Sebastian van Baalen
@sebastianvanbaalen.se
Associate Professor at the Dep. of Peace & Conflict Research, Uppsala University (@uupeace.bsky.social). Researching dynamics of civil war, rebel governance, civil resistance, electoral violence, postwar violence, Côte d’Ivoire.
www.sebastianvanbaalen.se
www.sebastianvanbaalen.se
Pinned
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
doi.org
🆕 Excited that @andresuribe.bsky.social and my joint work is out 🔓 open-access in @cpsjournal.bsky.social We study under what conditions rebels succeed in establishing rebel governance in areas dominated by the state. A thread 🧵
Conflictsky @polviolencepapers.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1177/0010...
Conflictsky @polviolencepapers.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1177/0010...
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
Developed a new #RStats package to access sub-national boundary spatial data (UN OCHA COD and geoBoundaries datasets) from the excellent fieldmaps project. Using #DuckDB and #geoarrow to efficiently query remote parquet and convert to sf #RSpatial #GIS
github.com/epicentre-ms...
github.com/epicentre-ms...
GitHub - epicentre-msf/fieldmaps: R Interface to Fieldmaps Data
R Interface to Fieldmaps Data. Contribute to epicentre-msf/fieldmaps development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
November 4, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
dear US friends, when a sitting president (re)builds the seat of government, it almost always means the president has no intention of leaving at the end of term. your African friends with decades of experience
October 24, 2025 at 1:39 PM
dear US friends, when a sitting president (re)builds the seat of government, it almost always means the president has no intention of leaving at the end of term. your African friends with decades of experience
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
Any American medium that fails to cover the largest protests in American history is failing in the basic mission of informing the public about the facts.
#NoKings
#NoKings
October 18, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Any American medium that fails to cover the largest protests in American history is failing in the basic mission of informing the public about the facts.
#NoKings
#NoKings
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
notice the general mood of the timeline? how everyone is in a good mood and there’s a lot less misery and dooming? how there’s a lot of “we’re going to beat these assholes”?
anyway that’s why these events are important
anyway that’s why these events are important
October 18, 2025 at 6:54 PM
notice the general mood of the timeline? how everyone is in a good mood and there’s a lot less misery and dooming? how there’s a lot of “we’re going to beat these assholes”?
anyway that’s why these events are important
anyway that’s why these events are important
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
I'm of the view that, when @adamprz.bsky.social writes about democracy, we should pay a lot of attention... adamprzeworski.substack.com/p/musings-1
September 30, 2025 at 6:18 PM
I'm of the view that, when @adamprz.bsky.social writes about democracy, we should pay a lot of attention... adamprzeworski.substack.com/p/musings-1
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
Przeworski says it cleanly, clearly, and convincingly.
What then must we do?
www.dissentmagazine.org/article/how-...
What then must we do?
www.dissentmagazine.org/article/how-...
September 27, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Przeworski says it cleanly, clearly, and convincingly.
What then must we do?
www.dissentmagazine.org/article/how-...
What then must we do?
www.dissentmagazine.org/article/how-...
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
DEBATT | Det är vårt ansvar att yttra oss, skriver 122 experter inom fred, säkerhet, utveckling, folkrätt och mänskliga rättigheter. www.dagensarena.se/opinion/sver...
Sverige lever inte upp till internationella åtaganden att förhindra folkmord | Dagens Arena
Det är vårt ansvar att yttra oss, skriver 122 experter.
www.dagensarena.se
September 24, 2025 at 7:50 AM
DEBATT | Det är vårt ansvar att yttra oss, skriver 122 experter inom fred, säkerhet, utveckling, folkrätt och mänskliga rättigheter. www.dagensarena.se/opinion/sver...
Excellent text by Henrique Garbino on why leaving the Ottawa convention is a bad idea! ⤵️
theloop.ecpr.eu/are-landmine...
theloop.ecpr.eu/are-landmine...
