Ling Chen
@lingchenscholar.bsky.social
William Clayton Chair and Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins University SAIS. Political economy; state-business relations; economic, industrial and tax policies; authoritarian capitalism. https://www.lingchen-scholar.com/
Phones are not luggage, but US courts basically treat them that way by allowing agencies such as ICE & CBP to search people's phones at the border *without suspicion* In no world does CBP need access to all of travelers' private photos, documents, communication etc. to make an entry determination.
Mike Sacks@mikesacks.bsky.social · 3w agoCA2 says federal government can conduct suspicionless searches of any international traveler's cellphones - even U.S. citizens! - upon arrival at the border. The 2nd Circuit covers JFK Airport. Biden judge concurs in the judgment to say WTF! storage.courtlistener.com/pdf/2026/09/...
A new visa rule was just recently issued, limiting students' visas to a four-year stay. Most PhD students can't complete their studies within this type of length. I am sure international students have "abused" our immigration system. And this shows how we further lose talent in this country...
Today’s story: my daughter got home and suddenly came sit on my remote control. The whole TV went off. That was when exactly the first goal happened 😂
Good morning from DC—where you’ve got to look twice to see if the masked paramilitaries on the street are ICE or Patriot Front.
knightcolumbia.org/content/ai-a... Now up at @knightcolumbia.org - Cosma Shalizi and myself on "AI as Social Technology." It says that AI models are really a technology of social mediation that allow humans to connect with thoughts of other humans. Short-ish thread with major points follows.
AI as Social Technology
knightcolumbia.org
American capitalism makes money. Chinese capitalism makes things. Go read my new essay, Capacity Returns (gift link), in The BREAK—DOWN. www.break-down.org/capacity-ret...
Capacity Returns
Both the American and Chinese varieties of capitalism are awash in successes and failures. Decarbonizing demands that we use the best of both.
break-down.org
Economics can either enable the slide toward fascism, or defend affordability, dignity, and democracy. I wrote ANTI-FASCIST ECONOMICS with my baby by my side—a constant reminder that the future should be livable for all. Out in October with Random House.
US policy driven not by national interests but by the vanity of the king: "But it also reflects a global reality in which governments appeal to Mr. Trump’s vanity in order to get American might on their side." #neo-royalism www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/w...
‘Donnyland’? Ukraine Proposes Renaming Part of the Donbas in Trump’s Honor
nytimes.com
"The vote on April 12 is Hungary’s best chance in 16 years to choose democracy over autocracy. It may not come again." Excellent piece by Bálint Magyar and madlovicsb.bsky.social that lays out the stakes of Sunday's election in Hungary.
A Last Chance for Hungary
Orban’s mafia state could fall—or cement itself.
foreignaffairs.com
An interesting article estimating the threat of AI-agent responding across online survey platforms. Conclusion seems to be Prolific is good and MTurk is bad...https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/xcg26_v1
In most countries, politics is divided along a left-right spectrum. In #America it appears the major divide is between the morally and the immorally evil.
You cannot talk like this about any other minority in America. And if it was any other president’s adviser who said something like this about any other minority, it’d be the instant end of their presidency.
The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
Authoritarian capitalism can emerge out of backlash to neoliberalism, and the Trump administration has been against immigration and free trade. But note that his strategy is two-fold: domestically, pro-big business and internationally, anti-globalization. As we wrote in our recent paper:
Authoritarian capitalism can emerge out of backlash to neoliberalism, and the Trump administration has been against immigration and free trade. But note that his strategy is two-fold: domestically, pro-big business and internationally, anti-globalization. As we wrote in our recent paper:
I have had a few chats with @josephtorigian.bsky.social on his book but this one really turned out well and we addressed some core issues about the party and its history www.ncuscr.org/video/the-pa...
The Party's Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping
Through an examination of the life of Xi Zhongxun, Joseph Torigian sheds light on the power of the Chinese Communist Party and how it affects individuals at its highest levels.
ncuscr.org
Thrilled that my co-authored piece with Xiuyu li from NYU and Kellee Tsai from Northeastern just came out in Comparative Politics, online first. www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cuny... You can access the accepted version here 81e63e3e-0cc6-43dc-aa7c-35f441eca471.filesusr.com/ugd/f72a2f_d...
Thrilled that my co-authored piece with Xiuyu li from NYU and Kellee Tsai from Northeastern just came out in Comparative Politics, online first. www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cuny... You can access the accepted version here 81e63e3e-0cc6-43dc-aa7c-35f441eca471.filesusr.com/ugd/f72a2f_d...
Join us *online* next Tuesday, May 13 from 9:00-10:00am to discuss the US-China trade impasse with Ana Swanson (New York Times) and @johnshopkinssais.bsky.social ACF faculty affiliates @jonasnahm.com @lingchenscholar.bsky.social & Ho-fung Hung REGISTER HERE: www.eventbrite.com/e/the-us-chi...
NIH laying off hundreds more staff, including the cancer research institute. The US is now a country in full self-harm mode. www.cbsnews.com/news/nih-lay...
National Institutes of Health lays off hundreds more staff, including at cancer research institute
The cuts at the National Institutes of Health blindsided staff, after reassurances that no further layoffs were planned.
cbsnews.com
THiS will hold its first Chinese Book Talk of 2025! On Apr. 22, 8:00–10:00 p.m. I’ll talk on my book, Authoritarian Absorption: The Transnational Remaking of Epidemic Politics in China (Oxford University Press, 2024). More info: www.thisoc.net/booktalk/boo...
This is what the state imposing a vision of appropriate speech looks like. We should all fight against it, lest we all hang separately.
Students at UMass Amherst, UMass Boston, Harvard, Univ. of Michigan, UCLA, Arizona State, Cornell, Univ. of Oregon, Univ. of Texas, North Carolina State, Univ. of Colorado, Univ. of Minnesota, Minnesota State and more have all had visas revoked with NO DUE PROCESS (links below)
It’s shameful that the mainstream press puts the blame on Zelenskyy. They treat Trump as a force of nature, like the weather gods, and it’s up to the rest of us to deal with and make offerings, in hopes of placating them. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/28/u...
I was quoted in this informative New York Times article on Trump's recent American First Investment order. Just want to use the space here to expand my full views. 1/6 trend.https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/26/us/politics/trump-china-crackdown.html
Trump’s New Crackdown on China Is Just Beginning
The administration is positioning itself to clamp down on Chinese investment and access to technology. But the wild card may be the president himself.
nytimes.com
Many were surprised by DeepSeek's success. I am not surprised, and I have been arguing that waging a tech war on China will push businesses to cooperate with the state and accelerate the pace of innovation. See my article with @mevers90.bsky.social in International Security. tinyurl.com/yjt33924
“Wars without Gun Smoke”: Global Supply Chains, Power Transitions, and Economic Statecraft
Abstract. Conventional wisdom holds that conflict is highly likely during a power transition between declining and rising powers. The spread of global supply chains has provided new economic weapons f...
tinyurl.com