I wanted to call this piece 'Trump's Dinky Deals', but my editor convinced me otherwise. /1 theconversation.com/donald-trump...

Donald Trump’s ‘art of the deal’ means reneging on them. That’s why Canada cannot capitulate

Countries that sign deals with the Trump administration are quickly finding out that the stability and certainty they hoped to purchase was an illusion.

theconversation.com

I wanted to call this piece 'Trump's Dinky Deals', but my editor convinced me otherwise. /1 theconversation.com/donald-trump...

Donald Trump’s ‘art of the deal’ means reneging on them. That’s why Canada cannot capitulate

Countries that sign deals with the Trump administration are quickly finding out that the stability and certainty they hoped to purchase was an illusion.

theconversation.com

One consistent feature of the Trump administration is that they love trade actions that *sound* devastating, but they often later qualify it because they don't want to pay the costs of said policy.

Stephanie Carvin@stephaniecarvin.bsky.social · 2w ago

Okay, non-economist here but the new US tariffs on Canada are just… kinda weird? Like they picked weird things to target (we have a Canadian tequila industry?!?) to go after slightly more than 5% of our trade. It is like they wanted 50% headlines but it is… targeting our honey industry?

One of the paradoxes of American politics is that they spend more on elections than any where else--by an enormous margin!--but still consistently suffer from low-quality leaders.

BeijingPalmer@beijingpalmer.bsky.social · 2mo ago

the total spending on US *congressional* races in 2024 (not including the presidential race) was $9.4 billion. the equivalent figure for the last UK general election was, conveniently enough, 94 *million* pounds ($126 million.) Campaign finance laws work!

In my last article I made the argument that Musk uses X to portray liberal democracies as 'ugly' in order to sensitive audiences to ideological alternatives. One of the ways he does this is by casting countries like the UK as divided and on the precipice of a race war 1/

Adam Bienkov@adambienkov.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Keir Starmer's spokesman tells me there has been "no change" to the Government's policy on using X, despite Elon Musk helping to incite the hateful scenes we saw in Belfast last night. Also no new plans to take action against X for its role in the violence

Eight of us weigh in on the court's separatist petition ruling. thewalrus.ca/alberta-sepa...

Can Alberta Still Separate? Experts Clash over the Landmark Court Decision | The Walrus

A cross-country panel debates one of the most consequential rulings in years

thewalrus.ca

This seems especially silly given that the Canada hit 2% of GDP defence spending this year, spent a record amount in absolute dollars, and tabled budget with the largest increase in defence spending in recent memory.

U.S. says it’s pausing long-standing military board with Canada

The U.S. undersecretary of defence for policy said Monday

thestar.com

I have a short piece on how Canada should think about retaliation in the age of Trump. TLDR: the threat of retaliation is increasingly driving Canadian policy decisions, but we think about retaliation in overly simplistic ways. I offer some correctives. 1/ policyoptions.irpp.org/2026/04/cana...

The threat of Trump retaliation: how Canada should respond

U.S. leverage is real but uneven. Three guideposts help policymakers assess risk, timing and strategic trade-offs.

policyoptions.irpp.org

'Contested Body Counts, a Missing Airman, and the (Necro)Politics of America's War in Iran' - a new blog from me now published by @ecprtheloop.bsky.social ! theloop.ecpr.eu/contested-bo...

war_iran_final-blow_v1.pdf war_iran_final-final-blow-v2.pdf war_iran_final-blow-no edits.pdf war_iran_final-blow-no edits (1).pdf war_iran_final-blow-no edits (1) APPROVED.pdf IRANWARPLANSFINALFINALFINAL.pdf IRANWARPLANSFINALFINALFINAL (1).pdf

Fared Al Mahlool | فريد المحلول@faredalmahlool.bsky.social · 4mo ago

BREAKING NEWS: The U.S. is preparing possible “final blow” options against Iran if talks fail like seizing key islands (e.g. Kharg, Abu Musa), blockading oil routes, or launching massive airstrikes (and potentially ground ops). Forces are being deployed, but no decision yet. Source: Axios

Thank you @hist-isanet.bsky.social! 🙏 @harokarkour.bsky.social and my paper on racial justice and the national interest in classical #realism won the Merze Tate Prize for the Best Article in Historical IR @sussexfss.bsky.social Find the article here (OA) 👇 academic.oup.com/isr/article/...

Toward IR’s “Fifth Debate”: Racial Justice and the National Interest in Classical Realism

Abstract. This article addresses growing calls for a fifth debate on international relations’ (IR) “race amnesia.” The central argument is two-fold. First,

academic.oup.com

Historical IR Section (ISA)@hist-isanet.bsky.social · 5mo ago

🏅 Merze Tate Prize for Best Article in Historical International Relations Committee: Justin Rosenberg (Chair), Jaakko Heiskanen, Andrea Paras The award goes to ... 🥁 Haro Karkour and Felix Rösch (2024) "Towards IR’s “Fifth Debate”: Racial Justice and the National Interest in Classical Realism"

Notable audience by the King, amid talk of Alberta separation. Treaty Six and other First Nations are in court fighting the constitutionality of any separation referendum in Alberta. They are arguing that their treaties are with the Crown, not the provincial government

The Mark Carney moment of hope for a reformed somewhat rules-based order is already over. The "West" has lost all credibility. You cannot condemn illegal aggression against Greenland and Ukraine on principle, then support illegal aggression against Gaza, Venezuela, and Iran.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 5mo ago

NATO Secretary Mark Rutte: "The commander in chief, the leader of the free world, President Donald J Trump -- I really commend what is happening here."

