Following from @sarahowen.org.uk earlier this week another MP having to abandon their public presence due to threats and attacks. Its not a coincidence, I suspect, that its another woman. Something is badly broken

Recently, one of popular pro-Putin bloggers who for years pushed pure Kremlin narratives turned against Putin using no kind words. Did he go nuts or did his sponsor change? @faburkhardt.bsky.social gives an in depth analysis for the last 4 years of Remeslo’s TG posts ridl.io/from-z-blogg...

The question is no longer whether Viktor Orban and Fidesz will lose on 12 April - they will. It's whether Orban will accept the result and concede power

Jacques Tilly, Germany’s best known maker of political carneval floats is on trial today in Moscow (he’s safe in Germany). These are some of his floats of the past years.

"anger over corruption is more relevant than ever. By reducing the U.S. role in anti-corruption efforts, the Trump administration is...helping corrupt actors of all sorts thrive, many of whom operate in ways inimical to U.S. economic and strategic interests."

Russia has no interest in alliances, it can proritize but is not able to project power globally. It rather reacts on the strength and weaknesses of orhers.

The largest Dutch pension fund pulls hundreds of millions in funds from Palantir www.nu.nl/economie/639...

A valuable life lesson

For those following, there's been a shift in how Marco Rubio talks about Cuba. For a while, he was more likely to stress economic reform over political reform in Havana, though he wanted both. But in recent days, he's spoken of both in an equivalent manner, suggesting they go hand-in-hand.

One of Schulmann's more interesting observations from yesterday: Belarus is now freer than Russia in terms of access to information.

Worldwide, more activists are being forced to relocate outside their countries - yet continue their work in exile, playing a critical part of global civic resistance. How can Europe better support them? Read @nickbouchet.bsky.social's contribution 👉 ow.ly/ysLl50YmmBh

Telling in its own right how little attention it is getting in Europe that now also Marco Rubio - the supposed transatlanticist in the Trump administration - is openly questioning NATO and calling for a review of the alliance for the US after the war with Iran is over:

To me, the poster seems to answer that question more than adequately

we often talk about the international system in terms of nebulous things like rules or norms but this is a good reminder how much the functioning of any global order comes down to control of physical infrastructure

Belarus annuls passports of at least 15 expelled political prisoners, RFE/RL reports The most recent release of political prisoners took place on March 19. In a familiar pattern, Washington reciprocated by easing its sanctions pressure on Minsk.

It’s annoying to see the phrase “overlapping language” used to describe what is actually PLAGIARISM. The NY Times reviewer got AI to do his work for him. AI stole a real writer’s words, which the reviewer claimed as his own. “Overlapping language” is too mild a phrase. It's PLAGIARISM.

Working on a project about the paradiplomacy of far-right mayors/local leaders. Brussels has unsurprisingly been a target of far-right paradiplomacy. It appears Ukraine now may be, as well, after a mayor removed Ukraine's flag from city hall (france24.com/en/live-news...).

Catch up if you missed it: I delved into why it matters that #Uzbekistan is not having an honest conversation about the crimes of the Karimov dictatorship with @peterleonard1.bsky.social on podcast - tune in, and read more in my book Silk Mirage havli.substack.com/p/silk-mirag...

I will gladly confess having a soft spot for peak DC modernist imperial architecture

The Russian leader is appearing less frequently in public The number of times Russian President Vladimir Putin has appeared in public was significantly down in the first three months of this year.

Not surprising - despite courting Trump and playing his allies, the AfD builds on anti-American sentiment. This is more an illustration of the AfD calculation that association with Trump hurts them (more than association with Putin) and they want to put distance between themselves and Trump.

Finally officially published 🔆Open Access🔆: my article on the normalizing of war and occupation on Russian television in @nationalitiesp.bsky.social doi.org/10.1017/nps....

I had the special honor last week of being guest on #PrzezPryzmat, the personal podcast project of WELT's excellent Philipp Fritz. We discussed the escalation in bilateral relations between #Hungary and #Ukraine and how this may impact Hungary’s April 12 elections. www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVX7...

New move in academic publishing: The @ec.europa.eu is launching Open Research Europe (ORE), an open access publishing platform for research funded by all EU programmes. @academic-chatter.bsky.social research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/news/all-res...

Note the significant diversion from @vdeminstitute.bsky.social index, where Denmark is on top, while here it is a "slider".

Georgian authorities revoked the short-term residence permit of French photographer Francis Nicolas Prymerski. The photographer, who had lived in Georgia for years, had publicly criticised the ruling Georgian Dream party.

After Trump courts the AfD for a year, they call for unprecedented removal of US bases from Germany. I have never heard a German politician utter these words in public. Now coming from administrations ‘partners’. www.stripes.com/theaters/eur...

does a majority of british people *really* think that the wife of the guy next door, who looks after the kids instead of working, claims no benefits, pays voluntary NI payments, should be forever barred from settling because someone decided to add in tax requirements on a family visa?

