"For Palestinians dealing with the Israeli state...it is not a question of whether a plot of land is or is not secure, but when it will be taken." Riveting insights in conversation with UCSB anthropologist Paul Kohlbry on his new book on the West Bank. michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/the-land-w...

The Land War at the Heart of the Israeli-Palestinian Struggle

A conversation with anthropologist Paul Kohlbry on how Palestinians in the West Bank navigate occupation, property markets, and the struggle to stay on the land

michaelalbertus.substack.com

Thrilled to be writing a new book – The Return of Conquest – for @bloomsburybooksus.bsky.social! The 80 years of peace we grew up believing were permanent are receding, and a changing climate, population booms/busts, and resource grabs will define the new era of global competition.

"The infrastructure developed by the monarchy to better govern France also prepared the conditions for its fall." My piece in @grandcontinent.bsky.social with @victorgayeco.bsky.social marking the French Revolution's anniversary––based on our new research: doi.org/10.1017/S000...

Les origines infrastructurelles de la Révolution française | Le Grand Continent

Grâce à de nouvelles données, deux jeunes chercheurs révèlent un paradoxe : les infrastructures développées par la monarchie pour mieux gouverner la France ont aussi préparé les conditions de sa chute...

legrandcontinent.eu

A new generation of right-wing outsiders is triumphing across Latin America. My piece today @thebulwark.com explains why that's happening, and what it means for democracy. www.thebulwark.com/p/mega-priso...

Mega-Prison Politics

A new generation of right-wing outsiders is triumphing across Latin America.

thebulwark.com

With Colombians voting this weekend in a very polarized election, I turned to @oliverkaplan.bsky.social to explain what is at stake, and what comes next for Colombia's long-running conflict. My latest post at The Good Society 👇 michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/colombia-a...

Colombia at a Crossroads

A conversation with political scientist Oliver Kaplan on the country's pivotal election and the hard lessons of over half a century of conflict

michaelalbertus.substack.com

Since the American Revolution, central political battles have revolved around this key question: Who gets access to land and for what? Today the quest for land underpins the housing crisis, green energy & AI buildouts, and expansionism. My piece @thebulwark.com www.thebulwark.com/p/this-land-...

This Land Is Your Land? This Land Is My Land.

The American Revolution began as a land grab. Our politics still revolve around the same hunger.

thebulwark.com

With Peruvians heading to the polls this weekend in an extremely polarized election, I turned to Alberto Vergara to explain what is at stake, and how Peru has fallen into what he calls "democratic hollowing". My latest post at The Good Society. michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/when-democ...

When Democracy Hollows Out

A conversation with Peruvian political scientist Alberto Vergara on the country's endless crisis and the dangers of powerless democracy

michaelalbertus.substack.com

Ten American cities just joined The Pact of Free Cities – a global coalition of mayors dedicated to protecting democracy even if their national governments don't. More will join soon. What that means for democracy, in my new post 👇 michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/the-pact-o...

The Pact of Free Cities

Ten American cities just joined a global coalition of mayors dedicated to protecting democracy and sustainability even if their national governments don’t

michaelalbertus.substack.com

The Supreme Court’s decision to gut the Voting Rights Act is a crisis for democracy. My interview with Harvard Professor and election law expert @profnickstephan.bsky.social on what it means and how it will unleash more racial and partisan gerrymandering michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/the-suprem...

The Supreme Court's Decision to Gut the Voting Rights Act is a Crisis Moment for American Democracy

My interview with Harvard Law Professor and election law expert Nick Stephanopoulos on what the Callais decision means and how it will unleash a new wave of racial and partisan gerrymandering

michaelalbertus.substack.com

Peru's recent election debacle puts the country in a bind, setting the stage for another vote with few good outcomes michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/perus-demo...

Peru’s Democracy is in a Checkmate

Its recent election debacle sets the stage for a vote with few good outcomes

michaelalbertus.substack.com

Excited to have a new article out at the Journal of Conflict Resolution! The takeaway: Recognition/formalization of marginalized communities during civil conflict can reduce violence & strengthen state authority. 🎉 Article: tinyurl.com/ffcxa5cs

This Sunday's election in Hungary is a major test for global right-wing populism. What that means for democracy in the US & elsewhere 👇 michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/why-jd-van...

Why JD Vance is in Hungary as Iran Burns

This Sunday's election in Hungary could bring down its strongman and signal headwinds for right-wing populists around the globe

michaelalbertus.substack.com

Conversation with Authors from @apsrjournal.bsky.social - @mikealbertus.bsky.social & @victorgayeco.bsky.social discuss their recent #OpenAccess article 'State-Building and Rebellion in the Run-Up to the French Revolution' - https://cup.org/4sz773E

A "Conversation with Authors" post on my recent @apsrjournal.bsky.social paper "State-Building and Rebellion in the Run-Up to the French Revolution", with @victorgayeco.bsky.social. www.cambridge.org/core/blog/20...

State-Building and Rebellion in the Run-Up to the French Revolution « History# « Cambridge Core Blog

In this “Conversation with Authors,” we spoke with APSR authors Michael Albertus and Victor Gay about their open access article, State-Building and Rebellion in the Run-Up to the French Revolution. AP...

cambridge.org

Democracy is declining globally and in the US. Will 2026 prove to be a turning point or breaking point? Data from V-Dem Institute and @freedomhouse.bsky.social michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/democracy-...

