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jlpweeks.bsky.social
Jessica Weeks
@jlpweeks.bsky.social
470 followers 270 following 19 posts
Professor of Political Science at University of Wisconsin-Madison
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jlpweeks.bsky.social
Jessica Weeks @jlpweeks.bsky.social · 1d
Step 1: Use the attached imagery to recruit a certain kind of ICE officer. Step 2: Unleash them on US cities w/few restrictions. Step 3: Call in the national guard to "protect" them from the resulting "insurrections". Having read some things about dictatorships, pretty sure I know what Steps 4+ are.
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Reposted by Jessica Weeks
christinaboyes.bsky.social
Christina Boyes @christinaboyes.bsky.social · May 9
Sign here!: forms.gle/pwB8bG7AjgJ8...
Journeys in World Politics NSF Grant Revocation Appeal
The purpose of this form is to collect signatures for the Journeys in World Politics NSF grant revocation appeal letter. By sharing your contact information below, you indicate that you wish to be inc...
forms.gle
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jlpweeks.bsky.social
Jessica Weeks @jlpweeks.bsky.social · May 2
Alumnae: help us appeal! bsky.app/profile/did:...
jlpweeks.bsky.social
Jessica Weeks @jlpweeks.bsky.social · May 2
Alumae: please help us appeal the Journeys termination! Thank you @christinaboyes.bsky.social @sbmitche.bsky.social
sbmitche.bsky.social
Sara Mitchell @sbmitche.bsky.social · May 2
The NSF grant funding the Journeys in World Politics program was terminated last week. We are working on an appeal. If you are an alumnae of the program, and are willing to join a support letter, please contact @christinaboyes.bsky.social within the next week (our appeal window is short). Thanks!
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jlpweeks.bsky.social
Jessica Weeks @jlpweeks.bsky.social · May 2
Alumae: please help us appeal the Journeys termination! Thank you @christinaboyes.bsky.social @sbmitche.bsky.social
sbmitche.bsky.social
Sara Mitchell @sbmitche.bsky.social · May 2
The NSF grant funding the Journeys in World Politics program was terminated last week. We are working on an appeal. If you are an alumnae of the program, and are willing to join a support letter, please contact @christinaboyes.bsky.social within the next week (our appeal window is short). Thanks!
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Reposted by Jessica Weeks
dangaristo.bsky.social
Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · May 1
BREAKING: NSF has frozen all grant funding, as of yesterday. It's unclear when they will resume funding awards, or why the pause has been put in place. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Exclusive: NSF stops awarding new grants and funding existing ones
US science funder also plans to screen grant applications for compliance with ‘agency priorities’.
www.nature.com
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Reposted by Jessica Weeks
kevinmkruse.bsky.social
Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · Apr 30
Finally, they’re getting rid of the woke scholars that populate the field of … diplomatic history?
profsaunders.bsky.social
Elizabeth N. Saunders @profsaunders.bsky.social · Apr 30
Unhappy to confirm that the entire Historical Advisory Committee at the State Department received termination notices this afternoon (myself included). The HAC, set up by Congress, oversees the office that produces the FRUS series. history.state.gov/about/hac/in... 1/
Tim Naftali's tweet on the termination of the HAC members without cause.
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jlpweeks.bsky.social
Jessica Weeks @jlpweeks.bsky.social · Apr 30
Bonus: fascinating and vivid description of backsliding in Hungary
jlpweeks.bsky.social
Jessica Weeks @jlpweeks.bsky.social · Apr 30
Excellent article, w/ cause for both fear and hope. Fear: Things "may feel basically normal...but...this is the way it often feels, even after things have already spun out of control." Hope: Under competitive authoritarianism, "an autocrat, even one who has already stacked the deck, can still lose."
newyorker.com
The New Yorker @newyorker.com · Apr 28
Nothing in politics is permanent, nor inevitable. “We spent centuries, as a society, building up democratic muscle, and we still have a lot of that muscle left,” the political scientist Steven Levitsky said. “I just keep waiting for someone to use it.”
Is the U.S. Becoming an Autocracy?
Other countries have watched their democracies slip away gradually, without tanks in the streets. That may be where we’re headed—or where we already are.
www.newyorker.com
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Reposted by Jessica Weeks
foreignaffairs.com
Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · Apr 29
Research universities have propelled innovation and bolstered American power since World War II, writes Sarah Kreps. The Trump administration’s assault on academia is not a principled move—it is a self-defeating one.
An Attack on America’s Universities Is an Attack on American Power
How academia bolsters national security.
www.foreignaffairs.com
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jlpweeks.bsky.social
Jessica Weeks @jlpweeks.bsky.social · Apr 28
See also Erica et al's excellent new book showing how personalism can infect democratic politics global.oup.com/academic/pro... (with Joe Wright and Andrea Kendall-Taylor)
global.oup.com
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jlpweeks.bsky.social
Jessica Weeks @jlpweeks.bsky.social · Apr 28
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...
www.cornellpress.cornell.edu
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jlpweeks.bsky.social
Jessica Weeks @jlpweeks.bsky.social · Apr 28
I highly recommend revisiting Erica Frantz's excellent interview with @ezrakleinbot.bsky.social that goes into a lot of detail about how Trump is personalizing decisionmaking at the top www.nytimes.com/2025/01/10/o...
