Sounds like he's throwing out the Oval Office map, giving up on adding this to his fantasy Nobel CV, and saying fight it out while I watch from the sidelines. But what's the new map? - "the original borders from where this War started"? - Ukraine "in its original form" - "further than that!" 🤦

Climate change prompts a meta accusation/confession.

Trump's petrofinance framing of Russia's war against Ukraine is.... helpful?

Stephen E. Hanson writes, "The Fate of Regional Studies under Patrimonial Rule" assessing the impact of recent political changes on regional studies for the September Issue of NewsNet. buff.ly/vvHnwpq #NewsNet

Seems like an important day to re-up this piece from March 2025 (before US cities were being occupied by the military) in @sciam.bsky.social : www.scientificamerican.com/article/risi...

Starting my Critical Geopolitics seminar once again with a beautifully written book packed with sharp insights & concepts. Thank you @amitav.bsky.social for this gift to us all.

The striking things about this article, beyond the infuriating feckup by Ireland on student housing, is that Irish universities are seen as a haven of free speech by some Americans because they don't punish pro-Palestinian activism. www.irishtimes.com/ireland/hous...

Florian Louis @florianlouis.bsky.social kindly sent me a personal copy of his book when it came out (2022). I've only now just read it (in translation). Its really good, full of really insightful observations and analysis. His books should be translated. And I should read what I'm sent.

Visions of the future: Abundance vrs Overshoot. Sharp review by Trevor Jackson, exposing the once-more-with-empathy-for-neoliberalism of the US podcasters next to the profits-before-planet drive of fossil fueled states & corporations.

In the 1930s the far right championed policies promoting population growth & territorial expansion. In the 2020s the far right champions policies promoting population decline & territorial disintegration (via climate change). www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...

How about prioritizing a TransAtlantic Alliance to save the ocean. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Guess what, my new book "The Art of Status" is out with @oxfordacademic.bsky.social 📚💃🎉 It's about looted art and international status competition - why some states decide to return and some don't. I explore in detail Parthenon Marbles, Benin Bronzes, and Nazi-looted art. More info/pics soon.

My review of Jonathan Blake & @nilsgilman.bsky.social book CHILDREN OF A MODEST STAR was published recently by H-Environment: networks.h-net.org/group/review...

National guard troops this morning patrolling while Chinese tourists visited the former capital of the Free World.

Eyeballs on the frenetic 24/7 Trump show as the world burns. "Understanding the present requires us to think critically about time, about what timelines are dominant, and what issues are prioritized or ignored as a consequence." canadiandimension.com/articles/vie...

My latest piece on contemporary geopolitics, climate & the attention economy. canadiandimension.com/articles/vie...

Samuel Boggs described the spell of the map in 1947 as “cartohypnosis.” I prefer Joe Painter’s terms: cartophilias & cartoneuroses. www.bbc.com/news/article...

This city is a community not a stage for authoritarianism, a self-governing polity not an internal colony. Free DC

It’s surreal that articles like this have to be written but dealing with a sociopathic US president requires extraordinary measures. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Excellent summary by Rajan www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Putin's offer, if correctly reported, reveals a high degree of respect for internal Ukrainian oblast borders: they are the units of measurement of 'land swaps.' But invasion is the ultimate disrespect for borders. I suspect its all a ruse to keep the war going. www.reuters.com/world/china/...

I talked on @aljazeera.com about the protests in Serbia and government violence w. Mirko Dautovic & Tatjana Kekic youtu.be/ay0WOq9pA54?...

Weird mix of commonplace concepts -- imperial mindset -- with new creations -- economic empirecraft! -- in this account of the present which, typically, misses what it all rest upon: geo-ecological imperialism. But the signs of that imperialism are everywhere. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/15/w...

This list tells you: (1) very little diplomatic spadework went into this (no surprise with Trump); (2) very little diplomatic implementation effort will come out of anything; (3) it's about money and theater; (4) U.S. diplomacy as we knew it is dead.

