Worin der Autor das Konzept des „Memetischen Staatsterrors“ entwickelt

I am very excited to start my research stay at @hertiesecurity.bsky.social with @argohdes.bsky.social until the summer!

Looking forward to getting to know the vibrant research community in Berlin, attending conferences and workshops, and of course exploring the city ✨ 🪩

Here is the line-up (Berlin time, CEST): April 23, 2:15 pm. Akin Ünver (Özyeğin University), Title: "@Grok Is this True? Performative Fact-Checking During Contested Events in Polarized Digital Spaces" May 7, 2:15 pm. Rebecca Adler-Nissen (University of Copenhagen), Title: "Geopolitical Struggles of the Emerging Global Tech Order" June 11, 2:15 pm. Andreas Jungherr (University of Bamberg), Title: "Public Opinion on Military Uses of AI: Technology Beliefs, Moral Boundaries, and Security Contexts" June 24, 2:15 pm. Margaret E. Roberts (UC San Diego), Title: "How Partisanship Affects Preferences for Large Language Model Output"

At @scripts-berlin.eu, Genia Kostka and I are organizing an online speaker series on AI and the global order - join us! We have a rockstar line-up. Sign up here (all times are CEST): fu-berlin.webex.com/webappng/sit...

Here is the line-up (Berlin time, CEST): April 23, 2:15 pm. Akin Ünver (Özyeğin University), Title: "@Grok Is this True? Performative Fact-Checking During Contested Events in Polarized Digital Spaces" May 7, 2:15 pm. Rebecca Adler-Nissen (University of Copenhagen), Title: "Geopolitical Struggles of the Emerging Global Tech Order" June 11, 2:15 pm. Andreas Jungherr (University of Bamberg), Title: "Public Opinion on Military Uses of AI: Technology Beliefs, Moral Boundaries, and Security Contexts" June 24, 2:15 pm. Margaret E. Roberts (UC San Diego), Title: "How Partisanship Affects Preferences for Large Language Model Output"

At @scripts-berlin.eu, Genia Kostka and I are organizing an online speaker series on AI and the global order - join us! We have a rockstar line-up. Sign up here (all times are CEST): fu-berlin.webex.com/webappng/sit...

Thinking back on this experience today, an incredible display symbolizing change could come 🌈

Let this be the energy for the rest of 2026 🎆

(1/8) New Open Access paper out today in the @ejprjournal.bsky.social:

doi.org/10.1017/S147...

"The effects of government propaganda in electoral authoritarian regimes: Evidence from Turkey"
with @draege.bsky.social & @chknutsen.bsky.social

#polisky #socsky #commsky #dictatorsky #OA

Mit der Süddeutschen habe ich über internet shutdowns und Gewalt gesprochen: www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/iran...

@hertieschool.bsky.social @hertiesecurity.bsky.social

Mit der Süddeutschen habe ich über internet shutdowns und Gewalt gesprochen: www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/iran...

@hertieschool.bsky.social @hertiesecurity.bsky.social

Zitat: „Die Weigerung europäischer Staaten, den Angriff als Völkerrechtsbruch zu benennen, ist ein schwerer Fehler.“

Ist die Bundesregierung gut beraten, weniger stark auf das Völkerrecht zu setzen?

Oona A. Hathaway von der Yale Law School zählt zu den weltweit führenden Expertinnen für das Recht bewaffneter Konflikte.

Wir haben mit ihr über den Krieg gegen den Iran gesprochen:
verfassungsblog.de/die-weigerun...

Operation Epic Folly? Trump’s and Netanyahu’s War on Iran Podcast Episode · Hold Your Fire! · 7 March · 59m

Always appreciate the sharp analysis on the @crisisgroup.org podcast, operation epic folly indeed: podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/h...

The latest issue of the Journal of Peace Research - our first to be published with @academic.oup.com - is now available on our new journal website. This issue features a diverse set of articles advancing research on peace and conflict.

Read the new issue here:
👉 academic.oup.com/jpr/issue/63/1

KI-gestützte Videoüberwachung: CCC warnt Berlin vor automatischer Verhaltenserkennung Laut Chaos Computer Club sind Verhaltensscanner, die Berlin bald aufbauen will,

Laut Chaos Computer Club sind Verhaltensscanner, die Berlin bald aufbauen will, „gefährlicher Mumpitz“. Er warnt das Bundesland – und auch alle anderen Städte, die die Technologie einsetzen oder einsetzen wollen – davor, autoritäre Staaten als Blaupause zu nutzen.
netzpolitik.org/2026/ki-gest...

