I am planning on appointing someone who has publicly resigned twice in scandal. They resign a third time in even bigger scandal. The fallout should, however, not include me, the person who made the big call in the first place.
Totally untenable.
In Oxford, which means one thing: a trip to the Ashmolean to see the Amarna exhibit
Remember the @pewresearch.org data on the decline in Israel's standing in the US published last week? We asked them for the crosstabs which they graciously shared with us, and we're publishing for the 1st time.
Bottom line: total collapse of Israel's standing among young Americans across the board.
I love @jdryan08.bsky.social's description of it as the Heroditus Trap
One more thought. A plausible outcome is another delay (“We’re close to a deal, I’m giving them another 10 days”). The markets will see it as TACO. But it doesn’t change the fundamental dynamics. It just kicks the can down the road.
Off-ramps are easier before wars start. No going back here.
On top of that, scholarship has shown that synthetic samples systematically underestimate variation in the population, produce stereotypical responses, and are highly contingent upon prompting and model specification strategy
this is fantastic news!!!
In the April @apsa.bsky.social ejobs release, we're still tracking a 30% decline in political science tenure track jobs since 2023-24.
you might not believe in climate change but your insurance company certainly does.
This is so, so well-articulated.
Also true of research in general, where serendipity is often the source of discovery
Amen, Risa
stock photo, but reverse google imaging it -- used for a bablyon bee article too lol babylonbee.com/news/sorry-e...
Accepted norms of democratic civil-military relations aver, regarding the use of force, thatmilitary officers may not substitute civilians’ judgement with their own and that civiliansshould not follow their guidance blindly. These theories often rest on the presumption thatthree critical actors—government, armed forces, and the public—adhere to these norms.Democracy suffers if voters are unduly deferential to military leaders and if their elected rep-resentatives follow suit. Existing research has questioned Americans’ commitment to demo-cratic civil-military relations, but we know little about Britons’ views. A popular stereotypeportrays Americans as unique among Western democracies in their veneration of the mili-tary, yet our novel survey data show that the British public’s attitudes toward civil-militaryrelations are strikingly—and concerningly—similar. Many British respondents appear tobelieve that civilian policy makers should defer to the military, even on fundamental ques-tions regarding decisions over whether to use force, and many are comfortable with militaryofficers publicly advocating for their preferred policies. As the new Labour government hasrecently increased the strategic authority of the UK’s most senior military officers, these find-ings have pressing implications for policy. Elected civilians and military leaders alike mustreaffirm civilian primacy, rebuild trust in civilian government, and educate the public on ahealthily democratic civil-military compact.
Excited to have this piece published in The Political Quarterly with @blagdendavid.bsky.social & Ronald Krebs. We have explored in previous work the concerning deference to the military in the U.S. context. After fielding a survey in the UK, we see similar concerning patterns of military deference.
Thanks for the kind words, Mike! And thanks to the TRIP project at W&M!
Rare to read anything these days on U.S.-China relations that causes you to look at the issue in a new light. Alex Yu-Ting Lin and @robertralston.bsky.social shed new light on whether and to what extent there is a "consensus" on the China threat. Great use of survey data to illuminate a key issue.
The Washington Quarterly Spring 2026 issue cover
How do US elites and the public think about competition w/ China? And who finds what Chinese diplomatic signals reassuring/ threatening, and by how much?
Alex Yu-Ting Lin and I have a new article in @twqgw.bsky.social that answers these questions. Open access www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
🚨 NEW REPORT! 🚨
What is the state of the UK academic job market in politics, and what does this mean for the field and #highered?
In a new @psaecn.bsky.social report, @lawrencemckay.bsky.social @williamlallen.bsky.social and I find worrying trends in job adverts and HESA data from 2012-25
#PSA26
The Washington Quarterly Spring 2026 issue cover
How do US elites and the public think about competition w/ China? And who finds what Chinese diplomatic signals reassuring/ threatening, and by how much?
Alex Yu-Ting Lin and I have a new article in @twqgw.bsky.social that answers these questions. Open access www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Accepted norms of democratic civil-military relations aver, regarding the use of force, thatmilitary officers may not substitute civilians’ judgement with their own and that civiliansshould not follow their guidance blindly. These theories often rest on the presumption thatthree critical actors—government, armed forces, and the public—adhere to these norms.Democracy suffers if voters are unduly deferential to military leaders and if their elected rep-resentatives follow suit. Existing research has questioned Americans’ commitment to demo-cratic civil-military relations, but we know little about Britons’ views. A popular stereotypeportrays Americans as unique among Western democracies in their veneration of the mili-tary, yet our novel survey data show that the British public’s attitudes toward civil-militaryrelations are strikingly—and concerningly—similar. Many British respondents appear tobelieve that civilian policy makers should defer to the military, even on fundamental ques-tions regarding decisions over whether to use force, and many are comfortable with militaryofficers publicly advocating for their preferred policies. As the new Labour government hasrecently increased the strategic authority of the UK’s most senior military officers, these find-ings have pressing implications for policy. Elected civilians and military leaders alike mustreaffirm civilian primacy, rebuild trust in civilian government, and educate the public on ahealthily democratic civil-military compact.
Excited to have this piece published in The Political Quarterly with @blagdendavid.bsky.social & Ronald Krebs. We have explored in previous work the concerning deference to the military in the U.S. context. After fielding a survey in the UK, we see similar concerning patterns of military deference.
I think the same thing when someone says they are doing a "close reading" -- as opposed to... a far reading?
Looking for a Monday panel at ISA? Join us for a panel on "Great Power Decline and the Reconfiguration of Global Order," where @doncasler.bsky.social and I will present our paper on declining power and threat credibility alongside a group of extremely interesting (and unfortunately topical) papers.
This time with the British and French (sometimes) saying no…
we've moved from "this will be the friday that spells the end of trump" to "well, i'm sure this decapitation strike will solve everything" -- things are going great!
Strategic clarity!
Words now need to be followed by action, but this is an important start. My thoughts for @wpr.bsky.social :
I have to say, it's inability to form a peacekeeping coalition and clear the Strait of Hormuz is a real low point in the long and storied history of the Board of Peace
Genuinely just bonkers to watch the USA do this to one of the most successful and innovative hubs of scientific research the world has ever seen. All those years of Free Speech On Campus debates and it turns out they actually wanted less cancer research. Absurd.
