Read my reflections on Syria's transition, and what calls for a democratic future have to do with justice and accountability. "No Justice, No Peace? A Challenge for Syria" is out in MENA Politics now! zenodo.org/records/1745... Thanks @rbkhoury.bsky.social, Sefa Secen, & @apsamena.bsky.social

I am delighted to share the fall issue of the APSA MENA section newsletter, co-edited by @sebnemgumuscu.bsky.social, @samershehata.bsky.social, and me, available for download here: zenodo.org/records/1745...

That Reform would do worse is no justification for UK government policy.

3) A symposium on Syria's transition co-edited by @rbkhoury.bsky.social and Sefa Secen, featuring thought-provoking interventions from Tiina Hyyppä, Sumaya Malas, Salam Said, Emily K. M. Scott, Sefa Secen, and Ammar Shamaileh; and

Read my reflections on Syria's transition, and what calls for a democratic future have to do with justice and accountability. "No Justice, No Peace? A Challenge for Syria" is out in MENA Politics now! zenodo.org/records/1745... Thanks @rbkhoury.bsky.social, Sefa Secen, & @apsamena.bsky.social

Join our #IHSA #IHSAConference2025 roundtables Friday in Istanbul! “The end for humanitarianism? Budget cuts, altered humanitarianism(s), and affected populations” with @lubnaalkanawati.bsky.social @claraegger.bsky.social @pollypw.bsky.social, @mariagjumbert.bsky.social

I am in Istanbul for #IHSA2025 #IHSAConference2025 and to meet folks working in and interested in Turkish and Syrian humanitarian networks. If you’re in town, reach out.

I am in Istanbul for #IHSA2025 #IHSAConference2025 and to meet folks working in and interested in Turkish and Syrian humanitarian networks. If you’re in town, reach out.

How do you know you’re dealing with a predatory journal? #academicsky #polisky ☑️ Aggressive solicitation (often unsolicited emails) ☑️ Unrealistic, rapid publication timelines ☑️ Misrepresenting impact factor ☑️ High author fees (APCs)❕ When in doubt research the editorial board and ask around.

POMEPS is thrilled to announce a call for proposals for POMEPS Travel – Research – Engagement (TRE) grants for 2026. Awards of up to $3,000 will be offered to support research travel to the broader Middle East. Deadline to apply: Oct. 15th. More info: pomeps.org/call-for-pro...

Call for Proposals: 2026 Travel Research Engagement Grants - Project on Middle East Political Science

The Project on Middle East Political Science announces a call for proposals for POMEPS Travel – Research – Engagement (TRE) grants for 2026. Awards of up to $3,000 will be offered to support research ...

pomeps.org

A conversation that grew out of work w @wendy-pearlman.bsky.social alongside Daniel Neep, hosted by @emilykmscott.bsky.social. Recorded 2 months ago, but holds up and helps think about roles of state and society in Syria's future. open.spotify.com/episode/3yIo... podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...

Syria After Assad

Podcast Episode · New Books in Political Science · 08/29/2025 · 41m

podcasts.apple.com

Breaking News: The White House is moving to cancel $4.9 billion that lawmakers approved for foreign aid programs, using a legally untested maneuver to slash spending without congressional approval.

Defying Congress, Trump Moves to Cut $4.9 Billion in Foreign Aid

The White House notified Congress that it plans to use a legally untested maneuver to circumvent lawmakers and claw back more money for foreign aid programs.

nyti.ms

#Starmer offers recognition for a Palestinian state unless… #Carney will recognize Palestine if… I don’t remember continuation of a genocidal siege being a condition of statehood. For that matter, I don’t remember democratic reform as a condition either. #Palestine #Gaza

Devastating account of -the irredeemability of Western govs' responses to 🇮🇱's starvation of #Gaza -our collective moral failure -applicable legal obligations right NOW by the foremost experts on starvation Alex deWaal & @tomdannenbaum.bsky.social justsecurity.org/117962/mass-...

Time Has Run Out: Mass Starvation in Gaza and the Global Imperative

It is time for comprehensive, full-spectrum, sustainable, and coordinated humanitarian action. States globally must act without delay on that imperative.

justsecurity.org

Yes. “They also must consider taking direct action, such as trying to break the siege on Gaza by attempting to bring in aid by land and sea in defiance of Israel and complicit neighbouring governments...” @tammam.bsky.social @newhumanitarian.bsky.social www.thenewhumanitarian.org/opinion/2025...

For anyone still buying into genocidal propaganda: www.reuters.com/world/middle...

