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Brieg Powel

@briegp.bsky.social

Personal account. World politics, theory, conflict, hybrid threats, football coach (UEFA C), Exeter Uni academic, Swansea Jack, Cymraeg hefyd 🦢🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

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Brieg Powel @briegp.bsky.social · last mo.

www.psa.ac.uk/news/propose...

Joint Letter on Proposed Changes at the University of Exeter - Political Studies Association

The PSA, BISA and UACES have written to the University of Exeter’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Lisa Roberts, Senior Vice-President & Provost Professor Dan Charman and Pro-Vice-Chancellor & Executive De...

psa.ac.uk

Eliot Higgins @eliothiggins.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Here's the Iran-US MoU, and it's pretty much a severe strategic defeat and capitulation for the US and a massive strategic and economic victory for Iran. Really an utter humiliation for the US thanks to Trump's naked incompetence. edition.cnn.com/2026/06/17/m...

1 — The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States, together with their allies in the current war, declare upon the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding an immediate and permanent end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, and undertake that from now on they will not launch any hostile action against each other, and will refrain from the threat or use of force against each other. The final agreement will confirm the provisions of this Article and the remaining Articles.

2 — The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States undertake to respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to refrain from interfering in each other’s internal affairs.

3 — The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States undertake to negotiate and reach a final agreement within a maximum period of 60 days, extendable by mutual consent.

4 — Immediately upon the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding, the United States lift the naval blockade and prevent any interference or obstruction against the Islamic Republic of Iran, and restore traffic within a maximum of 30 days to its full capacity; the traffic of ships shall be proportional to the pre-war volume of traffic on the part of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The United States also undertakes to withdraw its forces from the surrounding areas within 30 days after the final agreement.

5 — Upon signing this Memorandum of Understanding, the Islamic Republic of Iran will immediately take steps to ensure that the movement of merchant ships from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa is resumed within 30 days to the pre-war volume, taking into account the need for the removal of technical obstacles and the neutralization of mines by Iran.

6 — The United States undertakes, together with its regional partners, to create a comprehensive plan agreed upon by both parties for the rehabilitation and economic development of the Islamic Republic of Iran, while ensuring financing of at least $300 billion. The implementation mechanism of this plan, as part of the final agreement, will be formulated within 60 days.

7 — The United States commits to ending, on a schedule to be agreed upon as part of the final agreement, all types of sanctions currently facing the Islamic Republic of Iran, including resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and all unilateral U.S. sanctions, both primary and secondary.

8 — The Islamic Republic of Iran reiterates that it will never produce nuclear weapons. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States have agreed that the fate of enriched material and the fate of all other mutually agreed nuclear-related issues, including Iran’s nuclear needs, will be adequately addressed in a final agreement; the final agreement will confirm the provisions of this Article.

9 — The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States agree that, pending a final agreement, they will maintain the status quo: Iran will maintain the status quo on its nuclear program, and the United States will not impose new sanctions on Iran or strengthen its forces in the region.

10 — The United States undertakes that immediately after the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding, and until the date of the lifting of sanctions, the United States Treasury Department will issue waivers for exports of Iranian crude oil, petrochemical products and their derivatives, and all related services, including banking, insurance, transportation, and the like.

11 — The United States undertakes that, in light of the progress of negotiations towards a final agreement, frozen or restricted funds and assets of the Islamic Republic of Iran will be released and made fully available. These funds, whether held in the master account or transferred, will be used for any final beneficiary payment determined by the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran and will be fully available for use. The United States undertakes to issue all necessary permits and licenses on this basis.

12 — The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States agree that an implementation mechanism will be established to oversee the successful implementation of and future commitment to the Final Agreement.

13 — Following the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding, and upon receipt of assurances regarding the commencement of implementation of Articles 4, 5, 10, and 11 of this Memorandum of Understanding, and the continued implementation of these steps, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States will enter into negotiations for a Final Agreement solely with respect to the remaining Articles.

14 — The final agreement will be approved through a binding resolution of the UN Security Council.

