My new article in East European Politics looks at how state capacity shapes the diffusion of #digitalauthoritarianism in Eurasia. Using Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan as cases, the article shows that borrowing authoritarian “blueprints” is one thing, but implementing them effectively is another.

Check out an excerpt M/M tearjerker from Where Nomads dare to dream #bookaddiction #bookshelf #mustread #instabook #fortheloveofbooks #bookrecs #newbook #readersofinsta #tbrpile #whattoread#newbook#newbook #weekendreads #DiverseReads #contemporary #newadult #tearjerker

My Bluesky is mostly academic, yet I wanted to share that my #queer and #CentralAsia themed #novel titled "Where Nomads Dare to Dream" is getting published this June! Personally, it means a lot to me during #PrideMonth, and it's so exciting that it's gonna be printed too!

Indeed, I am :) Any suggestions or recommendations are very welcome!

Artificial intelligence is often seen as a silver bullet for authoritarians that makes repression cheaper, faster, and more precise. But it has inherent weaknesses, and dictators can’t escape these dilemmas, write L. Jason Anastasopoulos and Jie (Jason) Lian. muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...

There are crucial elections in #Hungary 🇭🇺 this weekend. If you are looking for sharp and well-informed commentary on Hungarian politics, make sure you follow these excellent women! @veghzsuzsanna.bsky.social @gabrielagreilinger.com @zecsaky.bsky.social @eublogo.bsky.social

Russia, Venezuela, Iran, China, the Sahel region, the United States ... Want to know why state agents carry out brutal repression — or participate in illegal coups? Our new book "Making a Career in Dictatorship" provides answers — it just got published by @academic.oup.com: tinyurl.com/ystwm3tf

A very disturbing precedent.

From Fork to Feelings: How Foods Shape Mental Health via the Microbiota–Gut–Brain Axis Latest review out in @annualreviews.bsky.social -Well done Aimone Ferri, Laise Paes & @elizschneider.bsky.social www.annualreviews.org/content/jour... @apcmicrobiomeirel.bsky.social @anatneuroucc.bsky.social

To Lam’s goals for Vietnam—double-digit growth, less bureaucracy, closer ties with democracies—are ambitious. Even some of his supporters say the general secretary might be trying too much, too quickly

How do “fear dictators” become “spin dictators” once societies go online? My new open-access article in @democratization.bsky.social traces how the Lukashenka regime in #Belarus and its bureaucracy have retooled their information control in response to #digital uptake: doi.org/10.1080/1351...

📢 #CfP We invite panel & paper proposals for “The Many Faces of Digital Authoritarianism” section at @ecpr.bsky.social ECPR General Conference 2026 (8–11 September, Jagiellonian University, Kraków.) Check our preliminary panels: ecpr.eu/Events/Event... 📅 Deadline: 5 January 2026 (midnight UK time)

New Publication Alert! Discover how Kazakhstani senators subtly contest power through "embedded rhetorical contestation" in elite debates in @ildardaminov.bsky.social latest research. #Authoritarian #Parliaments #Kazakhstan #PoliticalScience tinyurl.com/wwaae67

Simply amazing that the Supreme Court declared an end to legal race discrimination in the affirmative action case two years ago and now allows overt racism in both immigration arrests and redistricting. Using race to help minorities? Bad. Using it to discriminate against them? Very, very good.

What does rebuilding Syria look like from inside the new government? On the latest WOMENP podcast, Minister Hind Kabawat—currently the only woman in the cabinet—discusses the country’s fragile transition and her mission to bring more women into positions of power. ecfr.eu/podcasts/epi...

“The kids are alright. The real problem might be older generations projecting their own racial anxieties onto them.” This is a must-read piece by two of the finest scholars of U.S. politics, @adambonica.bsky.social & @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social

#CfP Hossein Kermani is organizing the workshop "The interplay of physical and digital authoritarianism: Methodological and theoretical challenges and approaches" on April 7-10, 2026 at Vienna University. Please find the details here: ecpr.eu/Events/Event... @ecpr.bsky.social

🔍🇰🇿 Even in #authoritarian #parliaments, not all voices speak in unison. My new paper examines possible pockets of rhetorical dissent or "embedded rhetorical contestation" in #Kazakhstani Senate debates. The paper is now in OA thanks to @weareceu.bsky.social: shorturl.at/YoY9h

NEW - Autocratic Audiences and Linguistic Complexity - https://cup.org/4hBO2t0 "findings contribute to an understanding of authoritarian co-optation, elite incentives, responsiveness, and propaganda" - Nikita Khokhlov & Alexander Baturo #OpenAccess

NEW! The public opinion effects of antisemitic elite cues: a survey experiment on the Hungarian Soros campaign in @eepolitics.bsky.social w/ @bencehamrak.bsky.social @erinjenne.bsky.social G.Simonovits. Soros cues worked through partisan motivated reasoning & not antisemitism doi.org/10.1080/2159...

