Stephen Walt
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Stephen Walt
@stephenwalt.bsky.social
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Harvard professor, realist, FP columnist. Tennis enthusiast, amateur musician, proud dad, & grateful husband. Troubled by the state of the world & looking for solutions. For speaking engagements contact John Bute at [email protected] .. more

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Stephen Martin Walt is an American political scientist serving as the Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of international relations at the Harvard Kennedy School. A member of the realist school of international relations, Walt has made important contributions to the theory of neorealism and has authored the balance of threat theory. Books that he has authored or coauthored include Origins of Alliances, Revolution and War, and The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy. .. more

Political science 72%
Sociology 17%
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Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

portlandrose.bsky.social
Attie (SHE/HER) @portlandrose.bsky.social · 2h
Hoosiers! Indiana! Tonight in Irvington!!

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

bostonreview.bsky.social
Boston Review @bostonreview.bsky.social · 2h
“This is how the myth of political violence works: the right elevates isolated acts—Charlie Kirk’s killing, for example—into proof of radical chaos threatening the nation while obscuring the far greater structural violence carried out daily through policy, policing, deportation, and war.”
What Is Political Violence?
Pundits and politicians conceal the truth: it’s all around us, perpetrated by our political system itself.
www.bostonreview.net

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

rgoodlaw.bsky.social
Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 3h
7/ I have made the 2013 PERF report available here as well as DHS, DOJ, and Customs and Border Patrol Policies on Use of Deadly Force and Moving Vehicles:

www.justsecurity.org/128498/dhs-d...

DHS, DOJ, and Customs and Border Patrol Policies on Use of Deadly Force and Moving Vehicles
Collection of use of force policies issued by the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Patrol, and the Department of Justice over time.
www.justsecurity.org

stephenwalt.bsky.social
Stephen Walt @stephenwalt.bsky.social · 1d
JD Vance says new federal anti-fraud efforts will be run “out of the White House.” That’s good; they won’t have to leave the building. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/08/u...
Vance Announces New Justice Dept. Fraud Post to Be ‘Run Out of the White House’
www.nytimes.com

stephenwalt.bsky.social
Stephen Walt @stephenwalt.bsky.social · 2d
Bad Cop; Worse Cop.

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

foreignpolicy.com
Foreign Policy @foreignpolicy.com · 2d
Trying to run the Western Hemisphere at the point of a gun is not going to work any better in the future than it did in the past.
The ‘Donroe Doctrine’ Makes No Sense
Even a generous reading results in a heap of contradictions.
foreignpolicy.com

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

joshuajfriedman.com
Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 2d
"We were raising our son to believe that no matter where you come from or what you look like, all of us deserve compassion and kindness. Renee lived this belief every day. ...

"On Wednesday, January 7th, we stopped to support our neighbors. We had whistles. They had guns." —Becca Good

Reposted by Robert Wolfe

stephenwalt.bsky.social
Stephen Walt @stephenwalt.bsky.social · 2d
#Trump & Co. claim to be ‘realists” who understand how power works in world politics In this NYT piece, Linda Kinstler talks to realist scholars (including yours truly) who explain what Trump and his minions get wrong. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/09/m...
The Theory That Gives Trump a Blank Check for Aggression
www.nytimes.com

stephenwalt.bsky.social
Stephen Walt @stephenwalt.bsky.social · 2d
#Trump told NYT that the only limit on his power is “my own morality.” Would love to hear him unpack the ethical framework that justifies his chronic lying, business fraud, sexual abuse, racism, hateful rhetoric, and willingness to inflict unnecessary suffering on vast numbers of innocent people.

stephenwalt.bsky.social
Stephen Walt @stephenwalt.bsky.social · 2d
Remember when #Trump warned of “carnage” in America in his 2017 Inaugural? What he didn’t mention is that he was going to bring it—first on January 6, 2021, and now by unleashing ICE.

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

ryanenos.bsky.social
Ryan Enos @ryanenos.bsky.social · 2d
bsky.app/profile/bjgu...

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, David Rothschild, Kristina McElheran

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B.J. Gunts @bjgunts.bsky.social · 2d
In Casablanca, the opening scene depicts nazis demanding to see papers then shooting a ma who runs away. However, it’s slightly more complicated because the man wasn’t cooperating and the officer was practicing self defense.

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Jan W. Mueller, Matthew Bunn , and 19 more

gbbranstetter.bsky.social
Gillian Branstetter @gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 3d
Editorial in the National Catholic Reporter: "The vice president's comments justifying the death of Renee Good are a moral stain on the collective witness of our Catholic faith. His repeated attempts to blame Good for her own death are fundamentally incompatible with the Gospel."
Catholic Vice President Vance takes to social media to justify killing of Renee Good
After the tragic shooting of Renee Good at the hands of ICE, the Catholic vice president of the United States took to social media to justify the killing.
www.ncronline.org

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Brendan Nyhan, Philip N. Cohen

jonathanmladd.com
Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 3d
Earlier today, Elon Musk endorsed full-on Neo-Nazi blood and soil ideology.
Elon Musk tweet

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, John McLaren, Christopher Wright , and 14 more

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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 3d
Yes, JD. Let’s ask them if they think a stay at home mom, avowed Christian, and widow of a veteran deserved to be shot in the face and left to bleed out in her own car after dropping her 6-year-old off at school, for the crime of looking out for her neighbors. Let’s ask everyone running for office.

stephenwalt.bsky.social
Stephen Walt @stephenwalt.bsky.social · 3d
A law degree, and no principles, conscience, or integrity whatsoever.

stephenwalt.bsky.social
Stephen Walt @stephenwalt.bsky.social · 3d
Re the #ICEKILLING in Minnesota—Americans are facing an increasingly clear choice: do they want to live in a police state or not?