This is not the “death of expertise” but the systematic elimination of any knowledge & experience beyond that of an infallible boss.

New publication from my collaboration with Karina Korostelina, this with data analysis from Michael Sweigart. "Outgroup threat, complex identities, and attitudes toward war and peace in Ukraine." journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Here we are again: the bosses meet to divide up the spoils, one manifestly cognitively confused about geography. I wrote about why it won't work, and Trump's motivations, earlier this year in @irishtimes.com. www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...

DC has its problems but its also a great city to live in, beautiful in parts. Cashless bail & trans playing sports are not DC problems. Taxation without representation is. Statehood is now vital for its future.

Washington DC voted 93% against Trump in the last election. Crime rates are falling but the man in the White Castle feels unsafe here so the residents must see his power.... www.nytimes.com/2025/08/11/u...

2002: Russia's NTV cancels its most watched political satire program Kluky (Puppets) to appease the Kremlin. 2025: CBS cancels its popular Late Night show to appease the White House. The health of political satire seems a fairly good indicator of the comfort of politicians with democracy.

It's easy to criticize Trump for ceding competitive ground to China. It's harder to reckon with the limits of American power in the world after Trump — where a cold war posture toward Beijing will be less warranted and less feasible. My thoughts in @financialtimes.com: www.ft.com/content/b324...

"We think we gonna get that [interstate conflict] solved...." Hubris and needy narcissism do not a humble foreign policy make.

Democrats remain focused on geopolitical threats while the planet burns. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/14/u...

Thirty years, and these images still jolt. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/w...

"Ireland’s horror at the collective torture of Gaza springs from the same moral outrage that made Irish leaders such powerful opponents of anti-Semitism." www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...

Many thanks to folks at University of Bern for inviting me for a recent keynote talk. Held in former Toblerone factory building!

Wow, it’s amazing how “world island” BS never dies! To justify China bashing Steve Bannon, a VT graduate, Mackinder explains to @edwardluce.bsky.social on.ft.com/3TJcBsV

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia has earned over €875 billion from fossil fuel exports. Of this, EU countries are responsible for more than €209 billion—money that, instead of isolating Putin, has helped keep his war machine running. euromaidanpress.com/2025/05/20/g...

Vietnamese cover of Oceans Rise Empires Fall. Thanks to all those who made this translation possible. thinhvuongvietnam.com/Content/dai-...

This critical reading and engagement with Oceans Rise Empires Fall by Gerry Kearns is really a terrific read. Marx rather than Mackinder as point of departure for engaging the geopolitics-climate nexus is his core point. doi.org/10.1111/gec3...

I was happy to endorse this creative slim counter-factual history book by Peter J. Taylor.

Many thanks to the participants and audience at the book panel on OCEANS RISE EMPIRES FALL (Oxford UP, 2024) at #ASN2025. These things don't come around too often in an academic's lifetime so I'm grateful to all concerned.

Great to catch up at #ASN2025 with @donnachadcu.bsky.social and get a copy of his incisive new book Unfinished Empire on Russian imperialism.

Tomorrow at #ASN2025. Lots of good papers in this session.

Today at #ASN2025 SIPA Building Columbia University campus: author meets critics book panel.

It was a privilege to serve as Ph D adviser for three talented & hardworking graduates this year. Congratulations Drs Carol Beck, Emina Muzaferija & George Atalla. SPIA @virginiatech.bsky.social Ph D class of 2025! @virginiatechnews.bsky.social @vtliberalarts.bsky.social

Good to see this reversal of the egregious coup at USIP.

And the climate gods laughed at the denialist dunces… www.nytimes.com/2025/05/19/c...

Our Ph D graduating class of 2025! @vtliberalarts.bsky.social

It was a privilege & pleasure to participate in the graduation ceremony of @virginiatech.bsky.social northern Virginia students this afternoon. Congratulations to all our new graduates.