Exclusive: USAID analysis found no evidence of massive Hamas theft of Gaza aid

The internal U.S. government analysis challenges the main rationale that Israel and the U.S. give for backing a new armed private aid operation.

reuters.com

What is there to say. Palestinians in Gaza are dropping from starvation imposed by Israel. We witness and can do nothing.

WHO condemns in the strongest terms the attacks on a building housing WHO staff in Deir al Balah in #Gaza, the mistreatment of those sheltering there, and the destruction of its main warehouse. Read our full statement: www.who.int/news/item/21...

WHO operations compromised following attacks on warehouse and facility sheltering staff and families in Deir al Balah, Gaza

WHO condemns in the strongest terms the attacks on a building housing WHO staff in Deir al Balah, the mistreatment of those sheltering there, and the destruction of its main warehouse. Following inten...

who.int

The world's most famous medical NGO concludes Israel is committing genocide. It joins a consensus of genocide scholars, including in Israel, and NGOs like Amnesty International. No politician or journalist can claim "I did not know at the time!" to evade future justice.

#IDF “regret” won’t bring them back. #Gaza #CeasefireNow www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Children queuing for supplements killed in Israeli strike in Gaza, hospital says

Eight children were among 15 people reportedly killed while queuing outside a clinic in the central town of Deir al-Balah.

bbc.co.uk

www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel... “Silence is not an option”: UN Special Procedures’ Coordination Committee condemns US sanctions on Francesca Albanese | OHCHR

“Silence is not an option”: UN Special Procedures’ Coordination Committee condemns US sanctions on Francesca Albanese

GENEVA – The Coordination Committee of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council today strongly condemned the US Government’s sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the Special Rapporteur on the si...

ohchr.org

US 'unbelievably satisfied' with Lebanon reply to proposal on disarming Hezbollah Maya Gebeily, @reuters.com: www.reuters.com/world/middle...

US 'unbelievably satisfied' with Lebanon reply to proposal on disarming Hezbollah

A U.S. envoy said on Monday he was "unbelievably satisfied" with Lebanon's reply to a U.S. proposal on disarming Hezbollah, following meetings in Beirut held hours after Israel launched new air strikes and a cross-border incursion.

reuters.com

non-affiliated friends and colleagues this is good news!

BuffaloResearch.com@buffaloresearch.com · last yr.

Heads up, you do NOT need to be affiliated with a college or university to get access to JSTOR! Here's how to sign up as an independent researcher! You can read up to 100 articles per month. You cannot download or print PDFs. All of this is FREE. support.jstor.org/hc/en-us/art...

A crucial detail: “not run by the United Nations.” This is no accident. UNRWA and the #UnitedNations have been the subject of valid criticisms, but also politically-motivated criticisms in #Gaza. The latter were meant to delegitimize the organization, and justify stopping their work. 🧵 1/

1500 medical workers killed in #Gaza. Killed alongside their patients. Killed alongside their families. Killed trying to save lives. Medical care is #NOTATARGET. #MedicalCareUnderFire #Gaza www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Gaza hospital director killed in Israeli strike, Hamas-run health ministry says

Dr Marwan Sultan was killed along with several family members in a strike on his home, the health ministry says.

bbc.co.uk

"The Canadian Medical Association Journal has issued an urgent call for Canada to strengthen systems of tracking and monitoring diseases... Canada and other countries have relied on work done in the U.S. to track infectious diseases, address pandemic threats and more."

Ottawa Citizen@ottawacitizen.com · last yr.

Canada faces crisis in communicable disease, can no longer rely on U.S. for data: CMAJ ottawacitizen.com/news/local-n...

At first, I felt @aljazeera.com and other's use of "aid seekers" to describe the killing of Gazans seeking food at #GHF centres shone light on the ways aid is being used as a tool to kill in #Gaza. Now I focus on the next, #dehumanizing part of the sentence: "along with others."

Siri keeps responding to me saying Syria with, "mmhmm?"

Net migration has halved, meaning the government didn't need to axe the social care route, or double the time for settlement, or create a funding crisis among universities. Hundreds of thousands of lives impacted because of the politics.

British Future@britishfuture.bsky.social · last yr.

Net migration has fallen by almost 50% according to today's new ONS figures, at 431,000 for the year ending Dec 2024, down from 860,000 for the same period a year earlier. It has fallen by 297,000 since the last ONS figures 6 months ago, for YE June 2024. Reaction to follow.

“We need this aid to enter now. It has to go to people who are desperate.” In this video, our colleague Louise Wateridge speaks from a UNRWA warehouse in Amman, Jordan, where supplies have been held up due to the 11-week-long siege.