Stephen Walt
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stephenwalt.bsky.social
Stephen Walt
@stephenwalt.bsky.social
3.9K followers 220 following 290 posts

Harvard professor, realist, FP columnist. Tennis enthusiast, amateur musician, proud dad, & grateful husband. Troubled by the state of the world & looking for solutions. For speaking engagements contact John Bute at [email protected] .. more

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Stephen Martin Walt is an American political scientist serving as the Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of international relations at the Harvard Kennedy School. A member of the realist school of international relations, Walt has made important contributions to the theory of neorealism and has authored the balance of threat theory. Books that he has authored or coauthored include Origins of Alliances, Revolution and War, and The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy. .. more

Political science 72%
Sociology 17%
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Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Jason Lyall, Larry W. Hunter , and 1 more

stephenwalt.bsky.social
Stephen Walt @stephenwalt.bsky.social · 1d
The EPA decision denying that greenhouse gases are harmful is a giant announcement to the entire world that America is in the hands of ignorant people for whom greed #trumps truth. Another fundamental blow to US influence and prestige.

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Victor Asal, Deborah Avant , and 3 more

chenoweth.bsky.social
Erica Chenoweth @chenoweth.bsky.social · 1d
My team at the Crowd Counting Consortium (@djpressman.bsky.social, Soha Hammam, & Chris Shay) has shared a big data update, covering all recorded US protests through Jan 2026. Some key takeaways 🧵:

stephenwalt.bsky.social
Stephen Walt @stephenwalt.bsky.social · 1d
#Valentine'sDay is almost here, which means it is time for me to re-upt what could be my most important contribution to human happiness. foreignpolicy.com/2009/02/13/i...
IR Theory for Lovers: A Valentine’s Guide
Important international relations insights for people in love.
foreignpolicy.com

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Juan Cole

shipwreck75.bsky.social
Shipwreck @shipwreck75.bsky.social · 2d
This is what happens when you have the former Fox News morning team running our government…..🤦‍♂️

A U.S. official confirms to Fox News that earlier this week the U.S. military shot down a party balloon near El Paso, thinking it was a foreign drone, leading to the unexpected airspace closure.

stephenwalt.bsky.social
Stephen Walt @stephenwalt.bsky.social · 2d
Given all the conspiracy theories that are out there these days, I'm reposting a 16 year-old FP column explaining the difference between a conspiracy theory and a serious, legitimate effort to analyze the influence of elite policy networks. foreignpolicy.com/2010/03/26/o...
On 'conspiracy theories'
foreignpolicy.com

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Marc Lynch, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò

diplomatofnight.com
Emissary Of Night | ليلى @diplomatofnight.com · 3d
Every single president of the United States since Lyndon Baines Johnson has expressed public and private opposition to Israeli annexation of the occupied West Bank, but every single president since LBJ has also greenlit unconditional support while Israel annexes it anyway.
Exclusive: Trump says he opposes Israeli annexation steps in West Bank
"We have enough things to think about now. We don't need to be dealing with the West Bank."
www.axios.com

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Lisa W. Fazio

ryanenos.bsky.social
Ryan Enos @ryanenos.bsky.social · 3d
"Silence is not neutrality; it is permission."

Wise words on what higher education needs right now from
@arneduncan.bsky.social

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
www.washingtonpost.com

stephenwalt.bsky.social
Stephen Walt @stephenwalt.bsky.social · 3d
Grateful for the opportunity to discuss my forthcoming FOREIGN AFFAIRS article on the US as a "predatory hegemon" on Ian Masters' BACKGROUND BRIEFING. You can find the link here: www.backgroundbriefing.org
Background Briefing
www.backgroundbriefing.org

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, David Darmofal

jilldlawrence.bsky.social
Jill Lawrence @jilldlawrence.bsky.social · 3d
This is so idiotic that words fail me. Fortunately they did not fail @ronfournier.bsky.social. open.substack.com/pub/convulsi...
Howe Dumb
Trump threatens the Gordie Howe International Bridge, dumping on Canada (and Michigan) again.
open.substack.com

stephenwalt.bsky.social
Stephen Walt @stephenwalt.bsky.social · 4d
Following the #Trump (aka Boor-in-Chief) rant re Bad Bunny singing in Spanish, will the #MetOpera take the hint and stop mounting all those operas in Italian, French, German, etc.?

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Brendan Nyhan, Nicole Guenther Discenza , and 1 more

chrisvannini.com
Chris Vannini @chrisvannini.com · 4d
The Champions League final in Germany last year opened with Linkin Park

stephenwalt.bsky.social
Stephen Walt @stephenwalt.bsky.social · 5d
The only response to a #PredatoryHegemon.

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

kimlanelaw.bsky.social
Kim Lane Scheppele @kimlanelaw.bsky.social · 5d
Europe -- are you listening? There's really only one way to deal with a bully . . . www.theguardian.com/books/2026/f...
Want to stop Trump bullying your country? Retaliate
Faced with economic coercion, Europe has trodden carefully. My experience tells me that’s not enough
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

hkfinan.bsky.social
Heidi Finan @hkfinan.bsky.social · 5d
Yea, nobody who has a “Trump account” for their kids should expect it to be a sound investment 🤦🏼‍♀️ (that commercial)

stephenwalt.bsky.social
Stephen Walt @stephenwalt.bsky.social · 5d
The propaganda has begun.

