Tessera

Congratulations to Irene Wu for a successful event at JF Books in Washington, DC! Her book, Measuring Soft Power in International Relations, is available in paperback now! shorturl.at/3KasJ

New from the Jamestown Foundation: Escalating tensions between Ahmed al-Sharaa’s government and the Uzbek foreign fighters in Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). jamestown.substack.com/p/uzbek-figh...

Uzbek Fighters in Syria Face Tensions with Al-Sharaa’s Government

Jacob Zenn

jamestown.substack.com

Exploring questions of religion's influence on elections, Robert Nyenhuis and Thomas Isbell employ a novel dataset in their new book to analyze presidential candidates' use of religious rhetoric and signals during election campaigns in six African countries. Available now! shorturl.at/xbMjZ

Join Yangmo Ku on Polaris Live with Sarwar Kashmeri tomorrow, June 2nd, at 9:30 AM EST for a conversation about North Korea's nuclear ambitions: www.youtube.com/live/e6syLK0... And don't forget that Professor Ku's book, Nuclear North Korea, is 50% off on our website! shorturl.at/8eszQ

Yangmo Ku--Nuclear North Korea

Despite crippling economic hardships and intense international pressure, North Korea has managed to become a nuclear nation. What drove the country to so res...

youtube.com

We are delighted to be a sponsor of the Asian Studies Association of Australia's 2026 conference taking place in July! With the theme of “Beyond Borders: Reimagining Asian Societies in and across a Shifting World,” panels will explore the evolving connections in Asian societies. shorturl.at/g4TCF

Sponsors

If you would like to be involved with the Asian Studies Association of Australia Conference 2026, please view our sponsorship prospectus here.

dems-asaa2026.eventsair.site

More than a decade ago, Xi Jinping heralded a new era for China when he outlined his “Chinese Dream.” Has that dream become a reality? Did Xi’s transformative vision lead to national rejuvenation? Ming Xia digs into these questions in Interpreting the China Dream - available now! shorturl.at/036XZ

Today! Join authors Robert Springborg and Guilian Denoeux for their online book launch, hosted by the University of Edinburgh, for Making Aid Work: Dueling With Dictators and Warlords in the Middle East & North Africa. More details here! llc.ed.ac.uk/islamic-and-...

Making Aid Work: Dueling With Dictators and Warlords in the Middle East & North Africa | Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies | Literatures Languages and Culture

An online seminar featuring Robert Springborg and Guilian Denoeux speaking on their recent book, for which this event is named (written with Hicham Alaoui).

llc.ed.ac.uk

Thursday! Join authors Robert Springborg and Guilian Denoeux in a conversation hosted online by the University of Edinburgh about their new book, Making Aid Work: Dueling With Dictators and Warlords in the Middle East & North Africa. More details here! llc.ed.ac.uk/islamic-and-...

Making Aid Work: Dueling With Dictators and Warlords in the Middle East & North Africa | Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies | Literatures Languages and Culture

An online seminar featuring Robert Springborg and Guilian Denoeux speaking on their recent book, for which this event is named (written with Hicham Alaoui).

llc.ed.ac.uk

New from the NYT on Moorea Corrigan's new novel, Thistlemarsh! "Readers who’ve loved the fairy-adjacent historical romances of Robin McKinley or Mercedes Lackey will find themselves right at home." shorturl.at/6BaM8

nytimes.com

New! “Ku eloquently explains the geopolitical elements that have driven North Korea’s nuclear program.” —Gregory Moore, Notre Dame College Get your copy now! shorturl.at/XaMHN

Arnold-Bergstraesser-Institut Freiburg @abi-freiburg.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Big congrats to our favorite fiction author (not that we're biased... we totally are) @mooreacorrrigan.bsky.social on the publication of her debut novel, Thistlemarsh! Here she is at her book launch last night in Boulder. Get your copy now - don't wait until they run out! shorturl.at/Hqsel