Are landmines legitimate self-defence? The folly of leaving the Ottawa Convention
The Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel landmines is under serious challenge. In 2025, six state parties — Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Ukraine — began the procedure to withdra...
theloop.ecpr.eu
September 24, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Excellent text by Henrique Garbino on why leaving the Ottawa convention is a bad idea! ⤵️
theloop.ecpr.eu/are-landmine...
theloop.ecpr.eu/are-landmine...
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
This is absurd. But to be honest, we all should have left academia.edu ages ago because of their spamming. Their "AI-generated professional podcasts" of papers are another very good reason to delete your account. Good riddance!
September 21, 2025 at 8:52 AM
This is absurd. But to be honest, we all should have left academia.edu ages ago because of their spamming. Their "AI-generated professional podcasts" of papers are another very good reason to delete your account. Good riddance!
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
New publication alert: "Legacies of Repression and Resistance in Early 20th Century Europe", at Comparative Political Studies. With @andrearuggeri.bsky.social and @apvjustino.bsky.social
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Legacies of Repression and Resistance in Early 20th Century Europe - Andrea Ruggeri, Laia Balcells, Patricia Justino, 2025
Authoritarian and violent experiences affect the institutional settings of post-dictatorial regimes. However, we still lack a comprehensive knowledge on how loc...
journals.sagepub.com
September 7, 2025 at 2:19 AM
New publication alert: "Legacies of Repression and Resistance in Early 20th Century Europe", at Comparative Political Studies. With @andrearuggeri.bsky.social and @apvjustino.bsky.social
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
The International Association of Genocide Scholars has adopted (with 90% of its members in favor) a resolution calling what’s happening in Gaza a genocide genocidescholars.org/wp-content/u...
genocidescholars.org
September 1, 2025 at 8:18 PM
The International Association of Genocide Scholars has adopted (with 90% of its members in favor) a resolution calling what’s happening in Gaza a genocide genocidescholars.org/wp-content/u...
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
Sánchez: Europe’s response to war in Gaza has been a ‘failure’
Sánchez: Europe’s response to war in Gaza has been a ‘failure’
Spanish prime minister says double standards over Gaza and Ukraine threaten to undermine the west’s global standing
*
‘You need solidarity and consistency’: Pedro Sánchez on the EU, Trump and fighting the far right
Europe and the west’s double standards over the wars in Ukraine and Gaza threaten to undermine its global standing, the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has warned, describing the response to Israel’s assault on the Palestinian territory as one of the darkest episodes of international relations in the 21st century.
In an interview with the Guardian before talks with UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, in London on Wednesday, the socialist leader also said the US under Donald Trump was trying to end the post-second world war, rules-based global order it had originally created. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
September 3, 2025 at 4:23 AM
Sánchez: Europe’s response to war in Gaza has been a ‘failure’
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
“People who are experts in the study of genocide can see this situation for what it is,” Melanie O’Brien, the organization’s president and a professor of international law at the University of Western Australia, told The Associated Press.
The largest professional organization of scholars studying genocide said Monday that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
Leading genocide scholars organization says Israeli action in Gaza is genocide
The largest professional organization of scholars studying genocide says that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
apnews.com
September 1, 2025 at 1:09 PM
“People who are experts in the study of genocide can see this situation for what it is,” Melanie O’Brien, the organization’s president and a professor of international law at the University of Western Australia, told The Associated Press.
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
Frankly I’m surprised more comparativists aren’t saying, “Aw that’s so cute. America’s having its first little premature rumor and speculation frenzy about the autocrat’s death after his public absence for a brief period” (common in authoritarian regimes)
August 30, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Frankly I’m surprised more comparativists aren’t saying, “Aw that’s so cute. America’s having its first little premature rumor and speculation frenzy about the autocrat’s death after his public absence for a brief period” (common in authoritarian regimes)
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
The precise moment when and where in recent weeks America crossed that invisible line from democracy into authoritarianism can and will be debated by future historians, but it’s clear that the line itself has been crossed. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/america-ti...
