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mwpalen.bsky.social
Marc Palen
@mwpalen.bsky.social
4.2K followers 670 following 270 posts
Historian. Editor, The Imperial & Global Forum. Author, Pax Economica: Left-Wing Visions of a Free Trade World https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691199320/pax-economica. New Yorker “Best Books” list 2024. Financial Times “Best Books of 2024.”
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mwpalen.bsky.social
Marc Palen @mwpalen.bsky.social · Nov 20
Wow! My book, Pax Economica: Left-Wing Visions of a Free Trade World (@princetonupress.bsky.social), has just been named one of the 'best books of 2024' by @financialtimes.com. Truly honored to be included.

"This book is an excellent counter to contemporary conventional wisdom."

on.ft.com/3CBEMoc
Best books of 2024: Economics
Martin Wolf selects his must-read titles
on.ft.com
Reposted by Marc Palen
briefingwithpsaki.bsky.social
Pro Publica: Firm Tied to Kristi Noem Secretly Got Money From $220 Million DHS Ad Contracts
www.propublica.org/article/kris...
Firm Tied to Kristi Noem Secretly Got Money From $220 Million DHS Ad Contracts
The company is run by the husband of Noem’s chief DHS spokesperson and has personal and business ties to Noem and her aides. DHS invoked the “emergency” at the border to skirt competitive bidding rule...
www.propublica.org
November 15, 2025 at 2:45 AM
mwpalen.bsky.social
I joined the IMF podcast to discuss trade’s complex historical relationship to globalization, economic crisis, imperialism, and war. www.imf.org/en/news/podc...

@princetonupress.bsky.social
@uniofexeternews.bsky.social
@shafrhistorians.bsky.social
@uoearchhist.bsky.social
@shgape.bsky.social
Marc Palen on Peace Economics and Trade
www.imf.org
November 26, 2025 at 7:25 AM
Reposted by Marc Palen
toddntucker.com
"If business-as-usual policies worked, America would not be reliant on foreign countries for critical minerals, semiconductors and other products that are key for our national and economic security."

@anaswanson.bsky.social goes deep on the new state capitalism.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
$10 Billion and Counting: Trump Administration Snaps Up Stakes in Private Firms
www.nytimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Reposted by Marc Palen
gadyepstein.bsky.social
“We’ve tried to not have to do it, but we've got direct orders,” the masked ICE agents told them www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/i...
"I asked for their names. They didn't give me their full names," Hestmark recalled of the agents. "They didn't show me their badge numbers. They didn't remove their masks. They simply said, 'We have a warrant for his arrest, and they handed me a QR code, and they put my husband in handcuffs. And they took him and said I couldn't follow." "She was just stunned," Paul said. "She kept asking what was wrong, what did we do? We'd done everything right." "We kept asking them if there was something we could do, if there was any way we could keep her from being separated from the family," he continued. We’re just trying to figure out what's happening, and they're just telling us, I'm sorry. We’ve tried to not have to do it, but we've got direct orders."| • "I had to take my baby, our baby, from his crying mother's arms," Paul said. "We were completely shocked, and I feel like we were tricked," Hestmark said. "We went through every possible legal and appropriate channel. We followed the advice of our lawyer. We were told that our case was straight forward." "He just wanted to be part of this country and for us to start our future together. And he wanted to do it… "Tom isn't in the system. I can't find him," Hestmark said. "I can't call him. I can't put money into his account. The lawyer doesn't know how to proceed because he hasn't been charged with anything." Both said their spouses were able to call them Thursday night, and they believed they were still being held in the basement of the federal building as of Friday afternoon. "She said that she was scared. She was anxious, missed her baby. She just wants to come home," Paul said. "She said the agents themselves were in the detention down in the basement of the federal building, saying, What are we doing here? These aren't the sort of people were supposed to be arresting.” "They hadn't given him anything to eat or any information," Hestmark said. "They gave him a mat and a foil blanket to sleep on." As she was detailing his arrest Friday afternoon, Bilger called Hestmark again from detention. She said he told her they had moved him to the Otay Mesa Detention Center and back but he hadn't slept and still hadn't been processed. "My wife's alone and terrified," Paul said. "My baby doesn't have his mom to hold him. I can't work right…
November 25, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Reposted by Marc Palen
mwpalen.bsky.social
Thank you to @carloscorrochano.xyz for the great questions in this interview for @eldiario.es about Pax Economica