You're Welcome, Mr. Supreme Leader On the irony of cameras built to police Iranians becoming the regime’s Achilles’ heel

"The cameras that had surveilled women for showing their hair, that had tracked protesters through city streets, that had sent threatening text messages to millions, those same cameras led the strike team to Khamenei’s door." royapakzad.substack.com/p/youre-welc...

Paper w/ @carogarriga.bsky.social: Academia’s Class Problem. PoliSci is dominated by the upper middle class / people with parents who went to university – unlike society as a whole.
dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn...

You're Welcome, Mr. Supreme Leader On the irony of cameras built to police Iranians becoming the regime’s Achilles’ heel

"The cameras that had surveilled women for showing their hair, that had tracked protesters through city streets, that had sent threatening text messages to millions, those same cameras led the strike team to Khamenei’s door." royapakzad.substack.com/p/youre-welc...

X has *literally* been paying people who are pushing fake AI war content on their platform.

Graph from NetBlocks showing network connectivity in Iran from February 24, 2026, to March 2, 2026. The y-axis represents normalized connectivity, ranging from 0% to 100%, and the x-axis represents the dates. The green line representing Iran's connectivity normal most of the time period, with a sharp drop on the morning of February 28. The drop in connectivity aligns with nation-scale internet blackout imposed during joint military strikes by the US and Israel. The minimum and current connectivity levels are indicated as 1% and 1%, respectively. The chart has a dark background with a red horizontal arrow labeled 'SHUTDOWN', indicates the period of disruption and includes the NetBlocks logo in the lower left corner.

⚠️ Update: #Iran's internet blackout has now passed the 60-hour mark.

The incident leaves the people cut off from the world without access to sources of information vital for safety and situational awareness, and out of touch with loved ones abroad as the conflict escalates.

👀 ”In a statement released following the incident, Amazon said “objects” struck the building, creating sparks and flames, declining to link the incident to Iran’s missile and drone attacks.”

Iranian strikes test the Gulf’s trillion-dollar AI dream The region sold itself as a safe harbor for the world’s data. Amazon’s burning data center in the UAE has upended that pitch.

Iran’s assault on the UAE is forcing a new question for tech firms: if data centers are strategic assets, are they now military targets? restofworld.org/2026/amazon-uae-data-cen...

“Reactions by other states to Khamenei’s assassination will be decisive for the [norm against assassination’s] future trajectory.”

So excited about spring AND these new books on my table 🌸
@ascharpf.bsky.social @hertiesecurity.bsky.social @sritholtz.bsky.social @rebeccabuxton.bsky.social

So excited about spring AND these new books on my table 🌸
@ascharpf.bsky.social @hertiesecurity.bsky.social @sritholtz.bsky.social @rebeccabuxton.bsky.social

Picture of No Option But Sabotage

My book—No Option But Sabotage: The Radical Environmental Movement and the Climate Crisis—comes out today!

It's the result of 3+ years of research and 150+ interviews with 100+ activists and experts.

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

So excited to see this published!
More than a decade ago I got to share an office with @ascharpf.bsky.social (at Lehrstuhl @sabinecarey.bsky.social 😎) & over the past years Christian's office has been down the hall @hertiesecurity.bsky.social - now their joint work is published in book form 🥳👏🏻✨

If you are an advanced PhD student or PostDoc working on AI and global politics/tech/authoritarianism come spend 1-6 months in Berlin this year with @scripts-berlin.eu! We have some funding for you and will help w/ visa and other moving issues.
Info here: www.scripts-berlin.eu/about-us/job...

Offene Stellen / Open Positions

🚨Job alert 🚨

I have an opening for a postdoc in my team at @ipz.bsky.social in the area of digital democracy starting Sep 1, 2026.

If you are working on the impact of the digital transformation on politics, please apply by 🗓️ Mar 1, 2026.

📤 Please share widely!

www.ipz.uzh.ch/de/ueber-uns...

A Comparative Look at Internet Shutdowns in Iran: 2019, 2022, 2025, and 2026 On January 8th, 2026, the Iranian regime implemented an Internet shutdown amidst national protests. This shutdown is the most sophisticated and most severe in Iran’s history. IODA's longitudinal view ...

The IODA team completed a comparative analysis of the ongoing Internet shutdown in Iran to shutdowns during Bloody November in 2019, Women Life Freedom Movement in 2022, and the Israel-Iran War in 2025. Please read and reach out with any questions.

ioda.inetintel.cc.gatech.edu/reports/a-co...

omg the original post, not as the printout version (for ease of reading)