📣NEW: "Right(s) practice: normative competence negotiation in the struggles over human rights protection in AMISOM" by our colleague @chiara-defranco.bsky.social & Linnéa Gelot just published in Journal of International Relations and Development link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Right(s) practice: normative competence negotiation in the struggles over human rights protection in AMISOM - Journal of International Relations and Development

This article examines the interplay of power and norm contestation in the AU–EU strategic partnership, focusing on struggles over human rights protection in the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISO...

link.springer.com

Presented my paper on the EU and human rights at a brilliant LSE/KCL workshop on Europe in the Trump era. Big thanks to the organisers Federica Bicchi, Benedetta Voltolini, Karen Smith and Benedetta Morari. Also my first time back in London in 12 years—I’d missed this city (even the tube).

Baltic crisis, cyber chaos, pipelines blown, NATO sweating—just another Monday in the classroom with our BA students in political science and Cand.Negot. They nailed it. They tuned in, negotiated, made decisions despite uncertainty. Props to Hendrik Huelss for co-running the madness.

🎧 What is the future of human protection in international security? Listen to a new episode of the WarPod featuring the CWS' @chiara-defranco.bsky.social, @qiaochuzhang.bsky.social & Oscar Noach + 3 speakers at "The Future of Human Protection" conference in Copenhagen soundcloud.com/thewarpod/wa...

WarPod #9 The Future of Human Protection

The WarPod speaks to Chiara De Franco (Associate Professor at the CWS and Principal Investigator of the PROTEX project), Qiaochu Zhang (Postdoctoral Researcher at the CWS), and Oscar Noach (PhD Fellow

soundcloud.com

me coming in guns-a-blazing, with absolute certainty and confidence that what I say next will eliminate any doubt about my competence

Yes. He’s a very specific case of ‘the political is personal and the personal is political’. Not the feminist way. Rather the narcissistic pathological way.

Timothy Snyder@timothysnyder.bsky.social · last yr.

Trump has no concept of the nation or of its security. This is not an insult to his intelligence. These are just not cognitive categories for him. He can’t care about national security because it’s not a thing in his world.

Jody Ginsberg of the Committee to Protect Journalists defends US public media's crucial role in reporting in the public interest. Both NPR and PBS are seen by Trump's far right as "communists". In fact the Trump Administration is the one copying the Stalinist playbook cpj.org/2025/03/cpj-...

CPJ: House hearing on PBS and NPR a ‘dangerous mischaracterization’ of U.S. public media - Committee to Protect Journalists

Washington, D.C., March 26, 2025 —The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the willful mischaracterization of the vital work and role of public broadcasters NPR and PBS during today’s Congression...

cpj.org

The same people who are responsible for the signal gate think that they can negotiate a lasting end to the war in Ukraine. Putin’s russia is eating them alive. They project weakness and amateurism on scales unseen before

Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of chatting with ABC Australia Overnight’s Rod Quinn about how wars end. Tune in for 55 minutes of not-so-uplifting stories—if you dare. Ps correction needed: i’m no longer director @cwswarstudies.bsky.social www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

"How Do Wars End?" with Associate Professor Chiara De Franco - ABC listen

How do wars end? Do they ever REALLY end? Chiara De Franco is Associate Professor of International Relations at the Department of Political Science and Director of the Centre for War Studies at the U...

abc.net.au

Dump&Vile continue to cancel history and make idiotic statements. Denmark has been a steadfast ally—Danes have lost lives, limbs, and sleep in Afghanistan. More than any other ally (pro capita). If they wanted more US military presence in Greenland, they could’ve just asked… three months ago.

Anton Gerashchenko@antongerashchenko.bsky.social · last yr.

US Vice President JD Vance: "Denmark, which controls Greenland, is not doing its job and it's not being a good ally. How are we going to solve that problem? If that means we need to take more territorial interest in Greenland, that is what President Trump is going to do because ⤵️

Inspirational.

I have studied warnings for nearly 17 years now and when it comes to the deadly risks the US democracy is facing, I keep seeing very strong warning indications (as in the case of the article below) but almost no proper warning, which is typical of developing crises www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/w...

‘This Is Worse’: Trump’s Judicial Defiance Veers Beyond the Autocrat Playbook

The president’s escalating conflict with federal courts is even more aggressive than what happened in countries like Hungary and Turkey, experts say.

nytimes.com

“strongmen project invincibility to convince people resistance is futile. They want to crush any hope of justice. By sowing fear, they seek to stifle our democratic imagination.” www.cjr.org/world/dutert...

On the Arrest of an Autocrat

Journalists, lawyers, clergy, and human rights activists persisted in the Philippines, even when hope for accountability seemed nonexistent.

cjr.org

1/🧵 Judges across ideological lines are ruling against Trump at strikingly similar rates (84% liberal, 86% centrist, 82% conservative). This isn't partisan opposition to Trump—it's the judiciary functioning as intended by cutting across partisan lines to uphold the Constitution.