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Robert Wolfe

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Judah Grunstein @judah-grunstein.bsky.social · 3d
This has multiple angles of video from the murder scene, for anyone who doesn't wish to see it.

But the NYT has excelled at this kind of video forensics in recent years, and it very convincingly debunks the Trump regime's version of events.
Video: Videos Contradict Trump Administration Account of ICE Shooting in Minneapolis
An analysis of footage from three camera angles shows that the motorist was driving away from — not toward — a federal officer when he opened fire.
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Harvey J. Kaye

atrupar.com
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 3d
Noem accuses Renee Nicole Good of "an attempt to kill or to cause bodily harm to agents -- an act of domestic terrorism."

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

profsaunders.bsky.social
Elizabeth N. Saunders @profsaunders.bsky.social · 4d
The nation's top diplomat and Archivist of the United States

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Carl Henrik Knutsen, Adam J. Berinsky , and 1 more

brendannyhan.bsky.social
Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 5d
What Rs said at the time

Pence: "a dark day"
Rubio: "3rd world style anti-American anarchy"
Cruz: "violence...is ALWAYS wrong"
Graham: Trump's "actions were the problem"
Stefanik: "a truly tragic day"
McCarthy: "undemocratic, un-American and criminal"
McConnell: "a disgrace"

And now we are lied to

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Lisa W. Fazio, Ben H. Ansell , and 48 more

tamu-aaup.bsky.social
AAUP Texas A&M-College Station Chapter @tamu-aaup.bsky.social · 5d
From an email to one of our faculty members....

Not even Plato can escape censorship at Texas A&M!

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Efrén O. Pérez

brendannyhan.bsky.social
Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 5d
An ominous but essential read today, five years after January 6: "Democracies are often undone not only by successful coups, but by the normalization of failed ones."
dziblatt.bsky.social Daniel Ziblatt @dziblatt.bsky.social · 5d
Some reflections from me on January 6 in comparative and historical perspective (first time on substack)

open.substack.com/pub/ziblatt4...
January 6 in Historical Perspective
January 6, 2026
open.substack.com

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Dana R. Fisher, Halley E. Froehlich

thomaszimmer.bsky.social
Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 5d
January 6 in History

Wrote this two years ago: “If the insurrectionist-in-chief returns to power without ever facing any real consequences and while explicitly declaring his intent to establish a vindictive autocracy, then January 6 will have been successful.”

And here we are.
January 6 in History
Was it a key moment in the republic’s eventual demise or a milestone on the road to democracy’s ultimate triumph? The meaning of January 6 is yet to be determined
steady.page

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

siobhanmcelduff.bsky.social
Siobhán McElduff @siobhanmcelduff.bsky.social · 5d
Thucydides did not write the Melian Dialogue for people to forget Athens lost the Peloponnesian War.

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Axel Bruns, Jesse H. Kroll , and 11 more

mehdirhasan.bsky.social
Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan.bsky.social · 5d
A reminder - before Trump, MAGA, Musk and Fox rewrote history - that this is what the entire country agreed had happened five years ago today:

stephenwalt.bsky.social
Stephen Walt @stephenwalt.bsky.social · 6d
IR theorists sometimes distinguish between insecure states that use force to try to make themselves safer, and secure states that use force because they are greedy and “because they can.” Guess which one the US is.

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Jacob Montgomery, Rebecca Tushnet , and 3 more

brendannyhan.bsky.social
Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 6d
In competitive authoritarian regimes, the government deters and undermines opposition by using its powers to inflict costs on those who challenge it rather than recognizing their legitimacy as democratic opponents
cnbc.com CNBC @cnbc.com · 6d
The Pentagon will cut the military retirement pay of Sen. Mark Kelly for what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the Arizona Democrat’s “seditious” statements on a video telling service members they have the right to refuse to execute illegal orders.

Read more: cnb.cx/495FHLo

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Ryan Enos, David Darmofal

ericmgarcia.bsky.social
Eric Michael Garcia @ericmgarcia.bsky.social · 6d
Mark Kelly blasts Hegseth attempting to lower his military rank and pension. Saying "If Pete Hegseth, the most unqualified Secretary of Defense in our country’s history, thinks he can intimidate me with a censure or threats to demote me or prosecute me, he still doesn’t get it."
“Over twenty-five years in the U.S. Navy, thirty-nine combat missions, and four missions to space, I risked my life for this country and to defend our Constitution — including the First Amendment rights of every American to speak out. I never expected that the President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense would attack me for doing exactly that. “My rank and retirement are things that I earned through my service and sacrifice for this country. I got shot at. I missed holidays and birthdays. I commanded a space shuttle mission while my wife Gabby recovered from a gunshot wound to the head — all while proudly wearing the American flag on my shoulder. Generations of servicemembers have made these same patriotic sacrifices for this country, earning the respect, appreciation, and rank they deserve. “Pete Hegseth wants to send the message to every single retired servicemember that if they say something he or Donald Trump doesn’t like, they will come after them the same way. It’s outrageous and it is wrong. There is nothing more un-American than that. “If Pete Hegseth, the most unqualified Secretary of Defense in our country’s history, thinks he can intimidate me with a censure or threats to demote me or prosecute me, he still doesn’t get it. I will fight this with everything I’ve got — not for myself, but to send a message back that Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump don’t get to decide what Americans in this country get to say about their government.”

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Michael E. Mann, Lisa W. Fazio , and 23 more

sfcpoll.bsky.social
Scott Clement @sfcpoll.bsky.social · 6d
One of the most lopsided results you'll ever see in a poll, from our weekend Washington Post poll www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...