@princetonupress.bsky.social @uniofexeternews.bsky.social @uoearchhist.bsky.social
November 24, 2025 at 7:42 PM
mwpalen.bsky.social
Thank you to @carloscorrochano.xyz for the great questions in this interview for @eldiario.es about Pax Economica

@princetonupress.bsky.social @uniofexeternews.bsky.social @uoearchhist.bsky.social
November 24, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Reposted by Marc Palen
raherrmann.bsky.social
"El libre comercio era una pieza esencial en su cosmovisión feminista de un mundo sin guerras ni escasez: había alimentos suficientes para todos, siempre que se distribuyeran libre y equitativamente."
November 24, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Reposted by Marc Palen
carloscorrochano.xyz
Entrevisto en @eldiario.es a @mwpalen.bsky.social, cuyo libro «Pax Economica: Left-Wing Visions of a Free Trade World» (@princetonupress.bsky.social), reconstruye cómo las izquierdas han lidiado históricamente con el libre comercio, con todos sus límites y tensiones. www.eldiario.es/internaciona...
"La guerra comercial abre la oportunidad para que la izquierda redescubra el potencial del libre comercio"
Frente a la idea dominante que lo identifica con el colonialismo y el neoliberalismo, el historiador Marc-William Palen reconstruye en su libro 'Pax Economica' la idea del librecambismo como proyecto ...
www.eldiario.es
November 23, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Reposted by Marc Palen
politico.com
Judge rules Trump’s DC National Guard deployment was illegal
Judge rules Trump’s DC National Guard deployment was illegal
The judge postponed the impact of her decision until Dec. 11 to give the Trump administration time to appeal her decision.
dlvr.it
November 20, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Reposted by Marc Palen
washingtonpost.com
Exclusive: The U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify the swastika, nooses and the Confederate flag as hate symbols.

The military service drafted a new policy that classifies them as “potentially divisive.”
U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses as hate symbols
The military service, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security, has drafted a new policy that classifies such items “potentially divisive.”
www.washingtonpost.com
November 20, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Reposted by Marc Palen
daviddoddington.bsky.social
On this important anniversary, see also Adam Smith's powerful article on Gettysburg and American history. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

As ever, we'd love to hear from authors with planned research articles on 19th C American History. Drop us a line!
November 19, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Reposted by Marc Palen
wokestudies.bsky.social
"Higher education generated £24bn in export earnings for the UK in 2022-23, far above aircraft manufacturing with £12bn, legal services with £9.5bn and telecoms with £8.8bn."
#HigherEd
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Less than Greggs? Public have no idea of value of top universities, study finds
Belief that snack chain’s revenues exceed those of Oxford’s one of many misconceptions about UK’s HE sector
www.theguardian.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Reposted by Marc Palen
historyned.bsky.social
Just dropped off copies of my book to all the East Berlin Kita teachers I thanked in the Acknowledgements and I’ve never been so stressed out about peer review in my life.
November 17, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Reposted by Marc Palen
thehighsign.bsky.social
Remember the recent middle-of-the-night apartment building raid where children were dragged outside naked & zip-tied in the street while black & Latino residents were _sorted by race_ and piled into separate vans while their apartments were ransacked & robbed? That raid? So it resulted in 0 arrests.
November 16, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Reposted by Marc Palen
praxiscast.bsky.social
At some point, for the love of God, will someone ANYONE at long last take the council funding crisis seriously?!?

Because THIS is what will break down a society, not some poor soul escaping incredible dangers, arriving on our shores.
November 15, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Reposted by Marc Palen
briandelay.bsky.social
Inspired by and grateful for the brilliant colleagues who have been fighting this case
fishkin.bsky.social Joey Fishkin @fishkin.bsky.social · 11d
A huge district court victory for the University of California.

