Aidan Milliff
@aidanmilliff.com
📤 1654
📥 929
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Political Scientist
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Aidan Milliff
Sean Ehrlich
11 days ago
Now that we’re well into summer, I think it’s time to announce here FSU’s polisci dept’s hiring last year. (I meant to do at the end of the year but forgot.) First up, James Gibson, previously of WashU, will be joining us in the fall as the Regent’s Research Professor. This is a huge coup for us.
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New policy piece on our
@bjpols.bsky.social
paper with Paolo Bertolotti, Ali Jadbabaie, and Fotini Christia. What do drone strikes do to civilians nearby? The non-lethal effects are larger than advertised
irregularwarfare.org/hidden-costs-of-precision-what-drone-strikes-actually-do-to-civilians
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Hidden Costs of Precision: What Drone Strikes Actually Do to Civilians
New research using cellphone data from Yemen reveals that U.S. drone strikes cause widespread civilian displacement and communication spikes, even when avoiding casualties. These non-lethal disruption...
https://irregularwarfare.org/hidden-costs-of-precision-what-drone-strikes-actually-do-to-civilians
12 days ago
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Jacob Ware
13 days ago
"The non-lethal effects of drone strikes have substantial humanitarian and political costs." We are proud to highlight some outstanding new research on drone strikes by
@aidanmilliff.com
, Paolo Bertolotti, Fotini Christia, and Ali Jadbabaie at IWI.
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Hidden Costs of Precision: What Drone Strikes Actually Do to Civilians
New research using cellphone data from Yemen reveals that U.S. drone strikes cause widespread civilian displacement and communication spikes, even when avoiding casualties. These non-lethal disruption...
https://www.irregularwarfare.org/hidden-costs-of-precision-what-drone-strikes-actually-do-to-civilians/
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I also took the opportunity to write more about one of our puzzling findings: Why do we see so much regional variation in Indians' foreign policy attitudes? I toss out some ideas in this blog post:
aidanmilliff.com/blog/indian-...
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14 days ago
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@pstaniland.bsky.social
I appeared on Grand Tamasha 🎙️ with
@milanv.bsky.social
to discuss our new book on Indian public opinion. Check out the episode here:
grand-tamasha.simplecast.com/episodes/wha...
And the book is free to download until June 15:
doi.org/10.1017/9781...
14 days ago
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New research in Science from
@dominic-rohner.bsky.social
and others: USAID cuts caused violent conflict to spike immediately in areas that received the most USAID support and last for months.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
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Aiding peace or conflict? The impact of USAID cuts on violence
Less than a week after its inauguration, the second Trump administration issued a blanket stop-work order for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the largest national human...
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aed6802
about 1 month ago
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Aidan Milliff
Instituto Juan Linz
about 2 months ago
📣 The Department of Social Sciences at Universidad Carlos III is recruiting for a fixed-term 2-year position in Political Science. This is a two-year opportunity to conduct research, teach, and and collaborate in a vibrant and interdisciplinary academic environment. More info:
lnkd.in/eyVbmPRJ
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Visiting Professor in the area of Political Science | UC3M | Social Sciences Department UC3M
📣 The Department of Social Sciences at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid is recruiting a Visiting Professor in Political Science to join its international faculty. This is a two-year opportunity to te...
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/social-sciences-department-uc3m_visiting-professor-in-the-area-of-political-activity-7453133397482180608-bW4A?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAMAGowB2HGaEHXtbPjyRO32oMJl4QKelYI
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Super clever idea.
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about 1 month ago
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Aidan Milliff
Book Alert!
@pstaniland.bsky.social
and I have a new Cambridge Element out now — and free to download through May 18. It's the result of nine years of digging through historic survey data on how the Indian public thinks about major powers. Read it here:
www.cambridge.org/core/element...
about 2 months ago
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Book Alert!
@pstaniland.bsky.social
and I have a new Cambridge Element out now — and free to download through May 18. It's the result of nine years of digging through historic survey data on how the Indian public thinks about major powers. Read it here:
www.cambridge.org/core/element...
about 2 months ago
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Aidan Milliff
Paul Staniland
about 2 months ago
New book!
@aidanmilliff.com
and I spent years tracking down survey data from the late 1950s-2025 on how the Indian public has viewed China, the US, and Russia/USSR. We use the data to explore trends and patterns. Cambridge has made it Open Access until 5/18, so go read for free here:
t.co/YtNCz74758
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Aidan Milliff
Alyssa Heinze
about 2 months ago
We are organizing a pre-conference workshop at EPSS on the Politics of South Asia. To present, discuss, or attend, please submit your info by May 13th:
forms.gle/pXaKtTLifJAY...