My new study is out with @feps-europe.eu. "Laboratories of Counter-Hegemony: Orbán, Trump and the Transatlantic Far-Right Ecosystem" maps the infrastructure that has turned a small Central European country into a launchpad for reorganizing the Western right. 🧵 1/9 👉 feps-europe.eu/publication/...

But while most projections and analysis I see focus on the immediate impact agentic and generative AI will have, for me the parallels with the internet mean we should also consider the long-term arc of their enshittification and impact on work, work-life balance, burnout and misuse. 2/2

In the aid sector, we usually separate humanitarian (short term, immediate needs in war, conflict, disaster), from development (longer term, systemic progress across a range of areas) For two years now, we’ve been saying there are no pure development contexts anymore. Everywhere is conflict

💥Not how one wants to be featured in the @nytimes.com, but I’m glad a US audience sees what’s happening in this small country’s wild election campaign. As with other Orbán-related news, here's my warning to US colleagues: Orbán's actions still serve as a blueprint for Trump/MAGA.

If only someone studied these kinds of questions...

The Hungarian election campaign is heating up as Orban clearly feels the possibility of defeat. Join us to discuss the ins and outs of what is at stake in these elections and how pivotal they will be for Europe

I'm fairly left leaning, but I need somebody with more solid leftist credentials to explain to @progintl.bsky.social that the "whole-process people's democracy" propaganda line in this piece is, politely speaking, complete bs. Publishing this is not progressive, it just shows you have no clue.

This by Rheinmetall CEO is precisely the arrogance that will come to haunt 🇩🇪. It was arrogance vis-à-vis Chinese competitors that helped bring German carmakers in the ditch they are in. And it‘s this type of arrogance vis-à-vis lessons learned by Ukrainians that will cost us.

In Hungary, unfortunately, Orbán’s intelligence services spy on journalists. Also in Hungary—fortunately—it took only about two days to piece together the puzzle and understand who targeted me and why. Of course, it was my reporting that angered them.

“It was never about waste, fraud, or abuse. I cannot stand when people say this is because we failed to tell the story. That is bullshit.” www.devex.com/news/what-ha...

Two more weeks until the Hungarian election! We discussed with @gideonrachman.bsky.social @financialtimes.com if this will bring the end of Orban's rule, why the opposition is on the rise, what Fidesz's close ties with Russia means for Europe and what may be different. 🎧 www.ft.com/content/ef9b...

Call for #earlycareer researchers: are you working on the far-right in Europe? you still have two days to apply for the workshop taking place in the framework of the @ecprsgeu.bsky.social conference in Catania! Check the details 👇 @ecpr.bsky.social @ecpr-ead.bsky.social @sciencepoulb.bsky.social

💥A bipartisan pair of US senators are set to introduce legislation calling for sanctions to be imposed on senior Hungarian officials involved in obstructing aid to Ukraine.

The Bell: Putin held a closed-door meeting with top Russian oligarchs, urged them to make “voluntary” contributions to fund the war “We will fight on,” he told them. “We’ll push to the borders of Donbas.” Billionaire Suleyman Kerimov reportedly pledged ~$1.2 billion on the spot

Want to strengthen EUropean democracy? (1) Do not accept anti-democratic behavior within the EU (2) Become less dependent upon NATO/US (3) Convince EUropeans of importance and costs of democracy (4) Develop a humane immigration discourse and policy

“There are indications that the Orbán regime may be preparing a scenario for the 2026 elections in which allegations of foreign interference could be used to contest a potential victory by Péter Magyar’s Tisza” shekhovtsov.substack.com/p/how-orban-...

Gergely Gulyás, Orbán’s chief of staff, announced that the Hungarian government will file charges against Szabolcs Panyi for espionage – outrageous accusations against an investigative journalist who has been working on uncovering Fidesz's ties to Russia and Russian influence in 🇭🇺 politics.

"There is also an uncomfortable truth: the proportion of genuinely anti-war Russians in the diaspora is relatively small. The harsh truth is that beyond a small number of highly visible artists, politicians and journalists, most Russians living here in Europe, at best, apolitical."

This is theoretically possible but two caveats: ◾Fidesz could install Orban and change the constitution but it'd be seen as massive escalation. ◾If Tisza wins big, Fidesz risks mass protests and worse. If the outcome is close, a smarter strategy is to undermine the new govt & force early elections.

The release of even one political prisoner is good on a human level. But any deal with Lukashenka, even more so full-blown normalization, should be conditioned on systemic change: removing legal/regulatory/judicial barriers & threats to independent civic-political activity. As for a WH visit...