İhsan Yılmaz | Lightnews

Ihsan Yilmaz

@ihsanylmz.bsky.social

200 followers 160 following 15 posts

Research Professor at Melbourne Deakin Uni. Religion and Politics; Digital Politics; Emotions; Populism; Authoritarianism; Transnationalism.

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Political science 70%

Sociology 17%

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Ihsan Yilmaz @ihsanylmz.bsky.social · Mar 30

Can you please circulate?

PhD Scholarship:

The Effectiveness of Authoritarian Sharp Power Online in Influencing Diaspora Groups

www.deakin.edu.au/study/fees-a...

HDR Scholarship - Sharp power effectiveness

PhD Scholarship to research The Effectiveness of Authoritarian Sharp Power Online in Influencing Diaspora Groups

www.deakin.edu.au

Reposted by İhsan Yılmaz, Robin Celikates, Scott A. Imberman , and 1 more İhsan Yılmaz, Robin Celikates, Scott A. Imberman, Philipp Sarasin

The Associated Press @apnews.com · 1d

BREAKING: 11 people were killed at Sydney's Bondi Beach in an attack on the Jewish community, an official says.

Gunmen kill 9 at Bondi Beach; police kill one, arrest another

Two gunmen have shot dead nine people at Sydney’s Bondi Beach. This tragic event occurred on Sunday.

bit.ly

Reposted by İhsan Yılmaz

Jewish Council of Australia @jewishcouncilau.bsky.social · 1d

To be confronted with this horrific act of antisemitic violence during the Jewish festival of light and hope is shattering. In moments like this, we hold each other close.

We should all be able to gather with our communities, practice our culture, and worship in safety. 3/4

Reposted by İhsan Yılmaz

European Center for Populism Studies (ECPS) @populismstudies.bsky.social · 7d

📢 ECPS Commentary

🧭 Why Europe, Not China or Russia, Is the Civilisational Problem in Trump’s NSS

✍️ By Nicholas Morieson

🔖 Why does Trump’s NSS characterise Europe—rather than America’s great-power rivals—as the real civilisational crisis zone?

📖 Read: 📎 www.populismstudies.org/why-europe-n...

Reposted by İhsan Yılmaz, Timothy Graham

Dan @dannno0o.bsky.social · 12d

Super happy that my friends @katemfitzgerald.bsky.social, @timothyjgraham.bsky.social and I have just published a chapter about conspiracy theories, their formation and persistence on digital platforms. Edited by @ihsanylmz.bsky.social & Shahram Akbarzadeh

www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-...

The Persistence of Informational Manipulation and the Appropriation of

This chapter introduces the concepts of conspiratorial publics and conspiratorial canon within the context of Strategic Digital Information Operations (SDIOs)

www.taylorfrancis.com

Reposted by İhsan Yılmaz

Information Age @information-age.bsky.social · 28d

OPINION: "Warnings last week from ASIO about sabotage threats marked an important shift in tone," write Deakin University's @ihsanylmz.bsky.social & Nicholas Morieson.

"And they raise important questions about how the Australian government should respond."

Read more: ia.acs.org.au/article/2025...

The threat of sabotage from China is growing

That’s not an excuse to erode Australians’ freedoms.

ia.acs.org.au

Ihsan Yilmaz @ihsanylmz.bsky.social · Nov 14

theconversation.com/the-threat-o...

The threat of sabotage from China is growing. That’s not an excuse to erode Australians’ freedoms

There’s a risk of a slide towards digital authoritarianism as Australia responds to these growing threats.

theconversation.com

Ihsan Yilmaz @ihsanylmz.bsky.social · Oct 14

The Rise of Social Media and the Fall of Western Democracy www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/o...

Opinion | The Rise of Social Media and the Fall of Western Democracy

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by İhsan Yılmaz

Bülent Kenes @bkenes.bsky.social · Oct 8

The six copies of the book titled “Hybrid Transnationalism and Repression: Turkey’s Diaspora Under Authoritarian Islamist Siege”, which I co-authored with my dear friend @ihsanylmz.bsky.social , have just arrived from the publisher.

Ihsan Yilmaz @ihsanylmz.bsky.social · Oct 3

It Begins With a Joke. Comics in the World’s Largest Democracy Know Where It Ends. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/w...

It Begins With a Joke. Comics in the World’s Largest Democracy Know Where It Ends.

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by İhsan Yılmaz

Cas Mudde @casmudde.bsky.social · Oct 2

An absolutely depressing read on the state of higher education in the UK… solidarity with my colleagues.

