Simon Frankel Pratt
@simonpratt.bsky.social
Political scientist at the University of Melbourne. Formerly of other places. Research: war, intelligence, innovation, and normative change in international politics. Cat paparazzo. He/Him 🇨🇦🏳️🌈✡️
Pinned
Well, I was in Istanbul recently and I photographed many cats. By popular demand, here are some of them.
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
I don’t think this guy knows many Jews because the way I find my fellow Jews in a crowded place is by yelling out “Stephen Miller” and seeing who boo’s the loudest
January 16, 2026 at 10:46 PM
I don’t think this guy knows many Jews because the way I find my fellow Jews in a crowded place is by yelling out “Stephen Miller” and seeing who boo’s the loudest
Very good - I wonder if another side lies with protest movements. The more exposed they become, the more inclined to believe rhetoric. The shift from canny to desperate may not be obvious to US policymakers missing they are now being taken at their word by people who didn't blithely do that before.
January 17, 2026 at 1:46 AM
Very good - I wonder if another side lies with protest movements. The more exposed they become, the more inclined to believe rhetoric. The shift from canny to desperate may not be obvious to US policymakers missing they are now being taken at their word by people who didn't blithely do that before.
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
my new piece in FP: The US keeps telling people to rise up against their regimes, then leaving them to die. Hungary, Iraq, Syria...now Iran? I try to offer an explanation for this very consistent pattern. (gift link) foreignpolicy.com/2026/01/16/t...
A Long History of Betrayal
Why Washington keeps encouraging foreign uprisings—and then walking away.
foreignpolicy.com
January 16, 2026 at 10:36 PM
my new piece in FP: The US keeps telling people to rise up against their regimes, then leaving them to die. Hungary, Iraq, Syria...now Iran? I try to offer an explanation for this very consistent pattern. (gift link) foreignpolicy.com/2026/01/16/t...
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
A new NYT video analysis by confirms that Renee Good's vehicle did not run over Jonathan Ross and did not strike him. It's possible that it brushed up against him, but that remains unclear. Ross should be under arrest. This is a gift link. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/v...
Video Analysis of ICE Shooting Sheds Light on Contested Moments
www.nytimes.com
January 16, 2026 at 12:24 PM
A new NYT video analysis by confirms that Renee Good's vehicle did not run over Jonathan Ross and did not strike him. It's possible that it brushed up against him, but that remains unclear. Ross should be under arrest. This is a gift link. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/v...
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
The word "disarm" actually never appears in the 20-point plan. Instead, it's a more complex "agreed process of decommissioning, ... supported by an internationally funded buy back and reintegration program all verified by the independent monitors." www.israelnationalnews.com/news/420984
Trump: Hamas must return the final hostage and disarm
Trump announces Phase Two of his Gaza peace plan, backs a new Palestinian technocratic government, and demands Hamas disarm and return the final hostage’s body to Israel.
www.israelnationalnews.com
January 16, 2026 at 1:30 PM
The word "disarm" actually never appears in the 20-point plan. Instead, it's a more complex "agreed process of decommissioning, ... supported by an internationally funded buy back and reintegration program all verified by the independent monitors." www.israelnationalnews.com/news/420984
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
Iran's government has imposed a near total internet shutdown on more than 90 million Iranians since last Thursday, almost entirely cutting them off from the outside world for more than a week.
In such an environment, it's become extremely difficult to know what's happening inside Iran.
In such an environment, it's become extremely difficult to know what's happening inside Iran.
January 16, 2026 at 2:18 PM
Iran's government has imposed a near total internet shutdown on more than 90 million Iranians since last Thursday, almost entirely cutting them off from the outside world for more than a week.
In such an environment, it's become extremely difficult to know what's happening inside Iran.
In such an environment, it's become extremely difficult to know what's happening inside Iran.