Very happy to join in and excited to participate this semester!

Excited to announce the publication of my article in Comparative Political Studies on how crises shape the ideological legitimation strategies of authoritarian regimes. journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

"If we want to protect children, we should be fighting for privacy laws, protecting encryption, and learning from Bluesky's model, where they allow third party algorithmic feeds and moderation tools."

Full-Time Assistant Professor of Political Science and Government www.ipsa.org/na/job-offer...

A great piece. Practically, we need more research looking into thwarting autocratization.

#AcademicSky #SciPub #PeerReview #PhDSky #OpenScience #AcademicResearch #AcademicWriting #ScholarlyPublishing #AcademicPublishing #AcademicChatter #Comics 🧪

Very proud <3

⚡️🏳️‍🌈After Viktor Orbán’s government passed an anti-LGBT law to ban the Pride march in Hungary, Budapest mayor Gergely Karácsony announced the city will officially organize Budapest Pride as a municipal event on June 28. This means the ban won’t apply: police can’t disperse the crowd or issue fines.

Happy Pride. No matter who you are, how you identify, you are valid and loved.

I support my gay little turtle squirrel

Essentially, the big tech narrative about #AI adoption in the #labor market as a boon for us to "have more time to be creative" and "spend doing what we truly love" is once again [surprise] a scam. Read more in the University of Chicago report: bfi.uchicago.edu/working-pape...

Very proud of @benmshultz.com

While this idea is fascinating in terms of functionality, "they can give us back things like time" argument was used for computers/GenAI. Yet here we still are on the 40h work week, with people being fired left and right. What will be the socio-economic result of a big uptake of robots like Neo?

🚀 Publication Alert Thrilled to share my latest article with @schaferd.bsky.social & @yavuzmehmet.bsky.social examining the impact of far-right parties on parliamentary discourse! shorturl.at/s4t8P

Well, that is quite self-critical... #AI #ChatGPT

Marine Le Pen has been sentenced to four years in prison. 👩🏻‍⚖️ ➡️ Two with electronic monitoring, and two suspended. She is banned from holding public office for 5 years for embezzling EU funds to finance her party. She calls it “a political decision.” Charlie Hebdo calls it “retirement at 56.” 😂🇫🇷

Should a Citizens' Assembly Complement the European Parliament? Download ⬇️ cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/ha...

I was happy to contribute to Fern TV's episode on Kim Yo-Jong of #NorthKorea. Seems quite ironically fitting in the aftermath of March 8.

This is just a heads up about the approaching 11 March early bird deadline (15% xtra discount) for the MethodsNET @methodsnet.bsky.social Summer School with CEU @weareceu.bsky.social in stunning Vienna, 30 June-18 July. 30+ research methods courses with top pedagogy! All info via bit.ly/4gLbv9V

Das Regierungsprogramm Via @derstandard.at

@ceu-polsci.bsky.social Central European University we celebrate the scholarship of Laszlo Bruszt with a conference with PERG. Please consider applying and presenting! events.ceu.edu/2025-04-11/t...

This speaks to the increasingly growing role of private businesses in digital #authoritarianism. When a monopolist like #Google bends to the will of authoritarian governments, what to expect of the local businesses? How do we design policies that prevent this kind of irresponsible behavior?

Die Regierungsverhandlungen zwischen FPÖ und ÖVP sind gescheitert. Bundespräsident Van der Bellen plant Gespräche über die zukünftige Regierung, während FPÖ-Chef Kickl rasche Neuwahlen fordert. SPÖ, NEOS und Grüne zeigen sich offen für Koalitionsgespräche.

‼️ Der #Liveticker zu den FP/VP Regierungsverhandlungen Via @derstandard.at

Gibt es Politikwissenschaftler:innen aus Österreich, die neu auf bluesky sind? #Politikwissenschaft #starterpack #Österreich #powi #Wissenschaft

(Cross-post from X) "Authoritarian Survival and Leadership Succession in North Korea and Beyond" by @pward89.bsky.social and me is now out with @cambridgeuppolisci.bsky.social It's FREE to download until Feb. 18: doi.org/10.1017/9781... So, what's in the Element...

📢 #PoliticalScience #Seminar Series – February 2025 🎓🗳️ The CEU Political Science Department is hosting a lineup of insightful talks this February! Join us in person (CEU Campus, B505) or online for discussions with top scholars. 🔗 Register to join online: forms.office.com/e/dskkeSsPNq

While Musk and Altman wage their silly little feud, China is making all the broligarchs look like chumps | Arwa Mahdawi

Please consider signing this open letter to support Kazakshtani political activists! ruta-association.org/news/open-le...