A thing I noticed in take-home assignments: AI comes up with bad - but sophisticating-sounding - ideas, student is unable to filter out bad ideas, runs with the bad ideas, writes a bad, overly complex, and pretentious assignment.

EU Ministers discuss Schengen this week over a crisis that never threatened Europe's free-movement area: no one leaves Ceuta without a border check. Instead, the EPP & far-right allies use this manufactured crisis whose price was paid by real lives to attack Spain's different stance to migration.

New paper out in @jpeaceresearch.bsky.social! Here, I look at the non-linear relationship between levels of executive constraints and a country's risk of experiencing incumbent takeovers. academic.oup.com/jpr/advance-...

Executive constraints and incumbent takeovers

Abstract. This paper provides a systematic study of how judicial and legislative constraints on the executive safeguard against incumbent-driven regime tra

academic.oup.com

The New York Times has spoken with several Moroccan nationals who say they were encouraged to cross into Ceuta by the Moroccan authorities.

Det er bemærkelsesværdigt at se forskellen i hvordan danske og norske medier har dækket situationen i Ceuta. I Norge har der været begrænset dækning, mens der har været gule stolper og panik i danske medier gennem dagen.

So basically an adversary could attack any blue state and Trump wont care because he doesn't see himself as the President of the "United States" Without a doubt the most worst president we've ever had. Anti-republic, anti-democratic, anti-constitutional just devoid of basic dignity

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 5d ago

Trump: "We heard in Minnesota there was a cyberattack and they blame it on Iran. I don't think so. I blame it on Minnesota because they're grossly incompetent. Iran's got bigger problems than worrying about Minnesota."

A classic strategy in electoral autocracies is to punish the areas of the country that did show sufficient support for the regime.

Murshed Zaheed@murshedz.bsky.social · 7d ago

“Trump has rejected disaster aid for Democratic-run states at the highest rate in the 47-year history of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.” Right now people in blue states are basically paying federal taxes as if they’re colonized territories of red states. www.politico.com/news/2026/03...

"Power is the ability to shape the world to your advantage. This should not be confused with constantly declaring how powerful you are." Me on why Trump's potency on the world stage is vanishing. as.ft.com/r/d4b0f81f-b...

Trump’s waning sway over the world

The habitual trolling that serves him at home is sapping his potency on the global stage

as.ft.com

It is fascinating the degree to which political systems are stable or unstable. Most countries are just stuck with a certain level of volatility, measured as the share of government members replaced from one year to the next, even over quite long periods of time.

The WhoGov Project@whogov.bsky.social · last wk.

Are some political systems inherently more unstable than others? Yes! Countries with high government turnover fifty years ago tend to still have high turnover today. But it's not destiny. Some countries got more stable (Argentina, Turkey) and others more volatile (Tunisia, Romania).

exciting to be living on a continent where countries help each other out during wildfires instead of slapping tariffs on the burning countries as punishment for smoke

Ursula von der Leyen@vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu · 2w ago

Europe stands with France and Spain as they face devastating wildfires. 5 planes and 2 helicopters from the rescEU fleet are now deployed to France. And 4 planes are arriving in Spain today.

Super excited to see the second article from my dissertation published in @politicsgenderj.bsky.social Drawing on unique Norwegian data, I find the green gender gap already exists in early adolescence. Boys are less climate-concerned, less supportive of green policies and less likely to vote green.

The Green Gender Gap in Adolescence: A Case Study of Norway | Politics & Gender | Cambridge Core

The Green Gender Gap in Adolescence: A Case Study of Norway

cambridge.org

Jeg lyttede til hele interviewet. Elon Musk fremstår som et kæmpe røvhul: fuldstændig blottet for selvindsigt, verdensfjern, fantast, skruppeløs og med ringe analytiske evner. Og det er en utrolig præstation, da spørgsmålene overvejende er venlige og ukritiske.

Vatnik Soup@vatniksoup.bsky.social · last wk.

Elon seems a bit salty after the Economist interview.

The WhoGov Project has a new webpage 🎉 It brings our datasets, publications, team, and news together in one home. We have big plans for expanding the dataset and building the project, and we'll keep it updated. Take a look (and join our mailing list): whogov.net

WhoGov — Data on governing elites

Mapping the people who govern us — worldwide and across centuries. WhoGov provides open, global data on the members of government, from 1966 to today. Hosted at the University of Oslo.

whogov.net

“Teaching Autocracy and Autocratic Politics” is now out. To my knowledge, this is the first book that considers how instructors can teach about autocracy in a university setting. www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/tea...