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, David Darmofal

roey.bsky.social
Roey Hadar @roey.bsky.social · 5d
And the women’s team:
- the daughter of Chinese immigrants who rebuffed an aggressive campaign to get her to skate for China
- the daughter of an Italian immigrant embryologist mom who named her after a Michelle Pfeiffer character
- the pansexual daughter of a Texas cop (who is her biggest fan)
alexip718.com Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 8d
This year, the U.S. Olympic Figure Skating Men's Team is represented by:
• the son of Ukrainian Junior World Champion skaters in Florida who like Papa John's
• the son of Russian World Champion skaters in Connecticut
• the son of Uzbek Olympic skaters in Virginia

That's what makes America great.
alexip718.com Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 8d
This year, the U.S. Olympic Figure Skating Pairs Team is represented by:
• A Japanese and Chinese Hawaiian
• A Michigan guy (You'll notice a trend here)
• A Hong Kong and Taiwanese Texan
• A Japanese American and Army soldier who is studying to become a chaplain!

That's what makes America great.

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

matthew-bunn.bsky.social
Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 6d
Pete Hegseth's decision to end all military education and fellowships at Harvard is bad for the military, as well as bad for Harvard. I'm proud to say many of my former fellows are making big contributions to the U.S. military -- helped by their time at Harvard.
x.com

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

stelhami.bsky.social
Shibley Telhami @stelhami.bsky.social · 6d
Simple: War with Iran is mostly about Israel. As long as Israel remains expansionist, its project will be regionally rejected, leading it to define its security as regional hegemony - a state of 10 million dominating a region of half a billion. That’s impossible without the USA – thus forever war.

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Matthew Bunn

robertstavins.bsky.social
Robert N. Stavins @robertstavins.bsky.social · 7d
Read this and check out the index across all 12 dimensions www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Opinion | ICE and Minnesota Have Pushed the U.S. Closer to Autocracy
Measuring America’s slide toward democratic erosion.
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

jricole.bsky.social
Juan Cole @jricole.bsky.social · 8d
could we please retire the word "testing"? you mean "violating
truthdig.com Truthdig @truthdig.com · 8d
ICE has asserted it can enter homes without judicial warrants. Legal experts say schools are protected by the Fourth Amendment — but agents are testing those limits.
ICE Is ‘At the School Yard Gate’
ICE may not be conducting large-scale raids inside schools. But agents are getting close to schools, leaving a mark on students across the country.
www.truthdig.com

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Juan Cole

truthdig.com
Truthdig @truthdig.com · 8d
ICE has asserted it can enter homes without judicial warrants. Legal experts say schools are protected by the Fourth Amendment — but agents are testing those limits.
ICE Is ‘At the School Yard Gate’
ICE may not be conducting large-scale raids inside schools. But agents are getting close to schools, leaving a mark on students across the country.
www.truthdig.com

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

mirakamdar.bsky.social
Mira Kamdar @mirakamdar.bsky.social · 8d
"Appeasing Trump isn’t working. Rutte has gone to enormous lengths to appease and flatter Trump (at one point likening him to a benevolent “daddy”), and what did it get him?" foreignpolicy.com/2026/02/04/n...
NATO’s Leader Is Totally Lost
What does Mark Rutte think he’s doing?
foreignpolicy.com

stephenwalt.bsky.social
Stephen Walt @stephenwalt.bsky.social · 8d
Silver lining: #Trump's remarks at the #NationalPrayerBreakfast will make even non-believers start praying for a miracle that stops him from doing even more damage to a once-great nation.

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

nilsgilman.bsky.social
Nils Gilman @nilsgilman.bsky.social · 8d
“Theory is the basis for all explanation and prediction.” - Chief, Methods and Forecasting Division, Office of Regional & Political Analysis, Central Intelligence Agency, 1978

apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA...
apps.dtic.mil

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

foreignpolicy.com
Foreign Policy @foreignpolicy.com · 9d
Trying to preserve NATO’s old formula of U.S. dominance and European submission is an increasingly bad bet, writes columnist @stephenwalt.bsky.social.
NATO’s Leader Is Totally Lost
What does Mark Rutte think he’s doing?
foreignpolicy.com

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Anna O. Law, Rebecca Solnit , and 6 more

nhannahjones.bsky.social
Ida Bae Wells @nhannahjones.bsky.social · 9d
Our founders, though deeply flawed, understood that democracy requires an informed citizenry and a government accountable to it people. That’s why the press is the only profession protected by the Constitution. It’s also why autocrats and oligarchs seek to control and destroy it.

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Jan W. Mueller, Matthew Bunn , and 1 more

gregsargent.bsky.social
Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 9d
"We are now in a system of competitive authoritarianism. And it’s just about whether we manage to take our democracy back from that."

On the pod, @ryanenos.bsky.social is so good on Harvard pulling back from surrender to Trump, and on need for institutions to fight:
newrepublic.com/article/2061...
Trump Spirals Into Crazed Fury After Harvard Humiliates Him Very Badly
As Trump rages at Harvard over leaks that he’s backtracking in his fight with the university, a Harvard political scientist explains why the stakes in this battle are far bigger than they seem.
newrepublic.com

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

abuaardvark.bsky.social
Abu Aardvark @abuaardvark.bsky.social · 9d
Have any members of what’s left of the editorial board resigned over this?

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Lisa W. Fazio, Brendan Nyhan , and 4 more

pbump.com
Philip Bump @pbump.com · 9d
These are the last words in the last column I wrote for The Washington Post, titled "When institutions crumble, strongmen step in". www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
This is nonetheless more favorable terrain for Trump than for the American system. As New York Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan once wrote (here in The Post), “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.” Trump has for years stoked the idea that actually, having your own facts is fine. And even as his base chooses facts that he finds inconvenient in the moment, he’s still pushing toward the next phase: Everyone is entitled to the facts that Trump presents. What institutions of power will be left to disagree?