📣JOBS📣 I am hiring a PhD student & a postdoc for a project on the history of security innovations in Global East. Interested in sociological & STS research on security? Apply here: PhD: jobs.univie.ac.at/job-invite/5... Postdoc: jobs.univie.ac.at/job-invite/5... Cool office neighbourhood included!

The Georgian government follows the established authoritarian trajectory and now targets the independence of universities. Please sign and share the petition below in solidarity with ISU. docs.google.com/forms/d/1d4w...

DECLARATION OF SOLIDARITY WITH ILIA STATE UNIVERSITY

We, members of the international academic community, scholars, students, alumni, university staff, university leaders, researchers, research centers and institutes, and partners of higher education in...

docs.google.com

I absolutely agree with this in that - if you're thinking about doing a PhD, you need to be okay with that even if it's just the PhD. The odds are, there will not be an academic job at the end. However, we also need to be very clear on the realities of the PhD. It is not a good early graduate job.

Charlotte Lydia Riley@lottelydia.bsky.social · 6mo ago

I don’t know — in a way it makes it easier to say look, you might as well do this for the next 3.5 years, it’s a fun early graduate job and you should get some good bits and pieces for the CV, but it’s not going to go anywhere. All my PhD students are P/T, funded or retired: it feels more ethical.

I’m looking forward to presenting my work (a book pitch??) this Saturday at the CEEShub 2026 conference in Tallinn. Reach out if you're around! In case you're attending, I’ll be part of Panel M-134 from 11:30–13:00. securityhub.ee/conference-p...

I'm presenting my paper on how queers in Georgia (Sakartvelo) navigate and survive the enforcement of cisheteronormativity at the panel 3A-9 (9 am). Stop by if you're around! #Aleksanteri2025

Aleksanteri Institute@aleksanteri-uh.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Highlights from the Aleksanteri Conference 22.-24.10.2025: roundtables and panels focusing on gender perspectives. Link to the full programme: www.helsinki.fi/en/conferenc...

As thousands have gathered in central Tbilisi, the main pro-government TV channel, Imedi is downplaying the scale of the protests with drone footage showing empty streets. ⭕ Georgia Live Updates: oc-media.org/live-updates...

This is crazy news, and I hope it's not the end. Back in 2016, GIP was the only CEE think tank that replied to my cold call for an internship—this pretty much set me on the path of engaging with Georgia.

Jelger Groeneveld@jelgerg.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Very sad day for the Georgian Institute of Politics, a think tank focused mostly on foreign policy dimensions, but also obviously om the internal political developments. Due to the repressive legislation adopted, the organization has to close.

Join us next Sunday (28/9) for an afternoon of political co-learning, community building, and creative resistance, with a focus on counter-narratives from diverse communities in the face of growing far-right ideologies. Please RSVP to receive updates. actionnetwork.org/events/festi...

Festival of Radical Politics

! Save the Date ! Festival of Radical Politics WHEN: 28 September 2025 | 15:00 – 20:00 WHERE: Pelican House, 144 Cambridge Heath Road, Bethnal Green, London, E1 5QJ How do we build transnational sol...

actionnetwork.org

Due to oppressive legislative changes, LGBTQI+ and other activist groups in Georgia (Sakartvelo) are no longer able to receive institutional financial support. Support them directly: www.linkedin.com/posts/activi...

🇬🇪Dear friends, due to the recently adopted Russian-style oppressive laws in Georgia, NGOs and activist groups are no longer able to receive grants or any form of institutional financial support. | Ma...

🇬🇪Dear friends, due to the recently adopted Russian-style oppressive laws in Georgia, NGOs and activist groups are no longer able to receive grants or any form of institutional financial support. Desp...

linkedin.com

17.

Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social · last yr.

At least 10 people are arrested at the eviction of IDPs on Tvalchrelidze street. It's been going on all day and it's still heated.

There are two wolves inside the person who decided that these two round tables would take place at the same time. #iccees2025

I'll be talking about the movement away from/towards regimes of belonging as an everyday security practice tomorrow at #iccees2025. Come say hi if you're around! www.myeventflo.com/event-lectur...

I've spent the past ten minutes staring at the picture trying to decide whether it's meant to be a (bad) joke or I'm just reading too much into it. I still don't know.

Bahruz Samadov, @unikarlova.cuni.cz PhD student, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his research. What action are the university, Czech MFA and @digitalnicesko.bsky.social taking?

OC Media@ocmedia.bsky.social · last yr.

The Baku Grave Crimes Court has sentenced Azerbaijani researcher, peace activist, and OC Media contributor Bahruz Samadov to 15 years in prison on charges of treason. ▶️ Read more: oc-media.org/azerbaijani-...

