Seva
@seva.bsky.social
Seva Gunitsky, associate professor of political science, University of Toronto. http://individual.utoronto.ca/seva/. book: http://amzn.to/2oRD2yG
Pinned
Seva
@seva.bsky.social
· 28d
Prosecuting the Powerful
Historical data shows putting leaders on trial is a healthy democratic practice.
foreignpolicy.com
Sarkozy is going to jail but he’s not the first one. In our new dataset we track modern leaders who have been prosecuted by their own states. There are 215 of them. Turns out leader prosecution is a common & healthy practice in democracies. Full access link: foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/28/d...
in the course of musk's pronatalist crusade he implemented one of the largest single policy inflicted child death events of the 21st century so this is par for the course
November 24, 2025 at 3:38 AM
in the course of musk's pronatalist crusade he implemented one of the largest single policy inflicted child death events of the 21st century so this is par for the course
Reposted by Seva
Political scientists don’t really think about threats of violence as a constraint on elected officials but we really need to be thinking about it this way
#NEW: Gov. Mike Braun said he and his family are among the Republicans targeted in a wave of threats against state officeholders over Indiana redistricting. www.cnn.com/2025/11/21/…
Indiana’s governor and at least 8 lawmakers have been swatted or threatened as state Republicans...
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun said he and his family are among the Republicans targeted in a wave of threats against state officeholders this week as President Donald Trump pressures Hoosier State lawmak...
www.cnn.com
November 23, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Political scientists don’t really think about threats of violence as a constraint on elected officials but we really need to be thinking about it this way
Reposted by Seva
If I’m understanding this correctly, X is owned by a white nationalist who pays poor people of color in developing countries to pretend to be working class white Americans to scare other white Americans into being afraid poor people of color from developing countries are going to ruin America?
November 23, 2025 at 7:30 PM
If I’m understanding this correctly, X is owned by a white nationalist who pays poor people of color in developing countries to pretend to be working class white Americans to scare other white Americans into being afraid poor people of color from developing countries are going to ruin America?
cultural chauvinism can work in subtle ways. for example someone will be talking about ukraine and say "this should not be happening in the middle of europe"
November 23, 2025 at 7:53 PM
cultural chauvinism can work in subtle ways. for example someone will be talking about ukraine and say "this should not be happening in the middle of europe"
i’ve been making fun of realism a lot so I’ll say one nice thing about it: for all the accusations of amorality, the realist position that human needs & fears are basically the same everywhere is in some ways more humanist and cosmopolitan than liberal assumptions of institutionally-shaped cultures
November 21, 2025 at 3:18 AM
i’ve been making fun of realism a lot so I’ll say one nice thing about it: for all the accusations of amorality, the realist position that human needs & fears are basically the same everywhere is in some ways more humanist and cosmopolitan than liberal assumptions of institutionally-shaped cultures
you can always judge a country by the quality of its trash. my next door neighbor put out a flat screen tv with a sign that says “works!” and it’s been untouched for three days. I can only imagine the kind of gang warfare it would have caused in early 90s russia
November 20, 2025 at 5:28 PM
you can always judge a country by the quality of its trash. my next door neighbor put out a flat screen tv with a sign that says “works!” and it’s been untouched for three days. I can only imagine the kind of gang warfare it would have caused in early 90s russia
Reposted by Seva
@gelliottmorris.com's piece on what Americans actually want from parties is fascinating. It also (re-)produces a classic finding: Almost no one is in the "socially liberal but economically conservative" bucket, but those who are have very popular Substacks
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/not-just-l...
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/not-just-l...
November 20, 2025 at 3:51 PM
@gelliottmorris.com's piece on what Americans actually want from parties is fascinating. It also (re-)produces a classic finding: Almost no one is in the "socially liberal but economically conservative" bucket, but those who are have very popular Substacks
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/not-just-l...
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/not-just-l...
"russia is not possibly dumb enough to..." okay but are you sure. the people making decisions are insulated and face perverse incentives that have nothing to do with common sense or national security
⚡ German forces have run urban warfare drills in Berlin amid growing concerns that Russia could regain the capability to strike NATO territory by 2028.
Germany Drills for War in Berlin Subway as Russia Threat Looms Sooner Than Expected
The Bundeswehr's recent week-long exercises in Berlin focused on urban combat tactics amid warnings of Russia's military capabilities by 2028.
united24media.com
November 19, 2025 at 4:41 PM
"russia is not possibly dumb enough to..." okay but are you sure. the people making decisions are insulated and face perverse incentives that have nothing to do with common sense or national security
Reposted by Seva
"Are you taking notes on poli sci astrology?"
November 19, 2025 at 4:24 PM
"Are you taking notes on poli sci astrology?"
sometimes on campus you accidentally walk by a poli sci class and the professor is writing like “natural spheres of influence” on the board and everyone is taking notes like its real school
November 19, 2025 at 4:19 PM
sometimes on campus you accidentally walk by a poli sci class and the professor is writing like “natural spheres of influence” on the board and everyone is taking notes like its real school
ok it's not the biggest thing but people DO know that "disinterested" means "neutral" and it never means "uninterested". right?