Where now for Britain’s Universities?

UK higher education now faces a very bleak future, retreating in the face of little public sympathy and limited political interest.

politicalquarterly.org.uk

Reposted by İhsan Yılmaz

Cas Mudde @casmudde.bsky.social · Oct 2

Horrible news to wake up to. My heart goes out to everyone affected. 💔

Manchester synagogue attack latest: suspect shot after four people injured in vehicle and stabbing attack, police say

Keir Starmer will fly home early from Europe to chair a Cobra meeting, while Greater Manchester mayor tells people to avoid the area

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by İhsan Yılmaz

Nate Schenkkan @nateschenkkan.bsky.social · Sep 30

This is US cooperation in transnational repression www.rferl.org/a/iran-us-de...

Iran Confirms Deportation Of 120 Citizens From US This Week

Iran has confirmed that approximately 120 of its citizens will be deported from the United States and returned home this week.

www.rferl.org

Reposted by İhsan Yılmaz

The Guardian @theguardian.com · Sep 28

The week in Trump absurdities: from Turkey’s ‘rigged elections’ to ‘your countries are going to hell’

The president, in five days, has claimed Tylenol causes autism, he was sabotaged at the UN and pronounced his rivals ‘guilty as hell’

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by İhsan Yılmaz, Matthijs Rooduijn

Jan-Werner Mueller @jwmueller-pu.bsky.social · Sep 23

'It has been widely observed that the speed of America’s democratic slide surpasses that of other “elective autocracies” such as Narendra Modi’s India and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Turkey. But that understates Trump’s impatience.'

America’s accelerating exit from itself

After the Kirk murder, Trump is pulverising the country’s founding principles with astonishing ease

www.ft.com

Reposted by İhsan Yılmaz

Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · Sep 22

I'd describe the new push to recognize Palestine as "mostly harmless"...

were it not for the fact that these efforts are mostly a fig leaf for not taking more aggressive action to stop what virtually every international human rights organization now describes as a genocide.

Reposted by İhsan Yılmaz

The New York Times @nytimes.com · Sep 21

Breaking News: Britain, Canada and Australia formally recognized Palestinian statehood.

Britain, Australia and Canada Recognize a Palestinian State

The announcements came on the eve of the annual gathering of the U.N. General Assembly.

nyti.ms

Reposted by İhsan Yılmaz, Steve Peers, Caroline Krafft , and 10 more İhsan Yılmaz, Steve Peers, Caroline Krafft, Alain‐G. Gagnon, Robert Wolfe, Jacob T. Levy, Bessma Momani, Jason Lyall, Christian Fisch, Henrik Skaug Sætra, Simon Lester, Rebecca Zorach, Markus W. Gehring

Mark Carney @mark-carney.bsky.social · Sep 21

Today, Canada recognises the State of Palestine.

My statement: www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/stat...

Quote graphic featuring the following quote from Prime Minister Carney’s statement on Canada’s recognition of Palestine: “Canada recognises the State of Palestine and offers our partnership in building the promise of a peaceful future for both the State of Palestine and the State of Israel.”

Reposted by Axel Bruns, İhsan Yılmaz

Timothy Graham @timothyjgraham.bsky.social · Sep 20

The road to authoritarianism - total information control.

bsky.app/profile/scot...

Scott Nover @scottnover.bsky.social · Sep 19

NEW: The Pentagon told journalists it will require them to pledge they won’t gather any information — even unclassified — that hasn’t been expressly authorized for release, and will revoke the press credentials of those who do not obey. @washingtonpost.com

Pentagon demands journalists pledge to not obtain unauthorized material

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is imposing strict new rules that would severely limit the ability of journalists to report on the Pentagon.

www.washingtonpost.com

Reposted by İhsan Yılmaz

Cas Mudde @casmudde.bsky.social · Sep 19

I wrote for @theguardian.com about the “Unite the Kingdom” rally.

High time to pull head out of the sand and learn from other countries — if only on what NOT to do!

After the far-right mass rally in London, Britain must learn lessons from abroad – and fast | Cas Mudde

This is no time for complacent exceptionalism. The UK is part of the fourth phase of the far right in the postwar era, and its politicians must respond, says political scientist Cas Mudde

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by İhsan Yılmaz, Naomi Priest

Jon Piccini @jonpiccini.bsky.social · Sep 19

Australia's universities are blighted by a "culture of consequence-free, rotten failure", according to the former chair of a senate inquiry examining governance at public universities. ... "There's no other sector in the country where failure is rewarded so handsomely and with so little scrutiny."

