On Idi Amin and our own mad king, Trump’s inevitable impeachment, and whose support would need to soften for 67 Senators to vote to convict.

I am going to decorate my office in the UN palette.

On Idi Amin and our own mad king, Trump’s inevitable impeachment, and whose support would need to soften for 67 Senators to vote to convict.

Public Hotel, Manhattan.

These days are the most surreal of my life. Daryna, KSE student: Lately, I’ve been spending more and more time thinking about whether I will even be able to wake up, because the cold is unbearable and I do wake up — but from shivering, not from the alarm clock. 1/

The fun thing about the States is they’ve skipped right over virulent charismatic authoritarian in favour of deranged old man. Fast dictator culture.

One of ~5 reasons I gave up on Twitter/X was the loss of third-party apps. I’ve been waiting for a good one for Bluesky; I think @boostblue.bsky.social is it. Syncing of timeline position is great, of course. And then there are customizations such as this 👇

Our paper is now published at QJE ... it is open access!!! academic.oup.com/qje/article/...

It’s too bad that Machado felt like she had to do this, especially after Trump said that he would be happy with the Noble Peace Prize.

Nobody wants to move to Naypyidaw, the capital of Myanmar. Is that an urban-planning failure—or a success? My latest blog post. scottgehlbach.bearblog.dev/naypyidaw-ci...

Nobody wants to move to Naypyidaw, the capital of Myanmar. Is that an urban-planning failure—or a success? My latest blog post. scottgehlbach.bearblog.dev/naypyidaw-ci...

Deadline for SIOE submission in one day! January 15. Come to Fontainebleau to hear about Inst and Orgs in one of the foremost historical (Fontainebleau castle) and sports (world-class bouldering) sites in Europe! www.sioe.org/conference/2...

There are smart autocrats and dumb autocrats. Putin is a smart autocrat who has protected the independence of the central bank. Erdogan is a dumb autocrat who has destroyed the independence of the central bank. Both smart and dumb autocrats can survive. But it is easier for smart autocrats.

There are going to be so many papers retracted because the authors didn’t read this piece by @causalinf.bsky.social before they started working with Claude Code.

[1/3] I'm happy to share the news that my paper "Propaganda to a Cynical Audience" is out at Political Science Research and Methods.

Many thanks for the kind words, Scott! I’ll immediately update the book’s companion site, where I post lecture notes and more: sites.google.com/view/tore-el...

Not a humble brag (ok, maybe a little), but if somebody wants the chapter I wrote from this very expensive Oxford Handbook, please send me an email. This is not the best figure, but I promise the others are worth it! Transitional Justice and Elite Polarization url: academic.oup.com/edited-volum...

Second time teaching my undergrad core class with @toreellingsen.bsky.social’s excellent text. A few thoughts. scottgehlbach.bearblog.dev/teaching-gam...

Five years since the January 6th insurrection and a reminder that in the moment many Republicans and Trump voters were appalled, but many also were not.

Meanwhile, all the economists at #ASSA2026 are getting exactly what they need, no more, at this area establishment. (h/t @spantoja.bsky.social)

On days like today, it’s nice to have a preoccupation that isn’t tied too directly to current events. Here, a few thoughts on urban design and social interaction, inspired by @nlnathan.bsky.social’s really innovative work on gridded streets and political mobilization.

Vladimir Putin must be wondering this morning, and not for the first time, why he was born into a country with such an incompetent military.

Called. (Left VM b/c weekend.)

Just connecting the dots, if the Trump admin cuts off the supply of Venezuelan oil to Cuba, as I suspect they will, then this is about regime change in Cuba as well, and Cuba is a great place for casinos, and wait, who has interests in the casino business…?

More urban design today in my new minimalist blog—here, a reflection on social interaction in neighborhoods with more or less gridded streets.

These are great panels! Please join us if you can. The autocracy panel features papers by 1. Liu, @luozhaotian.bsky.social, Qiu, & @shuyiyu.bsky.social 2. @jackpaine.bsky.social 3. @fantinity.bsky.social, Ritter, & Shadmehr 4. Zhaotian (again), @spantoja.bsky.social, & me

Taking a cue from @mattglassman312.bsky.social, I have created a text-first blog for occasional musings of the sort that fit better into 300 words than 300 characters. Here is my first post—on urbanity, and where we see it. scottgehlbach.bearblog.dev/urbanity-her...

