Dan Altman
@daltmanir.bsky.social
Associate Professor of Political Science at Georgia State University. Conquest, faits accomplis, deterrence, coercion failure, causes of war. Website: dan-altman.weebly.com
My thanks to Eleonora Mattiacci for having me on the New Books in World Affairs podcast to talk about my new book, Taking Territory: The Persistence of Conquest Since 1945 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/d...
Dan Altman, "Taking Territory: The Persistence of Conquest Since 1945" (Cornell UP, 2026)
Podcast Episode · New Books in World Affairs · July 12 · 34m
podcasts.apple.com
Publication day! Taking Territory: The Persistence of Conquest Since 1945 is now out from @CornellPress! It offers a comprehensive account of the causes and consequences of attempts to conquer territory across the world since World War II.
I see three ways prediction markets are reshaping global politics, and none of them are good. new post
Priced to Kill
prediction markets and the new politics of conflict
open.substack.com
@daltmanir.bsky.social fits with your theory about how military commanders can prove themselves in periphery conflicts as a path to future political offices www.aljazeera.com/features/202...
India to Iran: How two wars shaped rise of Pakistan’s Asim Munir
The war against India a year ago led to Munir's elevation to the status of field marshal. Now he's playing peacemaker.
aljazeera.com
Fascinating excerpts from a transcript of a National Security Council discussion about whether to seize Iran's Kharg Island and other options to gain leverage over Tehran. From 1979.
Went on Closer Look with Rose Scott today (Atlanta NPR) to discuss the Iran conflict with her and @jelenasubotic.bsky.social. www.wabe.org/not-americas...
'Not America’s war' : Experts, Closer Look listeners react to US–Israel strikes on Iran
A joint military campaign by the United States and Israel against Iran is rapidly escalating into a broader regional war. The operation, known as Operation Epic Fury, began on February 28, 2026. Since...
wabe.org
A few thoughts on possible US-Iran conflict (1/11):
I spent the last decade studying territorial conquest. Never thought it would be relevant to Greenland. It should not be. But here are a few observations that are shaping my thinking about the current crisis.
🚨 JUST IN: Scott Sagan and Shreya Lad offer a nuclear posture review, not a movie review, of Kathryn Bigelow’s 'A House of Dynamite,' and discuss in detail the realism or lack thereof of specific scenarios and plot lines in the film. #nuclearweapons #nukesky
A house of mistakes: what Kathryn Bigelow’s 'A House of Dynamite' gets radically right—and dangerously wrong—about nuclear war
A House of Dynamite gets so many details wrong that the lessons viewers take from the film will likely be counterproductive, even dangerous. If it is a wake-up call, the audience will wake up on the w...
thebulletin.org
Ever wondered why some countries get recognition while others struggle to be seen? My book 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘴 is finally out in the world! 📘 academic.oup.com/book/61560
The Making of International Status
Abstract. With great power rivalry on the rise again, many worry that struggles for status among states could lead to war. As a growing consensus indicates
academic.oup.com
Signs mounting that U.S. plans to bomb Venezuela, ostensibly with the goal of toppling the regime. Unfortunately the track record of this kind of campaign is uniformly poor. A short thread. 1/8 www.wsj.com/world/americ...
Pentagon Orders Aircraft Carrier to the Caribbean
The move would be a major escalation of the Trump administration’s military campaign to target drug smugglers and threaten governments in Latin America.
wsj.com
Check out this new Foreign Policy Analysis article and dataset from one of my PhD students academic.oup.com/fpa/article-...
Introducing the Human Intelligence Exposures (HEX) Dataset
Abstract. This paper introduces the Human Intelligence Exposure (HEX) dataset, designed to enhance our understanding of espionage and its exposure. HEX wil
academic.oup.com
For context on Israel-Iran, here's a list of cases where countries considered or used military force to stop nuclear proliferation in peacetime. It's from my new @cambup-polsci.cambridge.org book Influence Without Arms. Chapter 6 is devoted to explaining why preventive strikes happen.
For the past two years, I’ve had the enormous privilege to serve on the @csis.org Bipartisan Commission on Hostage Taking and Wrongful Detention, led by the incomparable duo of Jon Alterman & Jason Rezaian (@rezaian.bsky.social). Today, our report is live! www.csis.org/analysis/com...
Combating State Hostage Taking and Wrongful Detention
The CSIS Commission on Hostage Taking and Wrongful Detention examines U.S. efforts to counter the detention of Americans abroad and proposes new policy tools to strengthen deterrence, improve internat...
csis.org
Grave situation in South Asia. The message to both sides should be: No Ground Advances. If that red line is not crossed, the chances are much better of avoiding a major war.
Paul Staniland@pstaniland.bsky.social · last yr.Escalatory dynamics kicking in hard - air bases being tit-for-tat hit with missiles. Reports of IAF ops in Pakistani airspace, Pak attacks on Indian missile storage. Like when the war games start spinning into very bad outcomes. Hopefully US, PRC, Saudis burning up the phones. Deeply alarming.
Refreshed my list of national security and strategy fellowships and seminars. Most are tailored for new and mid-career individuals, though there are a few sprinkled in for old folks like me, as well. I welcome any additions! @milwritersguild.bsky.social
Fellowships and Seminars
nathankfinney.com
Enjoyed this conversation about territorial conquest and the Russia-Ukraine War
Syed Ali Zia Jaffery@alizia1992.bsky.social · 2y agoOut Now on CSSPR : A Conversation between Dr. @daltmanir.bsky.social and Ejaz Haider on the history and future of conquests and the territorial integrity norm. youtu.be/F3m4aLZkDTU
Still time to make sure every map in the White House is a Peters Projection with Asia in the middle. Prevent a few headaches.
New in @foreignaffairs.bsky.social I argue that making Russia fear how it will fare in a long war is the key to avoiding one. www.foreignaffairs.com/ukraine/how-...
How to Convince Putin He Will Lose
The West must show that it can outlast Russia in Ukraine.
foreignaffairs.com
In a new article, Kai Quek and I argue that states generally do not sink costs to signal resolve, and we identify the two signaling strategies they use instead: academic.oup.com/jogss/articl...
Do States Really Sink Costs to Signal Resolve?
Abstract. Sinking costs to signal resolve has become a vital part of how the field of international relations (IR) understands crisis bargaining. The logic
academic.oup.com
Amos Fox and I discuss faits accomplis and tripwires in this new episode of his Revolution in Military Affairs podcast shows.acast.com/650105b75a8d...
Use this line from Axelrod the next time a reviewer raises concerns about generalizability: “The framework is broad enough to encompass not only people but also nations and bacteria.”
There is an important lesson about deterrence failure and coercive diplomacy here. After being attacked, options are NOT limited to retaliating or looking weak by declining to escalate. Instead... www.reuters.com/world/middle...
It's amazing how much more attention IR developments get when they come with a catchy name: AUKUS, the Quad, BRICS, hypersonics...
I assigned my undergrads to find and evaluate Trump quotes about nuclear weapons. I have never had more fun grading an assignment. Highly recommend it!