🔍📚 How can political aid across the Middle East and North Africa be made more effective? Aprils #ABIBookofMonth is "Making Aid Work" by Guilain Denoeux, Robert Springborg, and Hicham Alaoui at @lynneriennerpub.bsky.social. Browse through the ABI library: www.arnold-bergstraesser.de/en/library

What, asks Heraldo Muñoz, is behind the current phenomenon of democratic backsliding—globally and, particularly, in Latin America? What clues can we find to answer that question? Most crucially, can the current trajectory be changed? New and available now! shorturl.at/6Vzbg

Thanks to Hidden Brain on NPR for spotlighting the power of nonviolent movements — and for including Recovering Nonviolent History, edited by Maciej J. Bartkowski. A vital reminder that transformative change often happens without violence. 🎧📚 Listen here: www.hiddenbrain.org/podcast/how-...

How to Change the World - Hidden Brain Media

Does power truly flow from the barrel of a gun? Political scientist Erica Chenoweth, who studied more than 100 years of revolutions and insurrections, says the answer is counterintuitive.

hiddenbrain.org

New in paperback! “Superb.... This amazing resource fills a critical gap in the literature on North Africa and criminal enterprises.”—Kimberley L. Thachuk, Johns Hopkins University The Mediterranean Connection is available now! shorturl.at/RkBxV

New! An innovative approach to determining when and why governments commit mass atrocities during times of civil war. Get your copy of State-Committed Mass Atrocities in Civil Wars by Gary Uzonyi here: shorturl.at/FiGou

How has China’s BRI diplomacy affected its image across Asia? What does the BRI mean for Sino-US competition? These questions and more are addressed in China Moves West, now in paperback! shorturl.at/Maj5L

AI is both weapon and shield in today’s tech-driven conflicts. Join LRP author Nicholas Butts for “Weapon and Shield: AI in the Age of Tech Conflict” at UMass Amherst on April 1 to explore the geopolitics of emerging technologies: www.umass.edu/social-scien...

Weapon and Shield: AI in the Age of Tech Conflict : College of Social & Behavioral Sciences : UMass Amherst

In this talk, Nicholas Butts examines how AI is increasingly used both as an offensive tool and a defensive asset.

umass.edu

New at The Cipher Brief — "A New Focus on the Psychology of Betrayal": a review of William Costanza’s Treason, Terrorism, and Betrayal (Lynne Rienner Publishers). Insightful look at why insiders betray and what organizations can do. Read: shorturl.at/4zdIx Get your copy here: shorturl.at/nApCd

A New Focus on the Psychology of Betrayal

BOOK REVIEW: Treason, Terrorism, and BetrayalBy William Costanza / Lynne Rienner PublishersReviewed by: Sean WiswesserThe Reviewer — Sean Wiswesser is a former senior operations officer with the CIA.…

thecipherbrief.com

Academic freedom is under growing pressure—and publishers have a role to play. At Lynne Rienner Publishers, we’re committed to advancing open, equitable scholarship and supporting the exchange of ideas. A timely read from Scholarly Kit: scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2026/03/17/g...

Guest Post — Academic Freedom Under Pressure: What Academic Publishers Can Do - The Scholarly Kitchen

Today's post is an urgent call to push back against global trends in academic censorship and threats to free speech in scholarly communications.

scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org

New on War On The Rocks: @amirajadoon.bsky.social examines whether Pakistan’s escalation along the Durand Line can force a Taliban recalculation—drawing on her deep expertise as author of The Islamic State in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Read: warontherocks.com/2026/03/open...

Open War at the Durand Line: Can Pakistan's Escalation Compel a Taliban Recalculation?

When Pakistan declared "open war" with Afghanistan in February 2026 and struck Taliban military installations in Kabul and Kandahar, it crossed a

warontherocks.com

Have you stopped by the exhibit hall yet? Here's Jan Goldman (shorturl.at/jXr7b) and Robert Farley (shorturl.at/kOEzD) with their books! Come say hi!

“Will benefit both newcomers and those already entrenched in the world of counterterrorism financing.” —Elizabeth Weakley, Parameters Illicit Money by Jessica Davis is out in paperback now! shorturl.at/jumP2