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
X still allowing users to post sexualised images generated by Grok AI tool www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
X still allowing users to post sexualised images generated by Grok AI tool
Despite restrictions announced this week, Guardian reporters find standalone app continues to allow posting of nonconsensual content
www.theguardian.com
January 16, 2026 at 8:03 AM
X still allowing users to post sexualised images generated by Grok AI tool www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
Again it is something that people in previous eras have commented on but I still find it just astonishing to witness in my own: fascism is somehow the natural ideology of loser men, just all of our most pathetic and contemptible instincts rendered into a worldview.
imagine letting these people run anything more consequential than a lemonade stand
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Elon Musk admits cheating at video games, chat transcript appears to show
Video posted by top gamer shows what he says is X conversation in which billionaire admits ‘account boosting’
www.theguardian.com
January 16, 2026 at 6:43 AM
Again it is something that people in previous eras have commented on but I still find it just astonishing to witness in my own: fascism is somehow the natural ideology of loser men, just all of our most pathetic and contemptible instincts rendered into a worldview.
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
Imagine giving away your Nobel peace prize medal hoping for a presidency and getting a Trump-signed gift bag instead
No words
edition.cnn.com/2026/01/15/a...
No words
edition.cnn.com/2026/01/15/a...
Venezuela’s Machado gave Trump her Nobel prize. In return she received a swag bag but no promise of support | CNN
When Venezuela’s opposition leader María Corina Machado walked into the White House on Thursday, she came bearing the gift US President Donald Trump has long coveted: a Nobel Peace Prize.
edition.cnn.com
January 16, 2026 at 10:09 AM
Imagine giving away your Nobel peace prize medal hoping for a presidency and getting a Trump-signed gift bag instead
No words
edition.cnn.com/2026/01/15/a...
No words
edition.cnn.com/2026/01/15/a...
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
adding this to my folder of ludicrous supposed "trans sports" bans that also includes: chess, pool, darts, sailing, Irish dancing & more. as Molly says, it's simply about removing trans ppl from the public sphere...
If anyone was still pretending this isn’t just about excluding trans kids from public life, the Trump administration just opened a Title IX investigation into a Maine school district because a trans student is on a *co-ed* cheerleading squad.
Newport co-ed cheerleading team is at center of Trump transgender athlete crackdownTrump admin focuses on swimming, cheerleading in Maine transgender athlete probes
The U.S. Department of Education announced a slew of Title IX-related investigations this week that include 2 school districts in Maine.
www.pressherald.com
January 16, 2026 at 1:47 AM
adding this to my folder of ludicrous supposed "trans sports" bans that also includes: chess, pool, darts, sailing, Irish dancing & more. as Molly says, it's simply about removing trans ppl from the public sphere...
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
Witnesses in Iran comparing (in private coms to diaspora analysts) the violence now against past protest suppression. Said in past used batons, even armed units fired cautiously. This time sustained and constant fire at full volume against crowds, including with machine guns.
January 16, 2026 at 1:09 AM
Witnesses in Iran comparing (in private coms to diaspora analysts) the violence now against past protest suppression. Said in past used batons, even armed units fired cautiously. This time sustained and constant fire at full volume against crowds, including with machine guns.
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
Does she really think Venezuelans will want her as a leader after she prostrated herself before Donald Trump?
BREAKING: Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado says she presented Trump her Nobel Peace Prize to recognize his commitment to her country.
Venezuela's Machado says she presented her Nobel Peace Prize to Trump during their meeting
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado says she presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Donald Trump.
bit.ly
January 15, 2026 at 10:29 PM
Does she really think Venezuelans will want her as a leader after she prostrated herself before Donald Trump?
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
This is absolutely WILD
Last week, I got a corrections request for a story I didn't write, on a publication I don't write for. It sent me down a very strange rabbit hole involving a mysterious content publisher. There's a lot I don't understand, but here's what I know:
aftermath.site/nicole-carpe...
aftermath.site/nicole-carpe...
I'm Not That Nicole Carpenter
I got a corrections request for a story I didn't write, and it pulled me down a journalism rabbit hole.
aftermath.site
January 16, 2026 at 3:06 AM
This is absolutely WILD
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
This is incredible and important...
Push-back matters.
Push-back matters.
BREAKING: The controversial hepatitis B vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau has been *cancelled,* I can now report. A senior official with Africa CDC confirmed the cancellation and said GB officials are working to make sure any research is conducted ethically:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Controversial US study on hepatitis B vaccines in Africa is cancelled
$1.6m project drew outrage over ethical questions about withholding vaccines proven to prevent disease
www.theguardian.com
January 15, 2026 at 3:50 PM
This is incredible and important...
