Nicholas Lees
@ndmlees.bsky.social
Senior Lecturer in International Politics, University of Liverpool. Foreign policy, global inequality, democracy and conflict. https://www.nicholasdmlees.net/
We are recruiting several colleagues in politics and internationsl relations. In a tough job market, this is a significant expansion and could be a great opportunity. Please share with potential candidates! tinyurl.com/4zmcmy6a tinyurl.com/3nse3a48
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Probably true, but will be resisted by managers up and down the UK. Also a very imperfect fix as LLMs provide shortcuts to reading and note-writing.
Stephen Bush@stephenkb.bsky.social · 2mo agoShower thought: we are going to have a really fascinating public policy experiment in a few years when essentially all universities across the world, with their very different funding models, have reverted back to timed examinations in exam halls.
The outpouring of sympathy for the alleged stabber has been repulsive, although unsurprising given the current trajectory.
Humble Novice@humblenovice.bsky.social · 3mo agoSomeone kick this deranged evil woman to the abyss.
Funded PhD opportunity for a UK candidate working on the politics of Central and Eastern Europe (conceived broadly) at Liverpool University. This could be a great opportunity. www.liverpool.ac.uk/histories-la...
Postgraduate research | School of Histories, Languages and Cultures | University of Liverpool
liverpool.ac.uk
One type of publication that my students find really useful and get a lot from is the medium-n qualitative survey of multiple cases. I'd like to find more good examples in the foreign policy analysis/international conflict field. Three good examples below.
One of the most perceptive points I've seen, similar to the idea that crises are the product of complacency - a self-defeating prophecy.
@spherical-cow.bsky.social · 7mo agoThe fact that Trump can only be relied on to chicken out when the S&P takes a hit means the TACO theory is a bit like the efficient market hypothesis, it doesn't really work if everyone believes it.
Has anyone checked on the Quincy Institute leftists since Friday evening?
Every year in Semester 1 computer lab sessions. Many are actively keen to develop computer skills they know they are lacking.
Andrew Reeves@andrewsshi.bsky.social · 8mo agoFor the decade and a half that I've been teaching full time, I've been hearing about, "today's students, who are digital natives," and every year, Today's Digital Natives somehow get less and less tech savvy.
Yesterday was a very busy day for our department and knowledge production! Thank you to everyone who attended the book launch for Dr @ndmlees.bsky.social and our offsite round table for the Dayton Peace Agreement which featured Dr @birtegippert.bsky.social at @ljmuofficial.bsky.social 📚👩⚖️⚖️
An excellent day for the Liverpool politics departments A superb book launch by the superb @ndmlees.bsky.social at UoL And a brilliant roundtable at LJMU reflecting on 30 years since the Dayton Peace Agreement organised by @matesuba.bsky.social @birtegippert.bsky.social
Launch event for my new book 'The International Relations of the North-South Divide' today.
Liv Uni Politics@livunipol.bsky.social · 10mo agoSave the date 📅 We have an upcoming book launch by our very own @ndmlees.bsky.social on November 19th! 📚 Dr Nicholas Lees’ research examines the relationship between inequality, conflict, and democracy in world politics! We hope you can join us for what will be an exciting conversation.
An underrated big picture question is why small, rich countries exist. Why aren't they bullied and extorted by countries with greater total resources?
This is overall quite similar to Michael Mann's analysis of fascism's appeal as offering a) revenge for frightened elites b) 'cracking heads together' to get the nation moving again during a period of class conflict.
Alistair Davidson@moh-kohn.eurosky.social · 9mo agoMy rough view of fascism's rise 🧵 There are always reactionaries, in every human society They disproportionately benefit from early phases of new media technologies because mis/disinformation helps them and institutional and cultural antibodies haven't been developed
Jost's recent book provides a new analysis of the dangers of fragmented national security institutions. The accompanying article in International Studies Quarterly has a slightly different (and better designed) quantitative analysis as well as an extra case study: academic.oup.com/isq/article/...
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Cambridge University Press Political Science & IR@cambup-polsci.cambridge.org · 2y agoThe latest in the Cambridge Studies in International Relations (CSIR) series, 'Bureaucracies at War: The Institutional Origins of Miscalculation' by Tyler Jost is a significant contribution to the field of IR. 📚 cup.org/3BKnhBQ 📚 cc @mybisa.bsky.social #IRsky
Book launch event upcoming!
Liv Uni Politics@livunipol.bsky.social · 10mo agoSave the date 📅 We have an upcoming book launch by our very own @ndmlees.bsky.social on November 19th! 📚 Dr Nicholas Lees’ research examines the relationship between inequality, conflict, and democracy in world politics! We hope you can join us for what will be an exciting conversation.