@djpressman.bsky.social, Soha Hammam, and I draw on our research through the Crowd Counting Consortium to show that there is far more protest happening in the US than is commonly understood, and that the shift to economic noncooperation shows powerful potential for future collective action.

Resistance is alive and well in the United States

Protests of Trump may not look like the mass marches in 2017, but they're far more numerous and frequent — and also becoming more strategic.

urldefense.proofpoint.com

This is what you get when you mess with us—no enjoyment here. I’m no fan of European militarization, but it needs to be said: The claim that Europeans exploited the US military umbrella under NATO—the GDP percentage argument—ignores that much of EU defense spending went to buying US weapons.

Mark Chadbourn@chadbourn.bsky.social · last yr.

Denmark’s Defence Committee chair Rasmus Jarlov: “Buying American weapons is a security risk that we can not run. We will make enormous investments in air defence, fighter jets, artillery and other weapons in the coming years, and we must avoid American...” BTW, he’s a Conservative.

⚡️FIGHT THE OLIGARCHY RALLY ⚡️ STARTING TOMORROW. Nevada. Arizona. Colorado. You, me, and Bernie. Dem and GOP districts. ❤️💙 See you there 💪🏽🌞

Two weeks ago in Chicago, I was reminded of the bright side of U.S. society and history, after weeks of news showing its darkest, most violent forces taking power. You can do this. All of you. Together. In the streets.

Dr Christine Cheng@christinecheng.bsky.social · last yr.

Let me say it again: Trump does not care about the law. The courts can’t stop him. Judges, lawyers- all being targeted. Only YOU can stop him. All of you. Together. In the streets. After this point, fear will set in. Protesting will cost you your job or maybe even your life. So use it or lose it.

"Someone's using the identity of someone who's died to do their own propaganda." Fake journalists, stolen identities and paid articles - our @AJIunit investigation reveals a Russia-linked influence campaign in West Africa. #GhostReporters Watch now: aje.io/GhostReporters

“…the entire system felt rigged, designed to make it nearly impossible for anyone to get out. The reality became clear: Ice detention isn’t just a bureaucratic nightmare. It’s a business. These facilities are privately owned and run for profit.”

Philip Gourevitch@pgourevitch.bsky.social · last yr.

powerful detailed account of ICE captivity "To put things into perspective: I had a Canadian passport, lawyers, resources, media attention, friends, family and even politicians advocating for me...Imagine what this system is like for every other person in there" www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

"To protect civilians and other victims of war – in Europe and beyond – it is critical to ... reject the notion that respect for IHL can be subordinated to security or defence considerations, however exceptional the circumstances." blogs.icrc.org/law-and-poli...

Anti-personnel mines: the false promise of security through exceptionalism in war

Efforts to abandon the APMBC challenge fundamental precepts of IHL and undermine essential safeguards for upholding humanity in war.

blogs.icrc.org

This is shameful and reckless—on so many levels that it’s hard to know where to begin. This is not the way forward, Europe. We must strengthen, not dismantle, the few widely accepted rules protecting civilians in conflict. We need alliances built on shared norms, not fuel warmongering instincts.

Anton Gerashchenko@antongerashchenko.bsky.social · last yr.

❗️Lithuania, Poland, Latvia and Estonia have announced their withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention on Anti-Personnel Mines.

Coping strategies of Tesla owners in Denmark: When you buy an expensive car to feel cool, and a sticker becomes your last line of defense.

Mark Rutte doesn’t want to drag NATO into this? Seriously? If NATO SG can’t even hold the line on Greenland, what is he even there for? I like to believe international organizations outlast erratic leaders—but clearly NATO might prove me wrong www.reuters.com/world/trump-...

Trump expresses confidence that US will annex Greenland

President Donald Trump expressed confidence on Thursday that the United States would annex Greenland.

reuters.com

For example: Come Back Alive and the Prytula Foundation savelife.in.ua/en/ prytulafoundation.org/en

I won’t say anything about those two (Dump&Vile). In fact I will say the only thing that must be said: #SlavaUkraini! www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02...

Trump Berates Zelensky at White House Meeting: Live Updates

nytimes.com

I am done with Amazon and so should you. Bezos’ assault to the WP is not just a US problem. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/26/b...

Jeff Bezos’ Directive for Washington Post Opinion Pages Leads to Editor David Shipley’s Exit

David Shipley, The Post’s opinion editor, is resigning after trying to persuade Jeff Bezos to reconsider the new direction.

nytimes.com

Great article - must read www.nytimes.com/2025/02/18/o...

Opinion | South Africa Is a Warning

By closing their frontiers to migrants, rich countries risk destabilizing important nations across the globe.

nytimes.com