Push-back matters.
Push-back matters.
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
"In late September, Akhundzada ordered the internet and phones to be shut off, severing Afghanistan from the rest of the world. Three days later the internet was back, with no explanation of why. But what had happened behind the scenes was seismic" www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The Taliban rift at the top of the leadership in Afghanistan
The Taliban leader once warned of a split: A BBC investigation reveals how attitudes to women, the internet and religion are dividing the group at the very top.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 15, 2026 at 7:55 AM
"In late September, Akhundzada ordered the internet and phones to be shut off, severing Afghanistan from the rest of the world. Three days later the internet was back, with no explanation of why. But what had happened behind the scenes was seismic" www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
BBC report at a headline level that Grok will now not make sexually exploitative images any more. An actual reporter comes on and explains that it will do no such thing, and will just make the images invisible in the UK. These are two very, very different things.
January 15, 2026 at 6:44 AM
BBC report at a headline level that Grok will now not make sexually exploitative images any more. An actual reporter comes on and explains that it will do no such thing, and will just make the images invisible in the UK. These are two very, very different things.
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
"Complying to UK law" still allows you to create the same type of imagery. I was easily able to make a prompt from AI generated picture of a full dressed woman I uploaded to Grok to a woman bound, nearly fully naked, and bleeding in about 2 minutes, and I'm in the UK.
January 14, 2026 at 1:52 PM
"Complying to UK law" still allows you to create the same type of imagery. I was easily able to make a prompt from AI generated picture of a full dressed woman I uploaded to Grok to a woman bound, nearly fully naked, and bleeding in about 2 minutes, and I'm in the UK.
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
"From trust to trusting: Bringing a practice perspective to bear on trust research in IR" Just out with @coco-journal.bsky.social! The article explores how ideas from practice theory can improve our understanding of trust in IR. @normativeorders.bsky.social @prif.org @trust-ir.bsky.social 1/3
From trust to trusting: Bringing a practice perspective to bear on trust research in International Relations - Tobias Wille, 2025
In this analytical essay, I aim to advance the debate on trust in International Relations (IR) by clarifying how trust can be understood in practice-theoretical...
journals.sagepub.com
January 12, 2026 at 1:27 PM
"From trust to trusting: Bringing a practice perspective to bear on trust research in IR" Just out with @coco-journal.bsky.social! The article explores how ideas from practice theory can improve our understanding of trust in IR. @normativeorders.bsky.social @prif.org @trust-ir.bsky.social 1/3
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
If countries aren't going to defend existing legal norms when they are violated, they help sow the seeds of these norms' extinction. So then what norms do they want in their place?
Canada has remained silent as Trump attacks international law & seeks to normalize illegal annexation - of Ukraine, the West Bank, Greenland, etc.
If that silence continues, who will stand up for us if Washington puts our own country in its crosshairs? justiceinconflict.org/2026/01/12/f...
If that silence continues, who will stand up for us if Washington puts our own country in its crosshairs? justiceinconflict.org/2026/01/12/f...
Forget elbows; we need a spine: If Ottawa won’t condemn Trump’s violations of international law, who will speak out when he comes for Canada?
(Photo: PA Media / BBC) It is not just the attack on Venezuela, breaches of the United Nations’ Charter, or the use of illegal force that still somehow left a dictatorship in place. It is not just …
justiceinconflict.org
January 14, 2026 at 7:23 PM
If countries aren't going to defend existing legal norms when they are violated, they help sow the seeds of these norms' extinction. So then what norms do they want in their place?
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
That GRU hack has got to be the lowest-cost destruction of a rival great power in human history. Just an insane return-on-investment.
January 15, 2026 at 5:21 AM
That GRU hack has got to be the lowest-cost destruction of a rival great power in human history. Just an insane return-on-investment.