I guess my question is "where is it?" You think AI can write a publishable political theory article in 2 hours? Great. Show me. Send me the pdf of the published article. Based on this logic, we should have 100,000s of new high quality AI articles being published? Where are they?

Ben Rosher@benrosher.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Even *if* machines could do these jobs better than humans, why would we want them to? If we outsource intellectual curiosity and critical thinking to machines, what is left of the human? As one of my students frequently tells me, “unbridled convenience rots the soul”

Hot take: The Carney government put out a statement supporting the United States without knowing what it was doing. Now that the US/Israel have assassinated a state leader, and Hegseth has declared "no stupid rules of engagement", supporting the U.S. looks a lot more difficult.

Steven Chase@stevenchase.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Prime Minister Mark Carney cancelled what would have been his first press conference since his India trip began 5 days ago with his office citing lengthy meetings in New Delhi that have strained his schedule. So far he has not taken 1 question from Canadian journalists on a trip that began Feb. 26.

This is excellent

NERV IRB Coordinator@professormusgrave.bsky.social · 5mo ago

My thoughts open.substack.com/pub/musgrave...

My co-authored article with @nckc.bsky.social is published in @ejisbisa.bsky.social with #openaccess! We theorize captivity/kidnapping as a sovereignty violation, and states respond with emotional performativity to protect their dignity, constructing personhood. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Never has so much US combat power been assembled with so little explanation to the public, allies, or Congress regarding why or how it will be used. Never.

Canada is living through the most dangerous international crisis in living memory, but any attempt to study history, politics, or international affairs is dismissed as 'basket weaving' by the Premier of Canada's most populace province.

Clare Blackwood@clareblackwood.bsky.social · 6mo ago

My latest video on Ford's "basket weaving" OSAP comment has reached the "Study whatever you want but don't expect the gov to pay you for it" crowd, and I don't think they grasp how desolate their lives would be if there was no art, no culture, no history. We can't have a society of only STEM majors.

There is definitely an opening here for Democrats to claim that 'Trump Lost Canada', especially after Canada's EV deal with China. This seems like very low-hanging fruit. www.politico.com/news/2026/02...

Look how much Canadians hate the United States now

It’s not just about the trade war. Nearly half of America’s neighbors to the north now think the U.S. is a bigger threat to world peace than Russia.

politico.com

I’m very excited to share that my co-authored article with Todd Hall is now published in the @ejisbisa.bsky.social ! Many thanks to @profgustafsson.bsky.social and @rjsamuels.bsky.social for organising the special issue and for their guidance throughout the process. doi.org/10.1017/eis....

This is the way

Alex Panetta@alexpanetta.bsky.social · 6mo ago

My initial take here: Canada, don’t take the bait. Trump would get torn apart at home in a midterm year over this and would be seeking an off-ramp.

This is a *really* good take on Trump supporters, Goffman's classic account of the con man, and the problem of 'cooling out' Trump supporters. I have two quick thoughts. One is that I think the reason there is no one to 'cool out' Trump supporters is that this requires emotional labour... /1

Jen Mercieca@jenmercieca.bsky.social · 6mo ago

The Con Man and His Victims. No one wants to "cool out" Trump supporters. open.substack.com/pub/jennifer...

Tonight I watched Prime Minister Mark Carney take the actual Heated Rivalry Canada fleece from Hudson Williams, slip it on and say: “This is true soft power.”

So...not close at all?

POLITICO Europe@politico.eu · 6mo ago

Speaking in Davos earlier this month, Donald Trump told reporters he believed a deal on Ukraine was “reasonably close.” And yet, Moscow and Kyiv remain stalled over three issues at the heart of the conflict. 🔗 www.politico.eu/article/peac...

This is a really good essay.

Adam Serwer@adamserwer.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Last week in Minnesota, I watched ordinary people risk their lives to protect their neighbors. In the process, they not only won a significant—though not final—victory against authoritarianism, they proved virtually every MAGA social theory wrong. (gift link) www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

I did some radio with CBC on the international politics of the Grok controversy and Canada's response. Come for the incisive analysis, stay to hear my kids yelling at the dog for peeing on the carpet. www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

© CBC/Radio-Canada 2026. All rights reserved.

cbc.ca

Oh my god this is so horrifying... this is the most despicable gaslighting imaginable - tech executives must be held responsible for what they create.

Jess Asato MP@jessasatomp.bsky.social · 6mo ago

This week, an X user created an AI video of me being chloroformed and prepared for rape. Victims are told it's not real and they're getting offended for no reason. But nudification tools are weapons of sexual assault, and the harm they cause is real 👇 jessasato.substack.com/p/ai-nudific...

I would also note: X has deleted a handful of these images. But the vast majority of them remain live on X today.

kate conger@kateconger.com · 7mo ago

In our conservative estimate, 41 percent of Grok’s images — or 1.8 million — were sexualized depictions of women. Separately, CCDH analyzed how many were sexualized images across genders and ages. Their findings: an estimated 3 million images, including more than 23,000 of children.