These insights are largely drawn from a recent article I published with Paul Johnson at @jpeaceresearch.bsky.social journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Why Iran’s conscript army didn’t side with protesters Why Iran’s conscript army didn’t side with protesters. Authoritarian regimes can enforce army loyalty – even when soldiers are required to serve.

One thing that’s missing from a lot of the conversation I hear about what’s going on in Iran is why we haven’t seen more dissent or defection from the military. Emily Stranger and I explain why in @goodauth.bsky.social

goodauthority.org/news/why-ira...

Nicholas Dockery Foundation A foundation dedicated to supporting alternative therapies for people who have suffered trauma, especially programs of equine and art therapies.

I’m really proud of my friend Nick Dockery for starting this great foundation for an important cause. Check it out! www.dockeryfoundation.org/home

So, sending troops to Chicago or Baltimore would be much more complicated than either LA or DC.
🧵

Just had a great afternoon at @casanctuary.org hanging out with some beautiful animals. Kids had a blast and staff were so kind and professional. Anyone taking a trip near the Catskills should check them out!

No worries! Probably because I’m not great at promoting myself 😁

Lastly, I think it has a pretty good summary of the competing arguments and findings, including both the public opinion/experimental approaches and the cross-national time-series analyses

I find that conscription is not associated with restraint, and that cross nationally it is more likely to increase the probability of conflict initiation. Unlike previous studies, I also account for the size of the military relative to the population

Everything Lindsay said! Happy to share my recent @jpeaceresearch.bsky.social article with anyone who wants to learn more about the relationship between military recruitment practices and conflict initiation. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Can someone please explain to me how spending time on this review contributes to “lethality”?

Pleased to announce that my article with Andrew Webster on what the army needs to think about to do a better job of recruiting is out at Military Review www.armyupress.army.mil/journals/mil...

TLDR: “we have no idea what good is supposed to come of these tariffs, but don’t panic bc eventually the administration will explain it” 😒

Here’s what is going on. When you start firing the military’s top lawyers, that means you are getting ready to order the military to do unlawful things. Trump replaces those JAGs with men who will justify any future unlawful and unethical actions that he wants the military to do.

We do not want every incoming administration to clear house at the Pentagon. Our armed forces should not be led by politically-motivated individuals.

Trump’s actions threaten to forever damage our national defense.

I'm preaching to the choir here on bluesky, but telework isn't important to me because I don't want to do my job. It's important to me because a significant portion of my work is done solo and requires focus and time to think. That is nearly impossible in shared offices with constant interruptions.

Oh yeah, I think especially some of the earlier books. For some reason abaddon’s gate is jumping out at me (dynamics on the OPA ship) but there’s also good links with Duarte’s whole régime toward the end

What I mean here is that *regardless* of whether targeting civilians to undermine morale can be an effective strategy, it’s morally repugnant, contrary to IHL, and should be condemned whenever it happens.

Thanks, Chris. It’s hard to cover all your bases here and be adequately nuanced. I may have misinterpreted your engagement as trying to poke holes rather than building or clarifying.

My comment was meant to protect me against the accusation that I think its okay to target civilians. Instead it sounds like you think I dont think these questions matter, even though I clearly said otherwise. Here I thought I was ready to be more active here…there really is no winning on SM…

Of course. When I said moot, I meant from a perspective of US policy. Clearly I still think the questions have value

All moot, imo anyway, for modern policy discussion since most of what we are talking about is clearly impermissible under the principle of distinction

Still I think raises some questions: is civilian morale what influences leaders? How long does it take to significantly affect civilian morale? And can we distinguish between the effect of instilling terror on the population from the effect of destroying war making capacity and economic opportunity

Im no historian, but ive always been pretty persuaded by the argument that the soviet invasion was the decisive factor (though surely the bombings were ssignificant).

Im hard pressed to think of an example where it hasn’t unified or hardened resolve, at least in the short term! Even if it eventually undermines morale enough to end war, there’s still the question of whether the population is more likely to blame their own government

Symposia The National WWI Museum and Memorial's annual symposiums bring together the leading historians on the World War I era. Recommended for all who have a general or professional interest in the periods pr...

War & Morality online symposium this week hosted by WWI Museum.

Amazing list of presenters, including: Hew Strachan, @risabrooks12.bsky.social @queenofthinair.bsky.social @nathankfinney.com @mzmargulies.bsky.social @heatheratacts.bsky.social, Jonathan Bratten, & more.

www.theworldwar.org/symposia

2024 Honors Colloquium The 2024 Honors Colloquium, "Democracy in Peril", will provide a valuable opportunity for scholars, experts, and the broader community to engage in a thoughtful and informed dialogue on the state of g...

Hi everybody, I’m giving a large public lecture on Democracy & the Military at the University of Rhode Island on Tuesday at 7 p.m. EST. Link to watch online available on the day & free to attend for anyone local web.uri.edu/hc/2024-hono...

Me too, kid. Me too

I am honored to meet your standards of swift-iness and bummed that I won’t see you there 😩

Thanks Jess! May take me a while to figure this out…