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
If you want to know about the future of AI, take a look at the kaleidoscope of disinfo and psychological operations underway in Iran 🇮🇷
This excellent piece by @mahsaalimardani.bsky.social in @theatlantic.com is a great start
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
This excellent piece by @mahsaalimardani.bsky.social in @theatlantic.com is a great start
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
How Doubt Became a Weapon in Iran
AI manipulation, and the very suspicion of it, serves those who have the most to hide.
www.theatlantic.com
January 14, 2026 at 7:23 PM
If you want to know about the future of AI, take a look at the kaleidoscope of disinfo and psychological operations underway in Iran 🇮🇷
This excellent piece by @mahsaalimardani.bsky.social in @theatlantic.com is a great start
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
This excellent piece by @mahsaalimardani.bsky.social in @theatlantic.com is a great start
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
Technically, a bruise is 'internal bleeding' so if this isn't a complete lie, that's probably what it refers to
BREAKING: The ICE agent who fatally shot Renee Good last week in Minneapolis, Jonathan Ross, suffered internal bleeding to the torso following the incident, according to two U.S. officials briefed on his medical condition.
ICE agent who shot Renee Good suffered internal bleeding, officials say
Jonathan Ross, who shot Renee Good in Minneapolis last week, suffered internal bleeding after the incident, two officials said, though it's not clear how extensive the bleeding was.
cbsn.ws
January 14, 2026 at 10:35 PM
Technically, a bruise is 'internal bleeding' so if this isn't a complete lie, that's probably what it refers to
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
What Getachew makes clear is how recent the norm of universal statehood as the expression of sovereign self-determination is, how much struggle it took to establish that norm, and how the universal part was not a foregone conclusion.
That offers a cautionary tale for what we're seeing now.
🧵
That offers a cautionary tale for what we're seeing now.
🧵
Going through Adom Getachew's Worldmaking After Empire, and the Woodrow Wilson citations on Reconstruction and empire as tutelage for self-determination are eye-opening.
I think he himself would recognize Trump as a dyed in the wool Wilsonian, even if the historians who sanitized Wilson wouldn't.
I think he himself would recognize Trump as a dyed in the wool Wilsonian, even if the historians who sanitized Wilson wouldn't.
January 12, 2026 at 11:02 AM
What Getachew makes clear is how recent the norm of universal statehood as the expression of sovereign self-determination is, how much struggle it took to establish that norm, and how the universal part was not a foregone conclusion.
That offers a cautionary tale for what we're seeing now.
🧵
That offers a cautionary tale for what we're seeing now.
🧵
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
Israel’s Somaliland gambit reflects a doctrine of endless escalation
By projecting power into the Horn of Africa, Israel aims to increase pressure on rivals, undermine regional stability, and narrow the space for diplomacy.
By Omar H. Rahman
www.972mag.com/israel-somal...
By projecting power into the Horn of Africa, Israel aims to increase pressure on rivals, undermine regional stability, and narrow the space for diplomacy.
By Omar H. Rahman
www.972mag.com/israel-somal...
Israel’s Somaliland gambit reflects a doctrine of endless escalation
By projecting power into the Horn of Africa, Israel aims to increase pressure on rivals, undermine regional stability, and narrow the space for diplomacy.
www.972mag.com
January 14, 2026 at 1:04 PM
Israel’s Somaliland gambit reflects a doctrine of endless escalation
By projecting power into the Horn of Africa, Israel aims to increase pressure on rivals, undermine regional stability, and narrow the space for diplomacy.
By Omar H. Rahman
www.972mag.com/israel-somal...
By projecting power into the Horn of Africa, Israel aims to increase pressure on rivals, undermine regional stability, and narrow the space for diplomacy.
By Omar H. Rahman
www.972mag.com/israel-somal...
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
On the killing of Renee Nicole Good, I just published a piece in @foreignpolicy.com arguing the Trump administration is weaponizing the narrative of “vehicular terrorism” as a shortcut to justify an unlawful killing: “death squad logic, adapted to American streets”
foreignpolicy.com/2026/01/13/v...
foreignpolicy.com/2026/01/13/v...
Claims of Vehicular Terrorism in Minnesota Don’t Hold Up
The U.S. government is adopting dangerous language to justify unlawful killing.
foreignpolicy.com
January 13, 2026 at 9:36 PM
On the killing of Renee Nicole Good, I just published a piece in @foreignpolicy.com arguing the Trump administration is weaponizing the narrative of “vehicular terrorism” as a shortcut to justify an unlawful killing: “death squad logic, adapted to American streets”
foreignpolicy.com/2026/01/13/v...
foreignpolicy.com/2026/01/13/v...