Taking a cue from @mattglassman312.bsky.social, I have created a text-first blog for occasional musings of the sort that fit better into 300 words than 300 characters. Here is my first post—on urbanity, and where we see it. scottgehlbach.bearblog.dev/urbanity-her...

Get your sugar kicks…

💯 I learned history as a kid by playing Avalon Hill board games. And my son has learned history by playing @gmtgames.bsky.social board games (with me). Through him, I have discovered Civ VI and the like. Great games, board and video alike, are great teachers.

This👇. We give to the Kyiv School of Economics every year. $5000 provides a scholarship with full tuition and housing—an investment in one student’s future, an investment in the future of Ukraine. Please give what you can. 🇺🇦🎓

630,000 boys are born each year in Russia. 420,000 men are recruited and sent to the meat grinder.

👇

One of Trump’s most consistent traits—right up there with racism and greed—is his admiration for dictators. He “fell in love” with Kim, defends MBS for murder, and praises Orbán and Putin at every turn. Yet when he claims to oppose Maduro on humanitarian grounds, the press politely plays along.

Wow re Italy and Greece vs ECE. NB Romania was starting from a particularly low basis.

The world is a less interesting place with the passing of Kimuli Kasara. She was brilliant, funny, and caring. And was loved by many. She was a great friend and confidante. We will all miss her terribly. Rest in peace. fas.columbia.edu/news/memoria...

Call for nominations for @sioecon.bsky.social dissertation (Coase) and book (North) awards. Please forward to your department’s DGS, who likely keeps a list of APSA/AEA/etc. dissertation awards but not awards given by other associations.

According to a BBC investigation, the Georgian Dream regime used a WWI-era chemical agent called “camite” during last year’s protests. This finally explains the symptoms many of us experienced both on the night of the crackdown and in the following months. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Good news—Dr. Abedini has been released!!! Thanks to everyone who shared and mobilized 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

My colleague, Dr. Vahid Abedini, was illegally detained by ICE on Saturday. He is currently being held without a court date in sight, despite being in the country legally. Please spread the word! We must ensure his due process rights are upheld. www.oudaily.com/news/ou-prof...

Looking at this photo of the US-Ukraine Geneva meeting, I wondered who was in the delegation. ABC has the list: abcnews.go.com/Internationa... No Russia or Ukraine experts (although US Ambassador to Ukraine Davis & SACEUR Grynkewich were there). Who is the guy with the notebook? Andy Baker. 1/2

Reading these accounts of federal agents’ actions in Chicago reminds me of the athletes and Afghan veterans who populated Russia’s organized-criminal groups in the 1990s. Some men just miss being the playground bully. A healthy society channels their aggression in harmless directions.

Beautiful Fontainebleau! Political science, political economy, organizational economics, strategy, law, and more…If you’ve never been to SIOE, ask someone who has (they’re all around you).

Must suck to think you have two Administration jobs, only to realize you actually have zero.

New article in IO: Allies provide more than military capabilities and mutual defense. They also provide access: permission for military and intelligence missions from within their borders. This access enables American power projection and intel collection www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

We agree that there is much to worry about. But many liberal practices inside autocracies - like holding elections, passing reforms to increase gender equality, or even limited media openness - are more than just window dressing. 4/

NATO's expansion and American imperialism made him do it

Now forthcoming at Quarterly Journal of Economics Enlightenment Ideals and Belief in Progress in the Run-up to the Industrial Revolution: A Textual Analysis Available at: digitalcommons.chapman.edu/esi_working_... (See thread below for an overview)

Trump's aggressive tilt in his 2nd term should be no surprise. His language had been growing increasingly violent for years. Documented here with Nikita Savin. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Good times! @luozhaotian.bsky.social @convexify.bsky.social @virginiaminni.bsky.social @dvbarron.bsky.social