America Tips Into Fascism
Today is different than before.
www.doomsdayscenario.co
August 25, 2025 at 3:32 PM
The precise moment when and where in recent weeks America crossed that invisible line from democracy into authoritarianism can and will be debated by future historians, but it’s clear that the line itself has been crossed. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/america-ti...
🆕 Excited to see this article by @maureenfubara.bsky.social out.
Drawing on 100+ interviews across Nigerian states, she shows how access to rents shapes whether leaders rely on armed groups or ordinary citizens for perpetrating electoral violence.
doi.org/10.1177/0022...
Drawing on 100+ interviews across Nigerian states, she shows how access to rents shapes whether leaders rely on armed groups or ordinary citizens for perpetrating electoral violence.
doi.org/10.1177/0022...
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
doi.org
August 25, 2025 at 2:03 PM
🆕 Excited to see this article by @maureenfubara.bsky.social out.
Drawing on 100+ interviews across Nigerian states, she shows how access to rents shapes whether leaders rely on armed groups or ordinary citizens for perpetrating electoral violence.
doi.org/10.1177/0022...
Drawing on 100+ interviews across Nigerian states, she shows how access to rents shapes whether leaders rely on armed groups or ordinary citizens for perpetrating electoral violence.
doi.org/10.1177/0022...
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
Armed conflicts involve governments, rebel groups, militias, communal factions, and foreign forces — all interacting in complex ways. The result? A web of violence that can feel overwhelming to understand.
That's why we launch the Conflict Networks Explorer
peaceobservatory.com/conflict-networks
That's why we launch the Conflict Networks Explorer
peaceobservatory.com/conflict-networks
Peace Observatory
Peace observatory website.
peaceobservatory.com
August 22, 2025 at 7:20 AM
Armed conflicts involve governments, rebel groups, militias, communal factions, and foreign forces — all interacting in complex ways. The result? A web of violence that can feel overwhelming to understand.
That's why we launch the Conflict Networks Explorer
peaceobservatory.com/conflict-networks
That's why we launch the Conflict Networks Explorer
peaceobservatory.com/conflict-networks
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
My article "Unstable Concepts, Unresolved Controversies" was attributed to an issue. It explores how conceptual issues emerged as consociationalism and centripetalism were brought together under the label power-sharing – and proposes ways to address these issues.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Unstable Concepts, Unresolved Controversies: Reassembling Power-Sharing, Consociationalism, and Centripetalism
After half a century of research, the literature on institutional design for ethnic conflict management is still in search of a scientific consensus. This article argues that underlying conceptual ...
www.tandfonline.com
August 22, 2025 at 7:51 AM
My article "Unstable Concepts, Unresolved Controversies" was attributed to an issue. It explores how conceptual issues emerged as consociationalism and centripetalism were brought together under the label power-sharing – and proposes ways to address these issues.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
🚨 Recognize these symptoms of democratic backsliding before it's too late:
1) Extreme polarization
2) Executive control of legislature
3) Quiet incremental tests of democratic norms and limits
muse.jhu.edu/article...
1) Extreme polarization
2) Executive control of legislature
3) Quiet incremental tests of democratic norms and limits
muse.jhu.edu/article...
August 22, 2025 at 4:27 PM
🚨 Recognize these symptoms of democratic backsliding before it's too late:
1) Extreme polarization
2) Executive control of legislature
3) Quiet incremental tests of democratic norms and limits
muse.jhu.edu/article...
1) Extreme polarization
2) Executive control of legislature
3) Quiet incremental tests of democratic norms and limits
muse.jhu.edu/article...
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
🆕 📣 Making my BlueSky debut to share some exciting news: the first solo-authored publication from my PhD dissertation, published last week 🔓 open access in @gsqjournal.bsky.social: academic.oup.com/isagsq/artic...