I'm happy to share that I relaunched my ✨ personal website ✨ www.davidrypel.com (I may start blogging there too, if I ever find the confidence to share my hot takes outside my instagram)

Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.

Víc než 1 z 10 Čechů se často nebo skoro nikdy nedokáže dopravit za základními službami a činnostmi tak, jak potřebuje. Vyplývá to z výzkumu Institutu2050. Mezi nejohroženější patří nízkopříjmoví z odlehlých obcí do 5000 obyvatel. Jde hlavně o lidi mladší nebo ve středním věku. irozhl.as/vSd

Georgia’s Parliament has undertaken such a vast legislative agenda in recent years that it can be hard to keep track of what laws have been passed. ▶️ Here are 16 legislative changes that have shaped Georgia’s authoritarian slide: oc-media.org/explainer-th...

"Most of the areas overtaken by Molinia [...] would favour temperate rainforest: a vanishingly rare, rich + complex habitat." This single species of grass now artificially dominates probably many 1,000s of km2 in Ireland, creating vast deadzones. Yet here too, it's scarcely mentioned.

George Monbiot@georgemonbiot.bsky.social · last yr.

Deserts are spreading across Britain, yet scarcely anyone in public life even seems to have noticed. This week's column seeks to open our eyes to something that has been too big to see. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Might you or someone you know be interested in joining our team of volunteers, helping us with organizing the 🔥 RUTA conference in the Carpathian Mountains (June 26-29), check out our call. Proficiency in Ukrainian is key. Travel and accommodation covered ruta-association.org/news/call-fo...

ECR question: How do you decide which academic association(s) to join, within your discipline/field and across, if you do interdisciplinary work? Does it depend on the conferences you attend or something else too? Do you prioritise national or international associations? Etc. #academicsky

I don't know who needs to know this, but I found an *extremely easy* way to sync annotated Zotero pdf files across devices + what seems a secure cloud provider today. Didn't expect my post-PhD to be this exciting. koofr.eu/blog/posts/k...

Koofr with Zotero via WebDAV

Are you using Zotero with Box and don’t know what to do when Box support for WebDAV eventually runs out? Are you searching for Zotero with Box alternative? Don’t fret, Koofr is here for you. Read abou...

koofr.eu

Nice piece from @tamtagelashvili.bsky.social on Georgian Dream's use of political queerphobia. I'd just add that the (hetero)sexualisation of nation is not limited to the far-right; this is the cornerstone of nationalism (personification of nations as women etc.) feminism-boell.org/en/2025/04/1...

Protecting “The People:” How Anti-LGBTQ+ Ideas Help the Georgian Dream Consolidate Power | Feminism and Gender Democracy

Anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric has been a central element of the Georgian Dream’s anti-democratic turn towards the far right. How do anti-LGBTQ+ statements and policies help GD expand its grip on power, and why...

feminism-boell.org

Spot on from Judith Butler. The threat to young people's wellbeing doesn't come from trans people - it comes from parents and politicians who won't accept LGBTQ children for who they are.

We are sorry to learn of the death of Elspeth Probyn, Professor of Gender & Cultural Studies at @sydney.edu.au and author of "Eating the Ocean" (2016). Our thoughts are with her family, friends, colleagues and students.

@timeshighered.bsky.social with a list of the most recent job cuts at UK universities. #UKHE #AcademicSky

Chris Havergal@chrishavergal.bsky.social · last yr.

We've brought all of @timeshighered.bsky.social's coverage of cuts and job losses in UK higher education together in one place. You can track latest updates here: www.timeshighereducation.com/news/uk-univ...

I'm happy to share that I passed my PhD viva (with no corrections). I am grateful to my examiners, Dr Cai Wilkinson and Dr Irina Petrova, for their insightful questions and comments *and* kind words. I wish more academic conversations were held in this spirit; academia needs more care.

David Rypel@davidrypel.bsky.social · last yr.

In December, I submitted my PhD thesis on the everyday security and belonging of queer people in Georgia (Sakartvelo). Here are some key points as I wait for my viva. www.linkedin.com/pulse/everyd...

1/ Today, Georgian Dream’s illegitimate parliament passed two bills: the so-called FARA, which is a direct translation of the U.S. law, and a media restriction bill in its first hearing. What is the second bill about? A thread 🧵

In December, I submitted my PhD thesis on the everyday security and belonging of queer people in Georgia (Sakartvelo). Here are some key points as I wait for my viva. www.linkedin.com/pulse/everyd...