November 19, 2025 at 3:07 PM
ok it's not the biggest thing but people DO know that "disinterested" means "neutral" and it never means "uninterested". right?
kid has become interested in flipping through new yorker cartoons lately and this morning gave me his own first one
November 19, 2025 at 2:46 PM
kid has become interested in flipping through new yorker cartoons lately and this morning gave me his own first one
Reposted by Seva
The thing is. Imagine if anyone spoke to you like this in real life. There's approximately a 50% chance you'd punch them in the face. Every day is such an utter fucking disgrace to the presidency.
"Quiet! Quiet, Piggy."
November 18, 2025 at 3:57 AM
The thing is. Imagine if anyone spoke to you like this in real life. There's approximately a 50% chance you'd punch them in the face. Every day is such an utter fucking disgrace to the presidency.
in the 1980s Soviet vets of the failed Afghan war formed “clubs” that became very violent mafia groups in the 90s. Putin is now creating a supercharged version of this. Russia is experiencing a flood of damaged men being dumped into an already atomized and low-trust society
November 17, 2025 at 2:48 PM
in the 1980s Soviet vets of the failed Afghan war formed “clubs” that became very violent mafia groups in the 90s. Putin is now creating a supercharged version of this. Russia is experiencing a flood of damaged men being dumped into an already atomized and low-trust society
wow, ok, unfollowing now, was a big fan of his genocide denial, did not realize he also wrote Epstein reference letters
November 17, 2025 at 1:57 PM
wow, ok, unfollowing now, was a big fan of his genocide denial, did not realize he also wrote Epstein reference letters
a century of humiliation is not that long if you’re the chinese empire. that’s about four years of humiliation in human years. that’s one negative high school experience how bad could it be
November 16, 2025 at 9:11 PM
a century of humiliation is not that long if you’re the chinese empire. that’s about four years of humiliation in human years. that’s one negative high school experience how bad could it be
I’ve seen hegemonic suicide before but in that one gorbachev was never accused of fellating brezhnev
November 15, 2025 at 2:15 PM
I’ve seen hegemonic suicide before but in that one gorbachev was never accused of fellating brezhnev
it's either this or bombing venezuela I say let him queen out
Trump blares Phantom of the Opera at the White House with an empty Friday schedule
November 15, 2025 at 2:07 AM
it's either this or bombing venezuela I say let him queen out
the thing about predicting russia's collapse is eventually you'll be right you just have to wait anywhere from a few weeks to seventy years
November 14, 2025 at 10:08 PM
the thing about predicting russia's collapse is eventually you'll be right you just have to wait anywhere from a few weeks to seventy years
we were never meant to count that high. we should have stopped at three
November 14, 2025 at 7:58 PM
we were never meant to count that high. we should have stopped at three
it's so funny that alex jones was totally right about everything, the government is a bunch of drug-addled pedophiles and masked regime thugs are grabbing people off the streets, and now he has to pretend it's all a hoax
November 13, 2025 at 9:44 PM
it's so funny that alex jones was totally right about everything, the government is a bunch of drug-addled pedophiles and masked regime thugs are grabbing people off the streets, and now he has to pretend it's all a hoax
Reposted by Seva
The Republican president is a pedophile who has doubled my healthcare costs and let scores of violent criminals out of jail. But a Democratic mayor-elect wants to make busses free in a city I don't live in. I have never felt more politically homeless.
November 13, 2025 at 12:47 PM
The Republican president is a pedophile who has doubled my healthcare costs and let scores of violent criminals out of jail. But a Democratic mayor-elect wants to make busses free in a city I don't live in. I have never felt more politically homeless.
Reposted by Seva
What you want from a functional, thriving superpower is every reporter in the country spending all day combing through a cache of documents that all say, more or less, “hi [rich ruling class person], it was good seeing you last week for all the child sex crimes!”
November 13, 2025 at 3:13 AM
What you want from a functional, thriving superpower is every reporter in the country spending all day combing through a cache of documents that all say, more or less, “hi [rich ruling class person], it was good seeing you last week for all the child sex crimes!”
i mean.....
www.cnbc.com/2017/07/19/p...
www.cnbc.com/2017/07/19/p...
November 13, 2025 at 3:27 AM
i mean.....
www.cnbc.com/2017/07/19/p...
www.cnbc.com/2017/07/19/p...
Reposted by Seva
As the situation in Pokrovsk becomes critical, and AFU reinforces the pocket to stabilize the flanks, there's considerable attention now to how this battle is unfolding. A few thoughts on the situation. 1/ (DeepStateMap)
November 7, 2025 at 9:14 PM
As the situation in Pokrovsk becomes critical, and AFU reinforces the pocket to stabilize the flanks, there's considerable attention now to how this battle is unfolding. A few thoughts on the situation. 1/ (DeepStateMap)