Getting very strong Otisburg vibes.
"But it also reflects a global reality in which governments appeal to Mr. Trump’s vanity in order to get American might on their side."
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/w...
youtu.be/qdvDV8tAXeo?...
US policy driven not by national interests but by the vanity of the king: "But it also reflects a global reality in which governments appeal to Mr. Trump’s vanity in order to get American might on their side." #neo-royalism
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/w...
🇪🇺🏳️🌈⚖️🇭🇺 A legal earthquake - CJEU finds Hungary to have violated EU law on multiple counts with its anti-LGBT+ legislation (as expected) but also for the first time in history, in an EU law-reshaping precedent, finds Hungary to violate Art 2 TEU in a self-standing manner.
3/For a more general take on neo-royalism, the stakes, and what to do about it, see this piece w/ @segoddard.bsky.social.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
2/Latest reminder that Kushner is mixing foreign policy and self-enrichment. This is not just corruption but building an alternative foundation for global politics where the few dominate the many.
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/19/u...
1/@ossoff.bsky.social gives masterclass on how to stand up to neo-royalism. Name it: Kushner as princeling; call out the consequences: warps foreign policy/hurts average americans; fights for the alternative: democracy is not an abstract concept. Without it, a few dominate the many. More, please!
That was an alarming read.
"Middle Eastern investors laid out their plans in a video call to develop coastal property in Syria."
I januar interviewede jeg Georgetown-professor @abenewman.bsky.social om hans syn på den nye verdensorden. I går rådgav han danske partiledere om farlige afhængigheder og følte sig som i en episode af Borgen. Small world! share.google/8Kit8CfHhg0o...
2/ For more on how it works see this piece w/ @segoddard.bsky.social.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
1/ All the hallmarks of a neo-royalist lollapalooze. Syrian billionaire, ties to Kushner, sanctions relief, preferential contracts. This is not the rules based order or spheres of influence. Global politics is being run by court insiders.
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/19/u...
More on my Borgen moment. The world is in the midst of a dual transition in technology and world order. Europe has agency to shape its future.
nyheder.tv2.dk/politik/2026...
Yesterday, was remarkable career moment. Danish party leaders invited me and @adler-nissen.bsky.social to talk about the future of AI in a world of weaponized interdependence. It was literally like an episode of Borgen. Key message: Europe has agency but only if it takes decisive action and soon.
Today, Danish political leaders took a full-day break from coalition negotiations to hear lectures from (amongst others) @abenewman.bsky.social and @adler-nissen.bsky.social on AI, tech, and geopolitics. Pretty cool.
3/A lesson for the US hastily to include this transnational dimension.
2/In many ways it is the same dynamic @himself.bsky.social and I described about brexit but in reverse. Rather than facilitating populism, EU gives an assist to its reversal. Key takeaway is that domestic politics increasingly global.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
1. As people celebrate win in Hungary important to underscore key role of EU/transnational politics.
The EU protected the opposition from direct attack and created a platform for opposition to gain political legitimacy In EU parliamen.
www.euronews.com/my-europe/20...
Welcome to neo-royalism…
This is tithing. #neo-royalism
Stacie E. Goddard and Abraham Newman’s neo-royalist framework not only captures the logic of Viktor Orbán’s rule, but also goes a long way toward explaining why it is unraveling. ⌛A read for the longest two days.
@abenewman.bsky.social
brettoninthewoods.substack.com/p/the-house-...
Neo-royalism
“Trump also has little regard for the Westphalian notion that all countries have equal sovereignty. ‘It’s about dominance, you are not equal to us.’ Foreign leaders seem to be accommodating the new pecking order, most explicitly when NATO SG Mark Rutte referred to Trump as ‘daddy’.”
![I hope that Our Lord, in whose service this war [in the Netherlands] has been waged and sustained at the cost of so much blood and money . . . will arrange things with His divine providence, either through war or negotiation, so that the world will know, by the happy outcome, the fruit of trusting in Him, always keeping before us this firm resolve; nevertheless, should God be pleased to permit another outcome, for our sins, it would be better to spend everything in His cause and service, than for any reason to waver.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ri3ciinceco5himlcykqomh7/bafkreiasd2ug6lwbam2mysklwiw5tnnbfjqjoia4jwzcrzldnn326gsagy)
I hope that Our Lord, in whose service this war [in the Netherlands] has been waged and sustained at the cost of so much blood and money . . . will arrange things with His divine providence, either through war or negotiation, so that the world will know, by the happy outcome, the fruit of trusting in Him, always keeping before us this firm resolve; nevertheless, should God be pleased to permit another outcome, for our sins, it would be better to spend everything in His cause and service, than for any reason to waver.
Reading up on royalism keeps delivering in the age of neo-royalism:
Asked why he thought that starting a war was "going to be OK", Trump said, as per the NYT piece: “Because it always is.”
Compare to what Geoffrey Parker has called Philip II's overconfident "messianic style of strategizing":
New research alert w/@gloriaxiong.bsky.social on internal politics of weaponized interdependence. Everyone wants a chokepoint for international advantage but for autocrats some pose more risks to their domestic stability than its worth (see Ant Financial vs COSCO)
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
FT scoop - Iran will demand that shipping companies pay tolls in cryptocurrency for laden oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz. One official says it could be equivalent to $1 per barrel of oil www.ft.com/content/02ae...
Neo-royal fantasies in the works. The crown seeks to own the papacy. In the long run that rarely ends well.
US 'joint venture' with Iran on charging toll for Hormuz passage is peak neo-royalism. Enemies become friends if domination and extraction are on the table. You couldnt make this stuff up.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.the-independent.com/news/world/m...
International politics used to enrich the insider clique...#neo-royalism.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
German conservatives calling US an unreliable partner. This is openly crossing a taboo that would have ended a career. Now, said on the record. This is a once in a generation transformation in the international system.