Please circulate widely! If questions, contact me,
@aliz-toth.bsky.social
or
@simonchauchard.bsky.social
!
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Watching this made me so unbelievably happy. Wout is one of the best characters in professional sports.
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2 months ago
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How is this not a threat to kill innocent people?
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3 months ago
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Operation Names can also be used for peaceful purposes.
aidanmilliff.com/post/project...
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3 months ago
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[Claude.md that just says “fear me”]
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3 months ago
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Aidan Milliff
Will Lowe
3 months ago
Now is the time for posting thoughtful discussions of the role of LLMs in academia. I don't have one of those. But Machiavelli does.
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Aidan Milliff
Judah Grunstein
3 months ago
It would be useful if the NYT explicitly stated that the pilot, if captured, would be a POW, that there are laws governing how POWs can be treated, that respect for international law on war shapes how the enemy approaches it, and this is why the US conduct of this illegal war has been so dangerous.
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Missing Airman Raises Concerns That Iran Could Gain Leverage Over the U.S.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/04/world/middleeast/missing-airman-iran.html
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Bob Kopp
3 months ago
If I read this reporting correctly, NSF is preparing to shut down SBE (social, behavioral, economic sciences) *in anticipation* of the FY27 budget, despite Congressional instructions that no directorate receive more than a 5% cut in FY26.
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It was worth a shot.
3 months ago
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Destroying civilian infrastructure in war is wrong, and probably against the Law of Armed Conflict
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/30/o...
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Opinion | America Is Abandoning Morality
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/30/opinion/international-world/is-trump-threatening-to-commit-a-war-crime.html?unlocked_article_code=1.XVA.UVUE.wXJxayV-6uE7&smid=nytcore-ios-share
3 months ago
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Astute point in the linked paper (Hathaway with
@azmatzahra.bsky.social
) about "mistakes" in war: If you don't change procedures to prevent them from happening again, in what way are they really "mistakes"?
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3 months ago
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Me after I vibecoded a task manager that just eats tasks.
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3 months ago
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TBH people are taken aback by how much a *political science* grad degree is "I Hope You Like Matrices." I turned out to really dig it, but I don't think I knew what I was signing up for...
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3 months ago
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Intentionally targeting civilian infrastructure is a war crime in *some* cases. Russian officials were indicted by the ICC in 2024 for strikes targeting Ukraine's electrical grid
ysph.yale.edu/news-article...
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3 months ago
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Aidan Milliff
Garrett M. Graff
3 months ago
Astonishing. The goal of our war is now to undo the effect of the war we started. Gosh, if only we could rewind to, say, four weeks ago when the Strait of Hormuz was open and normal!
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Dare Obasanjo
3 months ago
Just a year ago, we heard reducing the deficit was so important Elon Musk had to fire as many scientists, forest rangers and Black women on the government’s payroll that he could find. Now? 🤷🏾‍♂️
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Wesley Morgan
3 months ago
The peak annual supplemental for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan was the $196 billion the Bush admin requested in 2008 as the Iraq surge wound down and Afg ramped up. The two Iraq supplementals in 2003, the year of the invasion, added up to $167B. (Invasion one alone was $79B.)
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Good reminder for Iran today from Steve Coll’s The Achilles Trap: Betting on “self regime change” is something the U.S. has done before, and lost.
3 months ago
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Good thread. MEU is a very small unit in ground combat terms but a kind of big unit to pull out of the Western Pacific
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3 months ago
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Aidan Milliff
Rory Truex
3 months ago
open.spotify.com/episode/1GU9...
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Bonus Episode: The Prospects for Democracy in Iran | Daniel Tavana, Penn State University
Spotify video
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1GU9avNgGl5Jjz33MYwuzs?si=e66bfdc6ac744145
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Aidan Milliff
The Associated Press
3 months ago
BREAKING: The UN refugee agency says up to 3.2 million people in Iran have been displaced by the ongoing war. Follow AP’s live updates.
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Live updates: Oil price tops $100 a barrel as Iran attacks on shipping worsen supply concerns
Iran targeted the world’s busiest international airport Wednesday and attacked commercial ships as U.S. and Israeli strikes rocked Tehran, while the United Nations' most powerful body demanded a halt to the Islamic Republic’s strikes on its Gulf neighbors that threaten global oil supplies.
https://bit.ly/4s80FjS
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Elizabeth N. Saunders
4 months ago
They could have read (yes, I know) this piece by
@proftalmadge.bsky.social
from [checks notes] *2008* entitled “Closing Time: Assessing the Iranian Threat to the Strait of Hormuz”!
www.caitlintalmadge.com/uploads/8/5/4/1/85419560/closing_time.pdf
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Wat.
