in the West still reject the charge, many media outlets are coming off the fence. Genocide scholar Martin Shaw reflects on the shift for @newlinesmag.bsky.social

Happy publication week! 🎉 I had the genuine pleasure of chatting with @arielbogle.bsky.social and @cameronwilson.bsky.social last week about their new book, CONSPIRACY NATION. Can confirm, it’s an excellent read. You can hear their thoughts on the link below: open.spotify.com/episode/00Go...

👇

The mathematics of starvation: how Israel caused a famine in Gaza www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

How India Became One of the Biggest Buyers of Russian Oil www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/b...

Western World to recognize Palestine as a state in September if it’s still there

The country’s president is counting on the outside world’s silence to be able repress political opposition. So far he is succeeding

Israel’s food points are not just death traps – they’re an alibi for the starvation of Gaza | Alex de Waal

‘The inability of Western powers to condemn Israel’s conduct – much less bring it to an end – has made a mockery of the rules-based order that they claim to uphold.’ Adam Shatz on the world since 7 October: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Morrison introduced this idiotic fee schedule to discourage a liberal education. Reversing it should’ve been an easy week-1 fix for Labor. You can support science without penalising humanities. #auspol

Canada, Australia and Britain have increased pressure on Israel over the starvation and the killing of civilians in Gaza, with Australia’s prime minister on Friday saying the situation has “gone beyond the world’s worst fears.”

A deal with the Kurds is welcome. Erdogan’s authoritarianism is not

Joint statement on Gaza from AFP, AP, BBC News and Reuters

Written with all the care of a thinks-he's-more-clever-than-he-actually-is undergraduate, the sheer chutzpa of writing a piece like this, without reference to actual experts, is mind-blowing

‘We faced hunger before, but never like this’: skeletal children fill hospital wards as starvation grips Gaza

At this point in history, any country that does not have independent electoral commissions to determine electoral boundaries and run elections probably doesn't get to call itself a full democracy.

Lisel Hintz is one of the true stars of contemporary Turkish Studies. Listen to her hear, talking about media and politics in the "New Turkey" with @diegocupolo.bsky.social for @turkeyrecap.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbcV...

Scientists reportedly hiding AI text prompts in academic papers to receive positive peer reviews

New polling by @australiainstitute.org.au has found that 66% of Australians support a parliamentary inquiry into Aukus. A previous poll found 57% support. In a healthy democracy, scrutiny of a deal the size and scope of Aukus should be welcomed. australiainstitute.org.au/post/two-thi...

I made a totally new X Twitter account and let it feed me whatever it wanted to and I understand so much better now how so many people have come to believe such absurd, awful and frankly inhuman things about Gaza, about Trump, about immigrants, about everything. It’s a true menace to democracy.

‘Normative accounts of democracy claim that the arbitrary use of force stands in opposition to democratic rights. For Mbembe, however, necropolitics isn’t democracy’s opposite but its dark underbelly.’ Kevin Okoth on Achille Mbembe: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...