Democracy is Declining Globally and in the US, and the Year Ahead Could Prove Decisive

New reports show that the vaunted "Third Wave" of democracy has now been mostly erased and American democracy is on the rocks. 2026 could determine whether there is a turnaround.

michaelalbertus.substack.com

Excited to have a new article accepted at the Journal of Conflict Resolution! 🎉"Adhering Indigenous Communities to the State: Recognition Politics During Civil Conflict." I show that recognition can reduce violence & strengthen state authority. Article: papers.ssrn.com/abstract=644...

Even if the US & Israel succeed in drastically weakening Iran, will it bring stability there or elsewhere in the Middle East? My interview with @stanfordcddrl.bsky.social scholar Hesham Sallam suggests it won't. @wazirelkif.bsky.social michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/a-weaker-i...

A Far Weaker Iran Still Won't Bring Stability to the Middle East

My interview with Stanford University scholar and Associate Director of the Program on Arab Reform and Development Hesham Sallam on what the war in Iran will – and won't – change in the Middle East

michaelalbertus.substack.com

What's next in Iran and the Middle East? Research on international & civil war and on regime change shows how the war could seed conflict and instability across the region and a power vacuum in #Iran itself. My latest post 👇 michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/the-war-in...

What Happens Next in Iran and the Middle East

How the war could seed conflict and instability across the region and a power vacuum in Iran

michaelalbertus.substack.com

The emergence and spread of nation-states is one of the most consequential developments in history. But most states still struggle to centralize control, driving violence. My latest post, based on my article with @victorgayeco.bsky.social @apsrjournal.bsky.social www.broadstreet.blog/cp/188144764

When State-Building Disrupts Rather Than Stabilizes: French Rebellion in the Run-Up to the Revolution

by Mike Albertus and Victor Gay

broadstreet.blog

Excited to share that my newsletter – The Good Society – has surpassed 1,000 subscribers! My latest post on Trump's new Board of Peace, which will erase and transform #Gaza and could refashion international relations as he seeks to replace the UN 👇 michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/trumps-new...

Trump's New Board of Peace

What began with rebuilding Gaza from scratch could rewire global cooperation

michaelalbertus.substack.com

Research shows that repression sometimes backfires, driving spiraling cycles of protest and violence. Excessive federal force, widespread images and videos of ICE abuse, and indiscriminate and mistaken targeting are doing just that in #Minneapolis. 👇 michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/research-o...

Research on Protests and Repression Foretold the Violence in Minneapolis

Excessive federal force, widespread images and videos of ICE abuse, and indiscriminate and mistaken targeting are driving a repetitive repression/backlash cycle

michaelalbertus.substack.com

Great article @financialtimes.com on American land grabs, which shares my conversation with @simonkuper.bsky.social on the power and unceasing allure of land www.ft.com/content/d59c...

How Trump turned international relations into a real-estate game

With his Greenland obsession, the US president is reviving a national tradition: expansion via land grabs

ft.com

#Minneapolis is more than just part of a supercharged deportation campaign: it's a legal and social testing ground for the Trump administration. My latest post 👇 michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/the-explos...

As ICE Turns Minneapolis Into a Battle Ground, Even More is At Stake

More than just part of a supercharged deportation campaign, Minneapolis is a legal and social testing ground for the Trump administration

michaelalbertus.substack.com

After the US intervention in Venezuela, Trump's threats to other countries have accelerated. Who's next on the hit list? My latest post 👇 michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/whos-next-...

Who's Next After Venezuela?

Iran and Cuba are on the Trump administration's hit list. Greenland and Colombia are on its wish list.

michaelalbertus.substack.com

An explainer on the US intervention in Venezuela: what's happening, how the US could "run" it, and what could happen next. Top questions that journalists have asked me about the situation, and my answers

The opposition in #Venezuela has a choice: It could take Trump's snub and lie low, waiting for another inflection point—or return to protests and organizing in hopes of backing Trump or Rodríguez into a corner and forcing elections. My piece at @theatlantic.com www.theatlantic.com/internationa...

The Venezuelan Opposition Has a Choice

As bad as things look, the country’s democratic forces broke through a similar jam in 1958.

theatlantic.com

Can state-building disrupt rather than stabilize society? In a new @apsrjournal.bsky.social article, @victorgayeco.bsky.social and I show that the expansion of state communication networks spurred rebellion for decades in France before the Revolution 👉 Article: doi.org/10.1017/S000... 🧵1/X

The US capture of Nicolás Maduro is a historic turn that repositions the US as openly interventionist in Latin America. But rebuilding Venezuela will be a far harder task. My piece at @theatlantic.com www.theatlantic.com/internationa...

What Democracy in Venezuela Would Require

Toppling a dictatorship is easier than building a functional state to take its place.

theatlantic.com

As 2025 clocks out, my biggest professional thrill this year was my new book Land Power! 🥳🎉 It tells how land became power, how it shapes power, and how who holds that power determines the fundamental social problems that societies grapple with. 🧵 @basicbooksgroup.bsky.social

#3: Land Displacement & the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians with @mikealbertus.bsky.social

Land Displacement & the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians

Land Displacement & the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians page for UNSUNG HISTORY

unsunghistorypodcast.com