When people say it's pointless to try to forecast war, I like to tell them about P.H. Colomb's "The Great War of 189-" (1892) that described how an assassination attempt directed at a "Prince Ferdinand" in the Balkans triggered a wide European war through the mechanisms of alliances.

My review of Jeffrey W. Jones' fine book Smoke, Mirrors, and Memories. Legacies of the Soviet-Afghan War (University of Toronto Press). Free link below.

Nice obituary of Pete Duncan, the legendary scholar and teacher of Russian politics. Generations of students and colleagues benefitted from his kindness, his knowledge, and his academic rigour. A unique, and uniquely valuable, scholar. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

I was sad to hear of the passing of Pete Duncan, an expert in Russian foreign policy and politics. I met and spoke to him on a few occasions as I was embarking on my PhD and was struck by his kindness and cheerfulness and how generously and attentively he spoke to me about my research ideas.

Tens of thousands chant “Russians, go home!” at tonight’s anti-Orbán concert in Budapest’s Heroes’ Square ahead of Sunday’s Hungarian election.

NEW: Zelenskyy confirmed for the first time that Ukrainian electronic warfare systems & interceptors were used to take down Iranian Shahed drones in “several” Gulf countries hosting US military infrastructure. “Did we destroy them? Yes, we did,” he told @FT. www.ft.com/content/d0db...

På Fidesz valmöte i Debrecen i går. En partisång som från början är en folksång som handlar om oklart vad: ”…mina tomater är röda, inte gröna…” Det svänger i alla fall.

Tre dagar före Ungerns ödesval passar jag på att omdela det här porträttet jag skrev av Péter Magyar för snart ett år sen. Tror det finns del lärdomar att hämta i hans taktiserande och kampajande för andra motståndare till ytterhögerns makthavare.

Hi Civ-Mil scholars, American and Comparative, what books would y'all suggest about oversight on military affairs? I am not talking about SH, Feaver, Janowitz, and Schiff. More of the recent, process oriented, case studies or cross national stuff. Feel free to suggest your own?

"Russian Propaganda from V to Z: Projecting Banal and Everyday Nationalism in Unsettled Times" by J. Paul Goode. "Rather than attempt to mobilize the Russian public to war, state-run television sought to normalize the war as a banal reality for domestic audiences" www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Zelenskyy has arrived in Saudi Arabia for important meetings. "We appreciate the support and stand with those who are ready to work together with us for security." - the president wrote.

Den här siffran måste stämma. Det måste ha varit Mohamssons maktkupp, partiets offentliga splittring, Birgitta Ohlssons partibyte, SD:s löfte om inga stödröster och den livesända härdsmältan till landsmöte som fått vinden att vända.

My article about the Orbán government's rhetoric about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was just published in this year's first issue of European Security. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

So according to the WSJ a US Senator conspired with another country to manipulate the US into starting a war, am I getting this right

'“I’d like to emphasize, that the signing of the treaty does not mean the establishment of a military alliance with Iran or mutual military assistance,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko clarified to Russia’s State Duma at the time.' www.politico.eu/article/vlad...

Weekend reading.

The big hurdle is the peer-review but this response from the editors made my day.

Johan Carlson om 17:e aspekten av svensk pandemihantering som Sveriges intersektionella vänster tyckte var onödig att problematisera. "Vi mot världen", s. 32

If you're a foreign professor in Sweden, the gov't will expel your children when they turn 18, even if you have permanent residency: sulf.se/nyhet/utvisn... via @sulf-union.bsky.social

Just got my copy of @dvanp.bsky.social's new book, "The DGSE: A Concise History of France's Foreign Intelligence Service," from Georgetown UP. I was involved on the editorial side of this book and it's a huge contribution. Available for pre-order today! press.georgetown.edu/Book/The-DGSE

Om du vill förstå varför så mycket teknik känns fientlig nu, varför allt kräver konto, samtycke och återkommande betalningar, titta på den jävla skrivaren. Plastig. Passivt aggressiv. Full av ideologi, och av strukturellt hat mot dig som konsument och människa. "Keep it simple"? Ät skit.

I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Stay free

We are in excellent hands.

- This article addresses a case of official misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, the Swedish Public Health Agency (PHA) messaged against mask-wearing, warning that it could increase risk of infection. 2/2 bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/gsc/view/jou...

It's just one overreach after another with this Trump administration.

