Welcome to ‘New Russia’: How the Kremlin is remaking occupied Ukraine - www.reuters.com/investigatio...

North Korea - Belarus ties getting closer.

"Your steadfast commitment to our strategic mission, despite the multiple tramplings, maulings, and other encounters we shall henceforth refer to as 'terminal networking opportunities' has not gone unnoticed." www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/a-m...

“Lukashenko said on Friday that Trump had invited him to Mar-a-Lago to discuss a ‘big deal’.”

Far right and far left it seems.

Harassment of advocates for Tibet is a consistent feature of commemorations of Tibetan Uprising Day in Taiwan, pointing to China's reach in Taiwan domestically

"Authoritarian Persuasion at Home and Abroad: The Partial Effectiveness of Foreign Influencers in Propaganda Work" by Siyu Liang & @lachlanmcnamee.bsky.social in @cpsjournal.bsky.social (2026) #SpringReading journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

"The Backlash Against Civil Society Participation in International Organizations: The Case of Human Rights Complaints Mechanisms" by @chrisvsteinert.bsky.social & Hannah Marietta Smidt in @bjpols.bsky.social (2025) #SpringReading

Yeah those other guys were nebulous whereas we are:

Translation: the uk will do most of our maritime security stuff. Accurate, @bentonra.bsky.social ?

Exciting to see another review of Dictating the Agenda: The Authoritarian Resurgence in World Politics by me & @cooleyoneurasia.bsky.social , this time in the Journal of Communication Inquiry. Many thanks to the author and journal for taking the time to think about our arguments!

What an engaging interview- Mark brings out the best in his speakers and engages with the nuances and uncomfortable implications of their arguments.

Imagine that.

Big Camel Milk strikes again.

Strikes Batter Iran’s Storied Azadi Stadium Complex Several sports centres have been hit in Tehran since the U.S. and Israel began their attacks, the authorities say, but none with the resonance of the Azadi. From Erika Solomon - @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2026/03/06/w...

Why would they trust that U.S. would have their back? —- Trump urges Kurds in Iraq to attack Iran as war widens www.rte.ie/news/middle-...

oh cool

Such a great line in the Wikipedia entry for "Air Chief Marshal" "In November 2007 it became known that Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn (now king of Thailand) had granted the title of Air Chief Marshal to his pet poodle Fufu. The dog died in 2015." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_chi...

Now hiring at @ucddublin.bsky.social in #psychology ✅ Postdoc: search job ref 019423 here: my.corehr.com/pls/ucdrecru... ✅ 4-year fully funded PhD, details: www.ucd.ie/graduatestud... Part of @helpingkidslab.bsky.social Funded by @erc.europa.eu ERC Consolidator Award www.ucd.ie/research/new...

Benno Weiner, a historian of modern China, Tibet and Inner Asia at Carnegie Mellon University: “such policies, if enforced, meant there was ‘no way’ that non-Han people would be able to safely express ‘any type of discontent without being accused of being essentially separatists or terrorists’.”

Coming soon! A sequel to Outsourcing Repression (and Everyday State Power in China). Abstract here: www.cambridge.org/core/element... @uoft-poli-sci.bsky.social

We are pleased to present a review written by our graduate fellow, Alireza Nouri, featuring a very timely book "Dictating the Agenda: The Authoritarian Resurgence in World Politics" by Alexander Cooley and @alexdukalskis.bsky.social Read full review here: shorturl.at/01m2J

Dictating Reality: The Global Battle to Control the News by @martinjemoore.bsky.social & Thomas Colley via @columbiaup.bsky.social (2025) #SpringReading

Please understand that China is an actual place with its own structures and problems and not some pendulum that swings only in reaction to US actions.

Donald the Dove.

It's also a perverse tactic to signal virtue without blame Strikes --> successful domestic uprising: US is white knight, takes all the credit for paving the way Strikes --> no/failed domestic uprising: US is white knight, not its fault people didn't take advantage and fight for freedom

The theory of the case seems to be that an air campaign will lead to uprisings will lead to dislodging the government will lead to its replacement by something better. A lot of assumptions and uncertainty built in to that equation with a high likelihood that innocent people will be killed.

Diana Fu, Rich Nielson, and I argue that ethnography and an ethnographic sensibility remain essential to understanding the political world, even (or maybe especially) in an era of digitization and AI. Think we're Luddites? Have a look bsky.app/profile/annu.... www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...

New Rhodes Center Pod just up. Great conversation with Alex Cooley and Alex Dukalskis about their new book Dictating the Agenda. AKA - How authoritarians go from playing defense other than offense. Great book. Read it. But listen here first: player.captivate.fm/episode/5e16...

Author consults a Cyberspace Administration official they know, trying to work out what happened. Once a topic reaches a certain level of sensitivity, “the platform doesn’t read the content, it just scans it for sensitive words? LOL” “Right, they don’t read it, they’re only interested in keywords.”

In a nutshell, Alex Cooley and @alexdukalskis.bsky.social examine why "liberal triumphalism" of the post-Cold War era has ended, and autocratic states like #China and Russia are increasingly on the offensive. Full review here: shorturl.at/01m2J

Clare County Council is doing more to protect Irish snails from Trump than the Republican-controlled Congress is doing to protect American people from Trump.

Thanks for having us Mark!

Many thanks to Alireza Nouri for taking the time to speak with us and to @onglynette.bsky.social for facilitating. @cooleyoneurasia.bsky.social and I enjoyed the conversation!

George Wallace in 1962: "I started off talking about schools and highways and prisons and taxes and I couldn't make them listen. Then I began talking about n**rs and they stomped the floor." Donald Trump in 2023⬇️

Intentionally fascist imagery.

Congratulations!

China’s information lockdown on Tibet works. Barring independent journalists, academics, human rights observers, etc., means that Tibet stories just don’t make it to international media.

Check out my co-author @cooleyoneurasia.bsky.social presenting our book Dictating the Agenda: The Authoritarian Resurgence in World Politics at @watsonschoolbrown.bsky.social

China’s state radio has expanded #Tibetan language broadcasts from 1 to 17 programmes, pushing state narratives deeper into Tibet amid the suspension of Radio Free Asia and VOA Tibetan services leaving almost no independent voice inside Tibet @rsf.org warns on #worldradioday rsf.org/en/china-exp...

This made me laugh.

I dunno man, this all seems pretty half-baked.

Check out my co-author @cooleyoneurasia.bsky.social presenting our book Dictating the Agenda: The Authoritarian Resurgence in World Politics at @watsonschoolbrown.bsky.social

“In some local schools, vaccination rates have dropped below 20%, according to state data.”

“Voting in Authoritarian Elections” by Turkuler Isiksel & @tompepinsky.com in @apsrjournal.bsky.social (2025) #WinterReading

Check out this new paper by @ucdpolitics.bsky.social PhD candidate @linettelim.bsky.social on how and why Chinese authorities portray foreign media as a threat, and why it matters.

#China: In a rare reference to his recent military purge, Xi Jinping said the army had “undergone revolutionary tempering in the fight against corruption.” In our newsletter, @jemimahsteinfeld.bsky.social explains why in China, no one is safe but Xi ⬇️ www.indexoncensorship.org/2026/02/jour...