Opinion | Trump 2.0 and the Return of ‘Court Politics’
The political scientist Erica Frantz describes the regime change the second Trump administration represents.
www.nytimes.com
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jlpweeks.bsky.social
Jessica Weeks @jlpweeks.bsky.social · Apr 28
I tend not to be too alarmist - but it is *extremely* alarming that decisions about U.S. national security are being made in a decisionmaking structure that is starting to look more like a personalist dictatorship than a democracy.
pbump.com
Philip Bump @pbump.com · Apr 28
Decades of building an informational universe in which loyalty and loudness are the central virtues has resulted in a president and a senior team unprepared for reality. Gift link: wapo.st/44ce0i3
Opinion | The bubble that created Trump is the reason he’s stumbling
The White House is now a bubble where loyalty, not ability, defines success.
wapo.st
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jlpweeks.bsky.social
Jessica Weeks @jlpweeks.bsky.social · Apr 25
I’m so, so sorry. Just gutting.
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jlpweeks.bsky.social
Jessica Weeks @jlpweeks.bsky.social · Apr 25
I am so sorry Sabrina. That is devastating to hear. What a loss and waste.
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jlpweeks.bsky.social
Jessica Weeks @jlpweeks.bsky.social · Apr 25
@bashleyleeds.bsky.social @mattesmc.bsky.social @adelineylo.bsky.social @tanishafazal.bsky.social @burcusavun.bsky.social
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jlpweeks.bsky.social
Jessica Weeks @jlpweeks.bsky.social · Apr 25
Apparently Journeys "no longer effectuate[s] the program goals or agency priorities." I know we'll fight hard to find a way to keep Journeys alive, and help women find their place in IR. But for now - it's crushing.
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jlpweeks.bsky.social
Jessica Weeks @jlpweeks.bsky.social · Apr 25
The workshop had been held for more than 2 decades (pioneered by @sbmitche.bsky.social and Kelly Kadera). In 2024, we received NSF funding to hold four future workshops at Iowa, UW-Madison, and USCD (with Christina Schneider). www.saramitchell.org/journeys.html
Journeys in World Politics
www.saramitchell.org
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jlpweeks.bsky.social
Jessica Weeks @jlpweeks.bsky.social · Apr 25
It's hard to find the words. NSF just terminated the grant for Journeys, a mentoring workshop that tried to tackle underrepresentation of women in international relations. Future scholarship will be the worse for it. But this photo from our last gathering will motivate me to keep fighting.
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jlpweeks.bsky.social
Jessica Weeks @jlpweeks.bsky.social · Apr 23
Thank you- the written work was on the list but I hadn’t seen the NPR!
jlpweeks.bsky.social
Jessica Weeks @jlpweeks.bsky.social · Apr 23
Poli sci peeps - I'm finalizing an undergrad class session @ the current state of U.S. democracy. What readings would you assign? I'm thinking, a few scholarly writings on backsliding/defending democ, plus some commentary on current events. I have ideas but... the stakes are high and I'd love input.
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Reposted by Jessica Weeks
pamherd.bsky.social
Pam Herd @pamherd.bsky.social · Apr 23
The trope that universities are "dependent" on the federal government fundamentally misunderstands how vital this partnership has been for the US. The private sector can't replace it. If we kill it, we're all worse off. From @donmoyn.bsky.social and me: donmoynihan.substack.com/p/are-univer...
Moreover, these funds serve the public interest. Universities do things private companies with research capacities cannot: train research talent, conduct basic research with uncertain payoffs, and distribute knowledge as a public good. And the rewards have been enormous. Everything from the internet to pharmaceutical and health care innovations evolved from such investments. We are richer and healthier for the investment.
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mcopelov.bsky.social
Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · Apr 18
This is not a drill. Existential threats to both higher education & 🇺🇸 democracy. And already devastating for my colleagues, their students, & research on our campus.
‘This is not a drill’: UW-Madison scholars warn of long-term, unprecedented threats to higher education
A panel of University of Wisconsin-Madison professors and academic experts discussed significant challenges facing higher education Wednesday in the wake of the Trump administration’s sweeping budget ...
www.dailycardinal.com
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Reposted by Jessica Weeks
brendannyhan.bsky.social
Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · Apr 16
Just a reminder how classic what we're seeing is:
1. redefine a group as a threat to civilization
2. reduce legal protections that they enjoy
3. abuse, threaten, harm, and/or relocate them
4. dismiss/ignore concerns about abuses and harms from the process
5. repeat steps 2-4, escalating each time
brendannyhan.bsky.social
Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · Apr 16
Confession that due process is or should be optional according to the vice president
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jlpweeks.bsky.social
Jessica Weeks @jlpweeks.bsky.social · Apr 14
Please spread to your poli sci / IR networks!
sbmitche.bsky.social
Sara Mitchell @sbmitche.bsky.social · Apr 14
Information for the 2025 Journeys in World Politics workshop: www.saramitchell.org/journeysflye...

Applications due on 5/30 for the workshop held at the U of Iowa on 8/24-8/26. Our senior mentors are Kathleen Cunningham & Leah Windsor, along with Kelly Kadera, Jessica Weeks, Christina Schneider.
www.saramitchell.org
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