A thread 🧵:
A thread 🧵:
August 21, 2025 at 3:49 PM
🆕 📣 Making my BlueSky debut to share some exciting news: the first solo-authored publication from my PhD dissertation, published last week 🔓 open access in @gsqjournal.bsky.social: academic.oup.com/isagsq/artic...
A thread 🧵:
A thread 🧵:
Really cool work out by @andresuribe.bsky.social and colleauges on estimating the prevalence of criminal governance in Latin America ⤵️
NOW OUT ON FIRSTVIEW!!
#Criminal #Governance in #Latin #America: Prevalence and Correlates
By @andresuribe.bsky.social, Benjamin Lessing, Noah Schouela & Elayne Stecher
doi.org/10.1017/S153...
#Criminal #Governance in #Latin #America: Prevalence and Correlates
By @andresuribe.bsky.social, Benjamin Lessing, Noah Schouela & Elayne Stecher
doi.org/10.1017/S153...
August 17, 2025 at 7:13 AM
Really cool work out by @andresuribe.bsky.social and colleauges on estimating the prevalence of criminal governance in Latin America ⤵️
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
Now out: new article w/ @niloufersiddiqui.bsky.social - "Conceptualizing Election-Related Violence" - takes stock of the rapidly growing literature on election violence, identifying points of agreement and disagreement across studies on how the concept is defined and disaggregated into sub-types.
Conceptualizing Election-Related Violence
Electoral violence has become an increasingly common manifestation of political violence around the globe. Reflecting the growing significance of this form of violence, there has been a sharp rise ...
doi.org
August 12, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Now out: new article w/ @niloufersiddiqui.bsky.social - "Conceptualizing Election-Related Violence" - takes stock of the rapidly growing literature on election violence, identifying points of agreement and disagreement across studies on how the concept is defined and disaggregated into sub-types.
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
it's wild that R, the ubiquitous statistical computing language, was co-created by a Māori prof (Ross Ihaka) — and yet the vast majority of scientists who use R don't know
this is like inventing the toaster. possibly the largest impact of a single member of an indigenous community on modern science
this is like inventing the toaster. possibly the largest impact of a single member of an indigenous community on modern science
December 14, 2023 at 10:35 AM
it's wild that R, the ubiquitous statistical computing language, was co-created by a Māori prof (Ross Ihaka) — and yet the vast majority of scientists who use R don't know
this is like inventing the toaster. possibly the largest impact of a single member of an indigenous community on modern science
this is like inventing the toaster. possibly the largest impact of a single member of an indigenous community on modern science
Great, now even cars will be racist…
Well this ought to help burnish Tesla's reputation outside of Musk's forward-thinking White nationalist core demo.
After Spouting Racism And Antisemitism, Elon Musk's Chatbot Is Headed To Tesla Vehicles - Jalopnik
Days after X had to delete offensive posts by its pet AI, Grok, Elon Musk has promised the tech is coming to Tesla's EVs.
www.jalopnik.com
July 10, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Great, now even cars will be racist…
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
Europa inskränker yttrandefriheten. Allt fler fängslas pga inlägg i sociala medier. Intressant (låst) artikel i WSJ. En kvinna från England har suttit fängslad mer än 330 dagar för rasistisk tweet, vilket lett till stor debatt om vad man får skriva offentligt… (1). www.wsj.com/world/europe...
Europe’s Crackdown on Speech Goes Far and Wide
Loosely defined hate-speech laws and the rise of social media have led to zealous policing, resulting in fines and prison sentences for some offenders.
www.wsj.com
July 10, 2025 at 4:50 AM
Europa inskränker yttrandefriheten. Allt fler fängslas pga inlägg i sociala medier. Intressant (låst) artikel i WSJ. En kvinna från England har suttit fängslad mer än 330 dagar för rasistisk tweet, vilket lett till stor debatt om vad man får skriva offentligt… (1). www.wsj.com/world/europe...