Brieg Powel @briegp.bsky.social · 4mo ago

tidal.com/track/292679/u Timely feed tune

Green Day - Holiday / Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Listen to Holiday / Boulevard of Broken Dreams on TIDAL

tidal.com

Brieg Powel @briegp.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Great piece on #astropolitics in @ejisbisa.bsky.social by @bleddb.bsky.social (I declare an interest for having read a draft!)

Bleddyn Bowen@bleddb.bsky.social · 4mo ago

WHIGS IN SPACE! Or why democratisation, commercialisation, and militarisation rhetoric about space is wrong. Very happy to see my new research article published with @ejisbisa.bsky.social! The Perils of periodising astropolitics: space security and the system builders @sgiadurham.bsky.social 🧵👇

Title: The perils of periodising astropolitics: Space security and the system builders

Author: Bleddyn E. Bowen, Durham University

Abstract: Space systems are becoming an ever more important part of international security capabilities and practices. However, problematic interpretations of the Space Age are taking root in practitioner and academic circles along the contours of three sequential Space Ages. This article develops an original critique of these periodisations by applying a large technical systems approach and empirical research. It emphasises the role of space system builders and the prevalence of paradoxes in analysing space infrastructure as a method for critiquing three claims over the sweeping waves of democratisation, commercialisation, and militarisation in outer space that the periodisations make. This article proposes an alternative periodisation of a singular Global Space Age from 1957 that advances the counter-arguments that: first, power remains concentrated to a handful of space system builders rather than democratised to the many; second, that the space economy still relies on the state rather than being transferred to the private sector; and third, that the claims of sanctuary in space today ignore the spectre of space warfare that has long stalked space infrastructure. The infrastructural Global Space Age framing is offered as a useful materialist foundation for building bridges between international security, infrastructural technologies, and space security scholarship.

Dmitry Grozoubinski @explaintrade.com · 5mo ago

Having failed to secure the Snickers or M&Ms that were my original objectives, sources tell the Washington Post I will now be refocusing all energy on extracating my hand from where it is stuck inside the vending machine and restoring said machine to the working order it was in prior to my arrival.

The Washington Post@washingtonpost.com · 5mo ago

Reopening the Strait of Hormuz — a critical conduit for global energy supplies — has emerged as perhaps the paramount objective of the Iran war.

Brieg Powel @briegp.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Trump TLDR: We've completely lost control of the war that we've already won. Even our only ally ignores us.

Brieg Powel @briegp.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Great news as it protects #BBC World Service a little longer. But would be great to see an even greater, longer term commitment by government to enhance a priceless element of #UK soft power, influence, that's also a key tool in the fight against #disinformation www.theguardian.com/media/2026/m...

BBC World Service to get extra £11m a year in deal ending funding uncertainty

Corporation welcomes three-year settlement as it continues to push for government to take on all of service’s costs

theguardian.com

Brieg Powel @briegp.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Excellent 🧵 on the significance of diplomatic capacity in the #USA. Worth noting that the #UK is also currently significantly cutting its Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office

Elizabeth N. Saunders@profsaunders.bsky.social · 5mo ago

🧵Feels like shouting into the void, but it is essential to note that the Trump/Rubio gutting of the State Department and blowtorching of US diplomatic capacity and credibility is an accelerant to this spiraling war and will seriously undercut US/allied efforts to pick up the pieces after. 1/

Phillips OBrien @phillipspobrien.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Trump's decision to bomb Iran is now the greatest windfall to the Russian war effort on record. If it continues, it might save the Russian war economy.

Brieg Powel @briegp.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Indeed 👇

Leon Elsjan of Wipper@leoneow.eurosky.social · 5mo ago

For Israel this works brilliantly. When they've had enough and feel Iran is weakened enough they just retreat. And no ground war for them of course. The US on the other hand will be stuck there to, at least, defend the Gulf states.

Yair Wallach @yairwallach.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Reports say that at least 26 Lebanese civilians were killed in this raid, by Israeli Air Force fire aimed to protect the troops. Absolutely abhorrent.

The New Arab@thenewarab.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Israel conducted an overnight raid in Lebanon searching for Ron Arad, the Israeli pilot who disappeared after bailing out of his plane over Lebanon in 1986. The raid took place in Nabi Sheet to search for traces of the missing pilot — but Israeli forces found no remains or evidence and withdrew.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 5mo ago

Trump: “The UK, our once Great Ally, maybe the Greatest of them all, is finally giving serious thought to sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East. That’s OK, PM Starmer, we don’t need them any longer — But we will remember. We don’t need people that join Wars after we’ve already won!”