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4 months ago
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Hey man, none of us signed up for this. 700k displaced by strikes in Lebanon:
www.nytimes.com/live/2026/03...
Pentagon says 140 service members injured in Iran war:
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/w...
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Pentagon Says 140 Service Members Have Been Injured in Iran War
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/world/middleeast/us-injuries-iran-war.html
4 months ago
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Apropos of nothing, here's a campaign analysis from 2008 by
@proftalmadge.bsky.social
www.belfercenter.org/publication/...
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Closing Time: Assessing the Iranian Threat to the Strait of Hormuz
How might Iran retaliate in the aftermath of a limited Israeli or U.S. strike? The most economically devastating of Iran's potential responses would be closure of the Strait of Hormuz. According to op...
https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/closing-time-assessing-iranian-threat-strait-hormuz
4 months ago
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Aidan Milliff
Phil Klay
4 months ago
“Our government is treating the suffering of the Iranian people as a backdrop for our own entertainment, as if it’s just another piece of content to be swiped through …But we lose our humanity when we are thrilled by the destructive power of our military.”
www.archchicago.org/en/statement...
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Caitlin Talmadge
4 months ago
The aspect of this war that reminds me most of operations in Iraq is the part where we're conducting operations in Iraq. đź‘€
www.wsj.com/world/middle...
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Iraq Becomes Battleground for U.S. Forces Once Again
The U.S. is targeting militias that have carried out dozens of attacks in a show of support for Iran.
https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/iraq-becomes-battleground-for-u-s-forces-once-again-e1e537c1?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AWEtsqdxri8BjhimezQYpAhldX_xd2qs8OHtmtNvQj03mbGgmbzrbPpUYO7PvCWbHPw%3D&gaa_ts=69aebf6d&gaa_sig=HIlm0ennzDvXZUuj2r82TOJpSQJWMXoHyLB7TVXMmxITdRsFja0hvIBYVkMeGdBwLa9bf6eaCXSF3N4VNLd6Pw%3D%3D
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Aidan Milliff
Sharon
4 months ago
How Congress politicians in India are discussing the boat strike (the guy she's citing is of India's most decorated GOFOs):
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Kelsey Atherton
4 months ago
fwiw here's the sourcing I saw at 1am about the US sinking of an unarmed and knowingly unarmed Iranian Navy ship
x.com/KanwalSibal/...
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Mara Revkin
4 months ago
Excited to be co-organizing the Multi-Method Conflict Consortium at Duke May 15-16 with
@meganastewart.bsky.social
&
@dotanhaim.bsky.social
! Advanced PhD candidates and postdocs are invited to apply for our funded Junior Fellowship, deadline March 10:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
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Thinking a lot about this quote from Phil Klay's Missionaries this week.
4 months ago
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Kind of a behavioral law: if you have nine explanations for doing something, you actually don’t have one.
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4 months ago
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Caitlin Talmadge
4 months ago
"There is anxiety among senior leaders that fighting will extend for weeks, stressing limited U.S. air defense stockpiles. 'There is concern about this lasting more than a few days. I don’t think people have fully absorbed what that has done with stockpiles.'"
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
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U.S. troops killed amid Iranian counterattack, fueling air defense fears
U.S. forces say they have hit 1,000 targets over the past two days in a race to take out Iran’s ability to threaten American personnel and allies across the Middle East.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/03/01/us-troops-killed-iran/
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Anna Grzymala-Busse
4 months ago
At all three places where I taught, veterans and military students are admired for their service, their ability to get their academic work done quickly and extremely well, and for often balancing family and school. Not *once* have I ever heard a faculty member disparage a military student.
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Follow Karim and
@carnegiemec.bsky.social
generally for this.
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4 months ago
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Aidan Milliff
Kieran Meadows
4 months ago
In the past, sometimes presidents have said it’s just a military operation or limited airstrikes to skirt Congress. Trump has unilaterally launched major combat operations, declaring war with the goal of regime change. A major violation of the U.S. Constitution, also illegal under international law
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Celeste Pewter
4 months ago
Do it now. Yes, you can leave a message. Yes, call the DC offices. Script here again.
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This war would be strategically dumb and morally wrong even if it were “free.” It is not going to be “free,” for Americans or Iranians.
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4 months ago
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