Cannot believe this is how I find out I share a birthday with noted theologian JD Vance.

Vacancy for a three-year post-doc position at the Universiteit van Amsterdam!

This postdoc position, part of the European Research Council (ERC)-sponsored 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐊𝐀𝐃𝐄 project, seeks to understand the long legacies of blockades on the post-war order.

SHE 2027. Vienna. CFP. Emotions in Adversity.

Vinted listing for a Tisza yard sign, 25000HUF. 114 people have liked the listing

A sign of the political times - Tisza signs are being sold on Hungarian Vinted, this one with a c. 70 euro asking price.

Signs side by side, one advertising a specialty coffee shop, the other a special offer on Nescafé instant coffee

Choosing to believe that the convenience store is being supremely passive aggressive here

For centuries, Americans have avoided robbing banks. Bonnie and Clyde are taking a different approach.

This is reflecting what I was getting at I think, just even more extreme: the notion that there is simply no moral framework through which military action should be constrained or judged. It is not a question of morality to begin with, and moral critique is irrelevant.

bsky.app/profile/circ...

Also I guess a free recommendation that Portobello round the corner is one of the best places to eat and drink in Budapest. Run by the best kind of perfectionists.

Should probably read "*even* less busy than usual" tbh

For years, but especially in the last few months, I have been trying hard to imagine what it will feel like seeing Orban decisively defeated. I just couldn't. And yet here we are: it is truly and well over. I have more reservations about Peter Magyar than I could say in 300 characters or a thread...

If god and Caesar are the same person, think of how much rendering time you can save.

(it's a joke, wear anything you feel comfortable not voting for fascists in)

Saw a young man on the bus home wearing a corduroy jacket and a neckerchief. I choose to believe that he left home in an Adidas tracksuit and was transformed by the political moment. Never has the victory of the cultural left felt so complete.

The vibes in Budapest are currently "Latin American country wins football world cup" tier

Viktor Orban.on TV conceding the Hungarian election, with the Hungarian parliament as backdrop

Found a great spot to watch Orban concede

Magyar Peter sign with a crown, with "Daddy" scrawled on it

The Hungarian youth are thirsting for change

Exterior of Bambi Eszpresszo in Budapest

Currently skeeting from Bambi Eszpresszó, one of the last communist era cafes in central Budapest, just down the road from the Tissza election rally and it is *vibing* right now.

132 is the magic number...

!!!!

This is with just over 20% counted, each new update has seen Tissza gain in the projection

Sear projection for Hungarian election showing Tissza a handful of seats short of supermajority

Ooooooh it's still swinging they might just make it

It seems not unlikely that the far-far right will hold the balance of power when it comes to the supermajority in Hungary, which would be... interesting

Tissza election truck across the river from parliament

Unclear if Tissza has multiple of these things or whether this is their og campaign truck. If the latter, good chance of this ending up in a museum someday!

Blocked road in Budapest over the river from the Hungarian parliament

They've shut down a major road along the Danube so that TV reporting can have a dramatic backdrop

A moderate amount of tinfoil here but if I had to bet, the last sane analyst at the State Department finally managed to explain why petrodollars were so important, and Trump has of course chosen the stupidest way to protect the system.

Ngl vibes in Budapest are a little weird - like the whole city is holding its breath. Polling places seem a little busier than last election, but not seen any lines etc.

Also, happy with having my first non-English language publication, although I can claim zero credit for the actual translation. The French (/Swiss) quite rightly let me nowhere near their language.

Happy to circulate the original English text with anyone interested - it's primarily an extended reflection on why the history of [nationality] does and doesn't matter in the context of the Spanish Civil War.

Cover of "Quand vient la nuit: Volontaires internationaux contre le fascisme (Espagne 1936-1939)

My chapter in aforementioned volume, entitled '"No es inglés, es escocés": écrire l'histoire éscossaise des brigades internationales'.

Nice little surprise in the mail today - the new edition of "Quando vient la nuit", featuring a new chapter by me back on my old Scottish International Brigade nonsense.

Noticed an (anecdotal) uptick in the kinds of assignments that boil down to 'find an expert on X and ask them 3-4 questions about it'.

I can see why this might look like a good idea, but it hinges entirely on academics' time and altruism that has been massively eroded by sector working conditions.

📣 Save the date!

The next conference of the Society for the History of War will take place at the University of Limerick, Ireland 🇮🇪

🗓 26–27 November 2026

Historians of war, conflict, and violence - mark your calendars!!

📄 Call for Papers coming soon!