Trump: “The United Kingdom, our once Great Ally, maybe the Greatest of them all, is finally giving serious thought to sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East. That’s OK, Prime Minister Starmer, we don’t need them any longer — But we will remember. We don’t need people that join Wars after we’ve already won! President DONALD J. TRUMP

Eliot Higgins @eliothiggins.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Governments and voters are both reacting to algorithm-shaped “public opinion,” not grounded priorities. Immigration feels urgent because platforms amplify fear, pulling parties into hollow performances of toughness. The far right reads that drift as confirmation it’s winning.

Adam Bienkov@adambienkov.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Not everyone is unhappy about the Government's descent into anti-refugee politics

Luca Migo @victinibcn.bsky.social · 10mo ago

South Park: 🎶 Peter Thiel knows about the Antichrist 😂

Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 10mo ago

If you think that professors exist as repositories of knowledge that students ask for answers, you’re missing the entire point of a college education. We’re here to teach students how to do research, how to analyze and argue, how to think for themselves — how to find the answers on their own.

Immigrant Punk@porcupunk.eurosky.social · 10mo ago

Wow. Just wow. "Students pay premium prices for information that AI now delivers instantly and for free. A business student can ask ChatGPT to explain supply chain optimization or generate market analysis in seconds. The traditional lecture-and-test model faces its Blockbuster moment."

Farrukh @implausibleblog.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Here is Nathan Gill in 2014 blaming the EU for Russia advancing on Ukraine Nathan Gill pled guilty to accepting bribes from Russia to promote a pro Russia anti EU position He started in UKIP, joined the Brexit Party, then Reform UK Here's what he said at the European Parliament

David Rothkopf @djrothkopf.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Any journalist or commentator who writes a wrap-up of this speech that suggests that any of it was normal, worthy of respect, not absolutely deranged, not an insult to the audience, not an embarrassment for the US, should be relieved of their jobs.

Brieg Powel @briegp.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Er...buses? Trams? Metros? Come on @economist.com , you're better than this

The Economist@economist.com · 11mo ago

Will the absence of robotaxis in Europe mark the moment its citizens notice how far their continent has fallen behind?

Grumpy Philosopher @stevecooke.org · 11mo ago

Nick Gibb was awarded a BA in Law in 1981 & trained as an accountant. Hence, he's enormously well qualified to comment on the quality of education research. No irony at all in his criticism of the sector as 'out-of-touch, ideological and lacking rigour'.

Times Higher Education (THE)@timeshighered.bsky.social · 11mo ago

“University education research was, and it still is, very abstract, not decipherable to policymakers and not of the quality that you saw with scientific research.” Nick Gibb speaks to @jgro-the.bsky.social #highered #EduSky

Sunder Katwala (sundersays)@sundersays.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Reform and X are not Britain, as John Curtice shows, though this loud minority voice thinks it is Migration bad for economy? 32% of public - but 73% of Reform Bad for our culture? 31% of public - 81% of Reform Rights for ethnic minorities have gone too far? 18% of public - but 49% of Reform

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 12mo ago

'Just 40,900 students entered to take history, compared with 41,900 taking economics and 43,000 for physics. Maths remains the most popular A-level with 105,000 entries this year, up by more than 4% compared with 2024.' Both 'Just' and 'career-related' doing heavy lifting here. 1/2

A-level results in England expected to return to near pre-pandemic levels

Career-focused subjects such as business studies and economics to surpass traditional academic disciplines like history in popularity

theguardian.com

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · last yr.

A horrifying statement published today by the Editorial Committee of the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency. "Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die" Translation from French to English by @cnorristrent.bsky.social:

Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die
July 21, 2025

AFP has been working with 1 writer, 3 photographers and 6 videographers, all freelance, in the Gaza Strip since its staff journalists left in 2024.

Along with a few others, they are now the only ones left to report what is happening in the Gaza Strip. The international press has been banned from entering the territory for nearly two years.

