Paolo Gerbaudo

@paologerbaudo.bsky.social

Senior researcher in Political Science Department, Universidad Complutense, Madrid. Technopolitics, Geopolitics, Political Parties and Public Opinion.

Mandelsongate has revealed just how deep is the moral abyss of the Labour Party, and more generally of Western social democracy. Impossible to understand the rise of right-wing populism, and why it appeals to workers, without taking this into account.

Atualmente, o poder digital opera em várias camadas — desde os algoritmos que moldam o que se torna visível online até as infraestruturas que sustentam a comunicação, os serviços públicos e a vida cotidiana.

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No Brasil a gente fala que o bozismo é cria do fim dos bingos como opção de socialização do idoso. Na França, está associado ao fim progressivo dos bares onde se fuma. Exatamente pelo mesmo motivo. A vida em sociedade pede espaços de socialização. Se não depender de fumar ou perder dinheiro, melhor.

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Censura algorítmica en la flamante gestión estadounidense de TikTok, después de que el gobierno forzara a la empresa china ByteDance a vender su operación en EEUU y la compraran megamillonarios amigos de Trump. Muy buena nota de @paologerbaudo.bsky.social 👇🏼

Philip Di Salvo@philipdisalvo.bsky.social · 7mo ago

What the US TikTok takeover is already revealing about new forms of censorship - @paologerbaudo.bsky.social : www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Blocking Andy Burnham bid to enter parliament and become Labour leader is a demostration of just how undemocratic the Labour Party has become. Truly sad for a party with such a long democratic history to be hi-jacked by a self-serving power clique. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Starmer defends Labour decision to bar Burnham from byelection

Run for parliament by Greater Manchester mayor would ‘divert resources’, says prime minister

theguardian.com

Today in class we discussed the difference between democracy and authoritarianism in political science scholarship. Much of this literature was developed to understand transitions from authoritarian rule to democracy. It’s increasingly clear it may be just as useful for thinking about the reverse.

Trump has shown that unfortunately politics by blackmail works. But it works only until the humiliation becomes politically unsustainable for the blackmailed. The annexation of Greenland would destroy the last shred of self-respect Europeans still hold. It's one humiliation too far.

A ação humanitária é frequentemente enquadrada como uma resposta ética à crise. Mas o que acontece quando ela se torna institucionalizada, negociada e incorporada às estruturas de poder globais?

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Good riddance. Kyrsten Sinema has constantly betrayed the US public and accepted funds from some of the worst possible sources. If Trump is in the White House is also thanks to her and other centrist Democrats who sank the few progressive policies that were on offer under Biden.

New York Magazine@nymag.com · 7mo ago

Crypto lobbyist and former senator Kyrsten Sinema has been sued for having affair with her ex-bodyguard. She also allegedly encouraged him to take the psychedelic drug MDMA on a Senate work trip so she could guide him through it.

The irony of this post is that it reveals that the EU tech sector is ridiculously small to the obvious advantage of the US. This was the result of a tacit contract between US and Europe. In exchange of security Europeans had to stay out of digital tech. May have to reconsider.

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I was reflecting that I rarely see the US Christian Right quoting from the gospels (almost all their favourite quotes come from the old testament). Here is finally a quote from the gospel, but my sense is that Matthew would disagree on the interpretation.

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The problem with the EU in the present geopolitical scenario is very simple: the EU is not a state. Being a loose league of states gathered around a common market is not viable anymore. In these turbulent times if you are not a state you lack the necessary cohesion and coordination to be an actor.

Key passage in Mamdani's speech: "To those who say that the era of big government is over I say we will govern expansively and audaciously." Strong pledge to recuperate the transformative power of politics and rebuild interventionist political institutions.