Ed Schatz
@edwardschatz.bsky.social
Political Scientist, Central Asianist, University of Toronto Posting about politics, authoritarianism, and Central Asia.
Mark Beissinger in 1995 called it the “persisting ambiguity of empire.” www.nytimes.com/2026/07/17/m...
Is Venezuela a Colony Now? A Sovereign State? Modern Empires Rule in Ambiguity.
Occupation is a hassle. Large countries have many new ways to control small ones.
nytimes.com
Like so much in AI, this fine print is basically unhelpful: "ChatGPT can make mistakes. Check important info."
This senate confirmation hearing confirms that we are screwed. The only question is how badly.
Timing trips to the gas station based on whatever crazy shit is happening in US foreign policy should not be normal.
Trump didn't cause FIFA to be corrupt, but somehow corruption always finds Trump.
Thank you to @hanyangsydney.bsky.social in Sydney for a lively conversation about--among other things--why I find John Mearsheimer's position intellectually weak and morally bankrupt.
Han Yang 杨涵@hanyangsydney.bsky.social · 2mo agoThank you Prof Marci Shore @marcishore.bsky.social for coming to the Devil's Advocate Podcast to discuss the Ukrainians' fight for survival and freedom, why Putin's excuses for war are both immoral and irrational, and whether the US has become a fascist state. youtu.be/pRnUxrfGOyk?...
Voilà, in which I exhort fellow scholars to use the term "decolonization" with precision. "Persistent Problems with 'Decolonization': Reflections on the Central Asian Example" @poppublicsphere.bsky.social doi.org/10.1017/S153...
“Russia’s president, who has become a superlative authoritarian over time, has shown himself to be a mediocre head of state, a poor caretaker of the Russian economy and the agent of a regional disorder that is boomeranging back into Russia.” www.nytimes.com/2026/06/02/o...
Opinion | Putin Has No Good Way Out of His War
nytimes.com
ironies, all the way down: “The band Milli Vanilli was also announced as a performer, though one of its singers, Jodie Rocco, said on Thursday that the group had not been asked to appear.” www.nytimes.com/2026/05/30/a...
Trump Urges Canceling Freedom 250 Concerts After Artists Drop Out
nytimes.com
Watching Arsenal play PSG at a bar in Almaty with Super Bowl stylings and Kazakh play by play is a bit weird.
Decolonization is not happening here. can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...
Tokayev, Putin Sign Seven Principles of Friendship Declaration, Expand Kazakhstan-Russia Cooperation - The Astana Times
Tokayev, Putin Sign Seven Principles of Friendship Declaration, Expand Kazakhstan-Russia Cooperation
can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
Vigilance and strong passwords always.
Kai Kupferschmidt@kakape.bsky.social · 3mo ago“Russian propaganda on Bluesky first became notable during Germany’s elections last year, when the Kremlin sought to bolster Germany’s far right, led by the Alternative for Germany party, known as AfD.” #giftlink #disinformation #propaganda
It isn’t any less corrupt because they do it in plain sight www.nytimes.com/2026/05/19/u...
I.R.S. to Drop Audits of Trump and Family
nytimes.com
Listen to Anna. Listen to my terrific colleague @marcishore.bsky.social
Marci Shore@marcishore.bsky.social · 3mo agoThis is about Anna, arrested in front of her university for taking part in anti-regime protests before a lecture I gave there 10 days ago. She gave such a mature, articulate interview to @heidicuda.bsky.social, and she's only 20 yrs old. Please listen to her.
In the other war, no the other other war, Ukraine has changed things on the ground. youtu.be/chI-4vEuvko?...
Ukraine regains momentum as Russia suffers battlefield losses | DW News
YouTube video by DW News
youtu.be
There are few sources of satisfaction greater than unsubscribing from email lists. Thanks so much to the Democratic National Committee for providing endless satisfaction. Every day, really.
If only there were some way to hold elections where the party breakdown of representatives would be in rough proportion to the breakdown of votes overall. You know : so the shape of districts wouldnt matter much. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/09/u...
Two Court Decisions Have Unleashed an Era of Perpetual Redistricting
nytimes.com
Educators: what strategies do you use to encourage students to exercise their judgment even / especially when they're using AI? How might we encourage a healthy "hermeneutic of suspicion" (Ricoeur), when AI produces such polished answers with such a tone of confidence?
Nothing about this war was inevitable. Leaders make choices, even if they dress up their choices in the garb of inevitability. Beware anyone saying they "had no choice."
This war of choice matters because it's morally abhorrent and strategically self-defeating, not because it's politically detrimental to Trump. When the media focus on the midterms, it takes our eye off the ball.
Imagine a 28th Amendment creating a simple and clear and reasonable mechanism for confidence votes in government. #updatedchecksandbalances
37 days later & they're still doing bomb, plead, fulminate, threaten, bomb, justify, rinse, repeat.