We refuse to watch them die.

One of them, Bashar, has been working with AFP since 2010, first as a fixer, then freelance photographer, and since 2024, as lead photographer. On July 19th he managed to post a message on Facebook: “I no longer have the strength to work for the media. My body is thin and I can’t work anymore.”

Bashar, 30, works & lives in the same conditions as all Gazans, moving from one refugee camp to another under Israeli bombings. For > a year he’s lived in utter destitution, working at extreme risk to his life. Hygiene is a major issue for him, with recurring bouts of severe intestinal illness.

Since Feb, Bashar’s been living in the ruins of his home in Gaza City with his mother, 4 brothers & sisters and the family of one of his brothers. Their house is devoid of any furnishings, except a few cushions. On Sunday morning, he reported that one of his brothers had “fallen, due to hunger.”

Even though these journalists receive a monthly salary from AFP, it’s no longer enough to buy food, or they have to pay completely exorbitant prices. The banking system has collapsed, and those who exchange money via online bank accounts charge a commission of up to 40%.

AFP no longer has the ability to provide them with a vehicle and there is not enough fuel to allow these journalists to travel for their reporting. Driving a car means becoming a target for Israeli airstrikes. AFP reporters therefore travel on foot or by donkey cart. (alt txt continued in next post)

Brieg Powel @briegp.bsky.social · last yr.

Just when you think the destruction in #Gaza can't get any worse. Good BBC investigation into deliberate demolition of entries Palestinian towns. Reveals that emolitions have significantly accelerated in the last 3-4 months in what are suspected "war crimes" www.bbc.co.uk/news/resourc...

Israel levelling thousands of Gaza civilian buildings in controlled demolitions - BBC News

Investigation by BBC Verify using satellite images and verified footage to show the extent of destruction in Gaza, where the Israeli military have carried out demolitions to raze entire towns and subu...

bbc.co.uk

Adam Squires @adsquires.bsky.social · last yr.

The Dinah report is now published, on the widespread use of sexual violence by Hamas during the October 7th attack, consistent with earlier investigations by the United Nations and the International Criminal Court (ICC), and likely a deliberate coordinated strategy. news.sky.com/story/widesp...

According to the Dinah Project, the documented patterns - such as forced nudity, gang rapes, genital mutilation, and threats of forced marriage - indicate a deliberate and coordinated use of sexual violence by Hamas operatives during the attack.

Brieg Powel @briegp.bsky.social · last yr.

Record air bombardment of #Ukraine by #Russia last night. Straight after #Trump agreed to restart supplies to Ukraine & questioned #Putin 's sincerity

Olga Onuch@oonuch.bsky.social · last yr.

Last night Russia bombarded Ukraine 741 areal targets including a RECORD 728❗️drones @ 13⚠️ missiles Reports included a Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missile - which reaches its target in mere minutes. A friend “it was loud but I tried to sleep” - she means in a basement on a cold floor Others weren’t so lucky

Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · last yr.

1/ A remarkable essay by two eminent Israeli scholars "We wrote this essay to give [former IDF chief of staff's] words legal backing... We felt compelled to fulfill our human, conscientious, and civic duty, as Israelis – and as Zionists – who have expertise in areas related to the IDF’s ... order."

Moving the Population in Gaza is a Manifest War Crime

We wrote this essay to fulfill our human, conscientious, and civic duty, as Israelis – and as Zionists – who have expertise in areas related to the IDF’s order.

justsecurity.org

Brieg Powel @briegp.bsky.social · last yr.

UN Special Rapporteur: #Israel has moved from an "economy of occupation" to an "economy of genocide" in #Gaza www.un.org/unispal/docu...

From economy of occupation to economy of genocide - (A/HRC/59/23) Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 (Advance unedited...

To learn more about Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council and the Question of Palestine, click here to visit the dedicated webpage. Human Rights Council Fifty-ninth session 16 June–11 July...

un.org

Brieg Powel @briegp.bsky.social · last yr.

This from the @nytimes.com on #Israel's bombing of the notorious Evin prison in Tehran. They targeted the visitor centre & the wing holding transgender prisoners. Around 100 transgender prisoners remain missing, presumed killed whilst 79 others from across the prison already confirmed killed