I'm thrilled to be writing GREEN GIANT for PublicAffairs.

More states are seeking to play at the game of “weaponized interdependence.” @abenewman.bsky.social and Leonard Schütte join #TheZeitgeist podcast to discuss this new phenomenon and how U.S. allies, particularly in Europe, have struggled to react:

My 4 book picks this month from some incredible authors 🧵↓ - @sussillodavid.bsky.social - @stewartbrand.bsky.social - @himself.bsky.social and @abenewman.bsky.social - Katalin Karikó

#neo-royalism…

Several stories today showing how fear of retaliation can paralyse EU planning on China 1. Germany & Spain lead opposition to Brussels plans to ban Huawei & ZTE from telecoms networks. They want to keep state-level control amid concerns that bans risk retaliation from Beijing

My sense is that this was part of a larger debate about extraterritoriality. @abenewman.bsky.social and I have long been interested in how we moved from a world where Helms-Burton etc were seen in terms of interstate dispute resolution to fights over states exercising power through networks

I meant to send you this yesterday for your interdependence file: www.dw.com/en/canada-to...

It is hard not to see AI intimacy economy as mass commercialization of cults run by Big tech. Humans lured into turning their emotional energy towards machines. Given enshittification of attention economy, things that look quaint today could quickly turn dystopian. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/u...

For @nybooks.com I wrote about why the US effort to use economic warfare has backfired, leaving it ever more isolated. www.nybooks.com/articles/202...

“Economic warfare began as a discrete effort to change the behavior of adversaries, but over time it became a means for industrial policy to protect America’s waning competitive edge.” —Quinn Slobodian

I’d like to read more on the neoliberal critique of US sanctions post-1990s. I’ve always found it interesting that Hayek opposed their use against apartheid South Africa in defense of the greater unity of the world economy. This from my new @nybooks.com piece: www.nybooks.com/articles/202...

🧵 1/4 📢 New publication! With @jonasheering.bsky.social and @abenewman.bsky.social, we challenge the "clash of systems" framing and the Brussels Effect thesis, which portrays the EU as a unilateral rule-exporter 🌍⚖️

This piece by @himself.bsky.social is a banger. The implication of AI for management is not what management thinks. 🫣

"At last we have created the Corporation That Eliminates Middle Managers from classic management text Don't Eliminate the Middle Managers!" www.programmablemutter.com/p/ai-isnt-ma...

“Allies from Europe to Asia are rewriting the rules of engagement – ignoring the president’s rhetoric and forging new diplomatic channels to manage a U.S. foreign policy driven increasingly by personalities, not institutions.” Sounds like neo-royalism to me. cc: @abenewman.bsky.social

Was just listening to @abenewman.bsky.social on @fraghi.bsky.social’s podcast and then I see this. Trump reportedly suggesting that the US, China and Russia should co-operate against the ICC. I tried reading from a neo-royalist point and how it link to hegemony.

Neo-royalist work together to disrupt the rules based order and unleash a world based on exceptionalism and hierarchy. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Alliance building... "During his summit with Xi, Trump also suggested that the US, China and Russia should join forces to combat the ICC, saying their interests were aligned, according to the people familiar with the talks." www.ft.com/content/567c...

Kill switch debate in tech is just part of a broader phenomenon that @himself.bsky.social and I describe as the enshittification of US power. It was so nice for Europe until it was weaponized. Now tech, the dollar, weapons platforms are all Janus faced infrastructure. www.wired.com/story/enshit...

As @abenewman.bsky.social and I used to say, #weaponizedinterdependence is happening.

Pleased to join my friends for another conversation about the still ongoing killing spree at sea. Have a listen.

Big news on the Section 122 tariffs -- US Court of International Trade just ruled against them.

👀 "Trump surprised Gulf allies by announcing Project Freedom. In response, the Kingdom informed the U.S. it would not allow the U.S. military to fly aircraft from Prince Sultan Airbase southeast of Riyadh or fly through Saudi airspace to support the effort." www.nbcnews.com/politics/whi...

@edwardluce.bsky.social nails it. Welcome to neo-royalism. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Of course @abenewman.bsky.social @himself.bsky.social would point out American dominance of global financial settlement as the superior power, but it's not adjudication. Great book, fascinating stuff on history of transition of world systems to electronics and America's activation of that influence.

The only adjudication that can be laid somewhat globally is through American tech companies, who everyone secretly wants to act as sovereign transnational governments for their own ideological axe.

The natural corollary of the enshittification of US power/infrastructures. www.wired.com/story/enshit...

And for those interested, Underground Empire can be yours for less than a bagel! Still 1.99 on ereader: a.co/d/08BP2c8P

"According to FT, both Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump have been using a shell company to buy stakes in US construction group Skyline Builders (Nasdaq: SKBL), which on Thursday merged with Cove Kaz Capital Group,..."

US mineral deals wrapped in Trump family extraction. Trump sons take stake in US-backed Kazakh mine. #neo-royalism. www.mining.com/trump-sons-i...

Trump plays dominance card against Germany. You criticize me, I enforce the logic of the protection racket. but given the war, there are limits to US withdrawal. It is the largest US presence outside of Japan. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/01/u...

This sale is still going!!! Less than a latte. Less than a coffee. Could you even buy a bagel? Sadly, no bamboo steamer included...

This book by @himself.bsky.social & @abenewman.bsky.social is a great and fun read--and apparently only $1.99 on Kindle right now.

My and @abenewman.bsky.social Underground Empire is on sale at $1.99 for the Kindle edition. If you've been sitting on it, this is the time to buy it. If you've read it and liked it, would love it if you shared this post, and be more grateful than I can say if you starred/reviewed it on Amazon.

This is a book about modern power politics. Set the Mearsheimer down (burn it, if necessary) and read Newman and Farrell instead.

Calling all liege lords! @segoddard.bsky.social and I are thrilled to announce the beginning of a new journey: Return of the Kings: Welcome to the neoroyalist world order. Thanks to Margo Beth Fleming, Meagan Levinson, and Public Affairs!

As they say, please rate and review!!! #weaponizedinterdependenceishappening

Merz: US "quite obviously went into this war without any strategy whatsoever". Difficult to end the conflict now "especially since the Iranians are obviously very skilled negotiators – or rather, very skilled at not negotiating. An entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership."

In March I published what I believe is an original concept: Discovery Sovereignty — the AI agent discovery layer as an emergent chokepoint and panopticon, applying Farrell & Newman's weaponized interdependence framework to a domain they hadn't reached.

Neo-royalism challenges us to look beyond a century-old paradigm and see the hierarchical lens through which Trump justifies domination.

Breaking news: Multiple scientists who serve on an independent board established to guide the nation’s nearly $9 billion basic science funding agency were terminated from their positions Friday by President Trump.

Europe sets up open standard for alternative to Visa/Mastercard. Whether or not it works, these proposals had been shot down for years based on efficiency arguments. US coercion overreach now accelerant. www.paymentsjournal.com/ecb-sets-pay...

When Poland is questioning US resolve, you know shit has hit the 🪭. Trump Russia policy bringing the alliance to the brink. www.reuters.com/world/polish...

First Trump blocked her credit cards, then Amazon, Airbnb and the rest. As a judge at the International Criminal Court, Beti Hohler angered the US President. His reaction sealed off her life. Here she tells us how she continues. www.zeit.de/2026/18/beti...

Polish PM Donald Tusk on the meeting of EU Heads of State or Government: “You could feel a huge relief among leaders because, for the first time in years, there were no Russians in the room, if you know what I'm talking about.” #Orban