'the Security Dilemma... does not exist without underlying competition – actual or potential – over scarce, coveted objects of human desire, which is the overlooked reason why the Dilemma flares up in the first place. The structural realists’ ‘explanation’ has no engine.' Azar Gat
Is the decline of war a delusion? An exchange between researchers following the publication of Azar Gat’s article on the subject
Published in Journal of Strategic Studies (Vol. 48, No. 4, 2025)
tandfonline.com
The book is now with the publisher for printing and distribution. bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/the-internat...
The International Relations of the North–South Divide
The International Relations of the North–South Divide - Historical Inequality, Contemporary Disagreement and World Politics; Available open access digitally under a CC-BY-NC-ND license. This book exam...
bristoluniversitypress.co.uk
An absolute classic. I think it's a broader phenomenon: 'We pretend to work and you pretend to pay us' ; 'We pretend to study and you pretend to test us'.
Julia M. Rohrer@dingdingpeng.the100.ci · 10mo agoGambetta & Origgi on the LL Game, in which agents prefer to deliver and receive (!) low quality. This paper is absolutely savage but also feels uncomfortably relevant to parts of academia outside of Italy 👀 diegogambetta.org/wp-content/u...
Just read this very interesting contribution to the debate on the Global South as a diplomatic coalition at the United Nations by Gorana Draguljić and @nickanspach.bsky.social academic.oup.com/isagsq/artic...
Southern Solidarity? A Mixed-Methods Analysis of The G77 in the United Nations General Assembly
Abstract. North–South politics are a defining feature of modern international relations. Yet as the Global South becomes increasingly diverse, questions re
academic.oup.com
Another great thread from Liam, genuinely very thought provoking.
@lastpositivist.bsky.social · 12mo agoIn my mind Auden, Robert Frost, Rawls, CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien (slight edge case cos he was Catholic) and Mr. Rodgers are all part of the same early-mid 20thC. cultural movement which was trying to synthesise this genteel version of WASP culture, and it didn't quite work so now their hegemony is over.
Really great thread. Seems to me like some of the 'restrainers' and unilateralists were suffering from what Jon Elster calls the 'younger sibling' fallacy - that others won't react strategically to our own strategic actions.
Dr. Raymond Kuo | 郭泓均@kuorum.bsky.social · last yr.IR Theory 🧵: One issue I have with unilateralist and restraint approaches to foreign policy is that they assume other countries have no choice but to maintain their policies even the face of US withdrawal from global leadership. The US can get all the benefits of global leadership without the cost.
Had a great @mybisa.bsky.social panel on foreign policy of Global South states feat Obert Hodzi, Ahmed Umar, Thaís Doria with Meera Sabaratnam as discussant.
Most self-proclaimed 'geopolitics analysts' simply aren't very good at analysing geopolitics. It's usually little more than sports commentary, with a terrible signal to noise ratio.
BeijingPalmer@beijingpalmer.bsky.social · last yr.remember how the Gaza tunnels were an invulnerable fortress into which Hamas would simply retreat? and how Hizbollah would resist the Israeli forces in Lebanon to the death? and how Iranian missiles would wreck Israeli sites? there's been a lot of bad wish casting.
In a week and a day, I'll be presenting findings from my new book The International Relations of the North-South Divide as part of the British International Studies Association conference in Belfast. Looking forward to sharing ideas with others interested in Global South foreign policy.
Looking forward to @mybisa.bsky.social - where I'll be discussing 'Southern Strategies: Foreign Policy Perspectives of Global South States' with a great group of panelists. My paper offers a new way of looking at foreign policy differences between Global South states, using cluster analysis.
My forthcoming book with Bristol University Press, The International Relations of the North-South Divide, now available to pre-order from Blackwells. blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/pro...
The International Relations of the North-South Divide
Available open access digitally under a CC-BY-NC-ND license. This book examines the significance of both historical and contemporary inequality in shaping diplo
blackwells.co.uk
Research (incl mine) shows that making decisions in a bubble based on loyalty rather than competence can be disastrous for foreign & economic policy (never thought my research on dictatorships would be relevant to the US rather than its adversaries) www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9780801...
Dictators at War and Peace by Jessica L. P. Weeks | Paperback | Cornell University Press
The first book to focus systematically on the foreign policy of different types of authoritarian regimes, Dictators at War and Peace breaks new ground in our understanding of the international behavio...
cornellpress.cornell.edu