Really glad to see this article with @mbgoransson.bsky.social and @pauloshea.bsky.social published in the Global Social Challenges Journal. The article presents a systematic review and analysis of how SVT covered the use of face masks in 2020. 1/ bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/gsc/view/jou...

Nice work! How Sweden’s national broadcaster (SVT) communicated mask scepticism during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most Swedes will probably recognize these themes: Other recs more important Evidence for masks is weak False sense of security Far right wants masks Can spread infection Complicated to use

New research article with @ndloubere.bsky.social and @pauloshea.bsky.social. "Mediating official misinformation: how Sweden’s national broadcaster (SVT) communicated mask scepticism during the COVID-19 pandemic" Global Social Challenges Journal, Bristol University Press

New article from our previous research project about Syrian war refugees in Lebanon and Sweden. Here, Lotta Hultin and I look at how young Syrian refugees in Sweden use social media in their temporal identity work. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Good news - I'm hiring at Durham University! 1-year full time postdoc in Space Security - looking for someone to join me at the Space Research Centre and a Northeast England based space tracking/analytics company to work on geopolitical analysis in Space Domain Awareness. Details 👇👇👇

Här är min recension av recensionerna av Tegnells memoarer. Ska du recensera Carlsons bok? Don't be that person.

Johan Carlson har skrivit en bok om pandemin. Kan vi hoppas på att recensenterna läser den med lite rakare rygg och mindre böjda knän än när de höjde Tegnells problematiska memoarer till skyarna?

"Det obehagliga intrycket blir att det är farligt att öppet diskutera hur Sverige och EU ska hantera hoten och förolämpningarna från andra sidan Atlanten. Som om situationen är så ömtålig att en debatt om vilka motåtgärder och alternativ som finns vore skadlig i sig." www.dn.se/sverige/toma...

Helvete vad mycket snö

this is the simple answer to people who keep saying NATO expansion matters. Sure, it matters because it presented an obstacle to Russian imperial ambitions. Putin didn't invade because he hated NATO expansion, he hated NATO expansion because he wanted to invade

Lussekattstassavtryck.

Late afternoon in Stockholm.

November mood.

Look what arrived in the mail. Some late-night reading during my parental leave.

I wrote the introduction to this @h-diplo.bsky.social forum on Liliane Stadler's recent book "Between Neutrality and Solidarity: Swiss Good Offices in Afghanistan from 1979 to 1992." Thanks to @emleake.bsky.social and reviewers like @mbgoransson.bsky.social! issforum.org/ISSF/PDF/Jer...

Happy to have contributed a review of Liliane Stadler's excellent book on Swiss diplomacy during the Soviet-Afghan War to the latest H-Diplo Roundtable. Other great contributions by Timothy Nunan, Sandra Bott, Vassily Klimentov and Robert Nichols. networks.h-net.org/group/discus...

It's not just in Gaza where ethnic cleansing was masked as 'combat'.

This is a really interesting piece, well worth your time.

Israeliska soldater berättar för Dagens ETC: Det här är våra upplevelser i Gaza – och det här har vi gjort • ”Finns inga oskyldiga” • ”Vi blir en förlorad generation” • ”Hur många jag dödat? Hundratals, kanske tusentals”

Ca marche comme un barometre. A tous les coups. Quand la Russie va mal, ou que les actions de l'Ukraine et de ses allies lui font tres mal, ou vont faire mal, Moscou reactive une crise autour de la centrale nucleire de Zaporijia, pour transmettre aux occidenteux la peur d'un cataclysme atomique (1)

Several of our reserachers are among the 122 expert signatories in an #op-ed calling for the Swedish goverment to take immidiate action to prevent #genocide in #Gaza: 🔗 dagensarena.se/opinion/sverige-lever-inte-upp-till-internationella-ataganden-att-forhindra-folkmord

DEBATT | Det är vårt ansvar att yttra oss, skriver 122 experter inom fred, säkerhet, utveckling, folkrätt och mänskliga rättigheter. www.dagensarena.se/opinion/sver...

Idag skriver 122 verksamma inom fred, säkerhet, utveckling, folkrätt och mänsk rättigheter att Sveriges regering inte lever upp till sina internationella åtaganden och måste göra mer för att förhindra folkmord I Gaza. Jag är en av dem som skrivit under uppropet. www.dagensarena.se/opinion/sver...