District courts find facts. This one found "overwhelming evidence" that the Trump administration has pervasively violated the First Amendment in its efforts to coerce and intimidate the University of California.

News story here—
‘Unlawful coercion’: Trump can’t withhold funds or demand payment from UC, federal judge rules
A federal judge ruled Donald Trump cannot demand that UCLA pay a $1.2 billion settlement that would have restricted academic freedoms.
calmatters.org
November 15, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Reposted by Marc Palen
sdonnan.bsky.social
What happens when Trump’s trade wars hit a family-owned North Carolina sawmill.

I took a roadtrip recently for @davidgura.bsky.social’s @bloomberg.com Big Take podcast.
www.bloomberg.com/news/audio/2...
Big Take: How Trump Tariffs Ended a Small-Town Sawmill - Bloomberg
Understand every aspect of the global economy – and know how to make your next move.
www.bloomberg.com
November 14, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Reposted by Marc Palen
uniofexeternews.bsky.social
Congratulations to Dr Marc Palen @uniofexeterhass.bsky.social, following the award of the Elise M. Boulding Prize in Peace History to his book, Pax Economica: Left-Wing Visions of a Free Trade World (Princeton University Press, 2024).

peacehistorysociety.org/phs2025/awards.php
Peace History Society
peacehistorysociety.org
November 13, 2025 at 11:37 AM
Reposted by Marc Palen
andrewdessler.com
This is bad. Some thoughts from a TAMU faculty member.

gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/u...
Texas A&M Tightens Rules on Talking About Race and Gender in Classes
www.nytimes.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:40 AM
Reposted by Marc Palen
gregsargent.bsky.social
Really unnerving point from Nicole Hemmer, historian of the right: Trump's Epstein fiasco could drive MAGA to push him to go even fuller authoritarian, because the whole project is now in such serious doubt. She's so good on MAGA's future.

Check out this exchange:

newrepublic.com/article/2031...
November 13, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Reposted by Marc Palen
nytimes.com
Canadians are keeping up their efforts to boycott travel to the U.S.

The ongoing decline in air and car travel is part of a broader shift in Canadians’ attitudes toward the U.S. amid tensions over President Trump’s tariffs and the rhetoric that many Canadians feel is condescending.
Canadian Travel to the United States Falls for 10th Consecutive Month
The drop has been reflected in air and car travel, according to Canadian statistics. Tensions over tariffs placed by the Trump administration spurred calls for Canadians to spend their money at home.
nyti.ms
November 13, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Reposted by Marc Palen
christopherjhale.bsky.social
BREAKING: At Pope Leo XIV’s urging, U.S. Catholic bishops just delivered the strongest rebuke of a sitting president in Church history — condemning Trump-Vance raids as “inhumane” and “dehumanizing” in a 216–5 vote.
NEW: At Pope Leo’s Urging, Bishops Issue Historic Rebuke of Trump’s Raids
Nearly all U.S. Catholic bishops united in Baltimore to denounce the Trump administration’s “inhumane” deportation campaign — a near-unanimous, unprecedented moral stand against a sitting president.
www.thelettersfromleo.com
November 13, 2025 at 3:21 AM
Reposted by Marc Palen
motherjones.com
“After the gringa left, the guards came in to beat us,” said one detainee of what occurred after a visit from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
Trump sent men to torture in El Salvador, report confirms
Human Rights Watch found that Venezuelans shipped to El Salvador by the United States were beaten almost every day.
www.motherjones.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Reposted by Marc Palen
mwpalen.bsky.social
So grateful to have received the Elise M. Boulding Prize from the Peace History Society for Pax Economica. What a tremendous honor!

@princetonupress.bsky.social
uoearchhist.bsky.social University of Exeter Archaeology and History Department @uoearchhist.bsky.social · 15d
📚 News from the world of peace and economic history ☮️ Dr Marc-William Palen’s Pax 'Economica: Left-Wing Visions of a Free Trade World' has just received the Elise M. Boulding Prize in Peace History🏆 for groundbreaking work that rethinks how free trade once carried hopes for ending empire and war🌍
November 11, 2025 at 9:45 AM