Teaching Autocracy and Autocratic Politics

‘This is a terrific and thoughtful book about a question our field has overlooked: how to teach the politics of authoritarianism well. Filled with creative ideas and practical tools, it will be invalu...

e-elgar.com

We have an open call for a postdoc interested in causal effects of Voting Advice Applications on political behaviour (deadline Aug 20): www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...

Postdoctoral Fellow in Political Science (304454) | NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Job title: Postdoctoral Fellow in Political Science (304454), Employer: NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Deadline: Thursday, August 20, 2026

jobbnorge.no

No chance Infantino would want to be Secretary-General of the United Nations. The salary is far too low ($250k v. $6 million in FIFA) and there is much less scope for corruption.

The Daily Beast@thedailybeast.bsky.social · 2w ago

The president is backing one of his most devoted flatterers for a powerful new position.

Dear Iran, The president’s scared of escalation (again) after making big threats (again) having bombed from afar (again) and failed at all strategic goals (again). The US is running low on important munitions, and the White House signals if you hold out (again) Trump will surrender to you (again).

Trump Holds Off on Major War Escalation Against Iran as Advisers Raise Concerns

Among the worries is that expanded hostilities could dangerously drain the diminished stockpile of air defense munitions in the Middle East.

nytimes.com

Admirable clarity @science.org

David Roberts@volts.wtf · 2w ago

Whew, the editors of @science.org are getting real.

New paper out! 📄 Common wisdom says liberals are less willing to fight for their country — their values prioritise the individual over group loyalty. But is that the whole story? Short answer: no, it depends on how threatened the country is.

🇩🇰 Systemskiftet har fødselsdag og det har det jo og det er i dag! Har du husket konfettien? Det er nemlig 125 år siden, systemskiftet fandt sted. Systemskiftet markerede overgangen til parlamentarisme som spilleregel.

This is absurd - even for a person who researches dictatorships

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2w ago

cult shit at the White House as Trump's cronies give him a standing ovation for minutes on end. Note how nobody wants to be the first to stop clapping.

... så USA hjælper Saudi Arabien på vejen mod et atomvåben? Hvad kunne dog gå galt?

CNN@cnn.com · 2w ago

Trump has approved a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia that could lead to the kingdom enriching its own fuel for civilian reactors, US official says https://cnn.it/4ywLBzI

In a new chapter in "Teaching Autocracy and Autocratic Politics" edited by @edwardgoldring.bsky.social, I reflect upon the not so wise words of Muammar Gaddafi, and discuss how best to design teaching on autocratic politics for undergrad and grad students. Link: books.google.no/books/about/...

Can't get numb to this: The United States is stuck in a war it started, cannot end, and may further escalate to no avail, having dismantled its diplomatic apparatus, depleted its military stockpile, and destroyed its credibility. A historic strategic mistake harming millions in many different ways.

Diktaturer er blevet "mildere" siden afslutningen på Den Kolde Krig. De bruger mindre vold og legitimerer regimet ved at have nominelt demokratiske institutioner som fx. valg. Derfor er dette bemærkelsesværdigt: Ortega erklærer åbent, at landet er et diktatur. Måske et varsel om, at...

The Guardian@theguardian.com · 2w ago

Nicaragua’s president says country will not hold any more elections

Only a handful of dictatorships don't hold national elections, and that is because they are monarchies, never institutionalised them, or are in a state of prolonged conflict. Disbanding elections outright means you are betting against the notion that international democratic norms will be enforced.

The Guardian@theguardian.com · 2w ago

Nicaragua’s president says country will not hold any more elections

Nicaragua's long-serving president, Daniel Ortega, said the Central American country will no longer hold elections, eliminating the possibility of an electoral challenge when his term ends next year and further ‌entrenching the rule he shares with his wife reut.rs/4fMmqSk

Ortega says Nicaragua will no longer hold elections

Nicaragua's long-serving president Daniel Ortega said the Central American country will no longer hold elections, eliminating the possibility of an ​electoral challenge when his term ends next year an...

reut.rs

It is cool that they also have football at this concert thingy

An update on the midterms, after Trump's speech: adamprzeworski.substack.com/p/an-update-on-the-midterms

An Update on the Midterms

After Trump's Speech

adamprzeworski.substack.com