'Rotten' Australian university culture lashed in long-running senate inquiry

Australia's universities are blighted by a "culture of consequence-free, rotten failure", a senate inquiry has found.

www.abc.net.au

Reposted by İhsan Yılmaz

Lisel Hintz @liselhintz.bsky.social · Sep 18

Trump's emotional targeting of comedy figures is so telling. Hypermasculine strongmen DESPISE being made fun of.

Again, look to Turkey. Experts literally testified on whether comparing Erdoğan to Gollum was an insult. A guy sharing a meme was jailed.

And then there's the satire magazine closures.

Ihsan Yilmaz @ihsanylmz.bsky.social · Sep 17

What Democrats Can Learn From Charlie Kirk www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/o...

Opinion | What Democrats Can Learn From Charlie Kirk

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Marc Lynch, İhsan Yılmaz

Nicholas Danforth @nicholasdanfort.bsky.social · Sep 17

My latest from @foreignpolicy.com

"Just recently, Turkey stood out for its repeated assaults on international norms. Now, those norms have been shattered by a host of bigger and more aggressive actors, and Turkey looks almost calm in comparison.

foreignpolicy.com/2025/09/17/t...

Erdogan’s Irredentism Just Can’t Keep Up

As international norms crumble, Turkey’s revisionist policies appear less provocative in comparison.

foreignpolicy.com

Reposted by İhsan Yılmaz

Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · Sep 13

My comments in FT

“What the government seems to want to do is not destroy the CHP but to take it over; not to eradicate it, but to neuter it..." Turkey could then become like the joke about the Shah’s Iran “where there is a ‘Yes’ party and a ‘Yes, Sir’ party.”

www.ft.com/content/423f...

Is this the end of Atatürk’s party?

[FREE TO READ] A campaign threatens to give President Erdoğan control of Turkey’s largest opposition force, started by the nation’s founder

www.ft.com

Reposted by Marc Lynch, İhsan Yılmaz

Jonas Draege @draege.bsky.social · Sep 11

My article "Film-Making the Nation Great Again" with
@liselhintz.bsky.social is out now in @poppublicsphere.bsky.social!

doi.org/10.1017/S153...

We show how Turkey’s ruling party instrumentalizes history through emotionally evocative videos to legitimize the authoritarian incumbent

🧵

Author Screenshot (T.C. İletişim Başkanlığı 2020)

Reposted by İhsan Yılmaz, Jo Barraket, Catriona Seth

The Guardian @theguardian.com · Sep 7

Warsaw opens metro station ‘express’ library to get commuters off their phones

Metroteka aims to encourage people to read more in country that lost majority of libraries in second world war

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Axel Bruns, İhsan Yılmaz

Crikey @crikey.com.au · Sep 4

The golden rule of reporting on neo-Nazis? Don’t interview them.

How to report on neo-Nazis without giving them what they want

Media coverage of the anti-immigration marches was a 'propaganda triumph' for Australian neo-Nazis, who use media-baiting tactics to spread their message.

www.crikey.com.au

Reposted by İhsan Yılmaz

Guardian Australia @australia.theguardian.com · Sep 4

Daniel Andrews’ photo with dictators is a glaring reminder of Australia’s hypocrisy on human rights | Daniela Gavshon

A government can’t half care about human rights. And Australia’s ‘disagree where we must’ approach with China enables abuse and undermines our national interest * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast A photo of former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews alongside the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, during a military parade in Beijing raised troubling questions. Earlier, former New South Wales premier Bob Carr sought to pre-emptively justify his possible attendance at the event (although he didn’t in the end) in an opinion piece. While it is difficult for the Australian government to control the actions of former officials, the photo still raises the question how the two former premiers found themselves in a situation where they were either in a photo or contemplated attending an event with all these known grave violators of human rights. Perhaps it is because the Australian government sends mixed messages about responding to human rights abuses when committed by some governments. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by İhsan Yılmaz

Alex Dukalskis @alexdukalskis.bsky.social · Sep 3

“Diffusion of Digital Authoritarian Practices in China’s Neighbourhood: The Cases of Iran and Pakistan.”

by Galib Bashirov, Shahram Akbarzadeh, @ihsanylmz.bsky.social and Zahid Shahab Ahmed

in @democratization.bsky.social (2025)

#AutumnReading