Tom Pepinsky
@tompepinsky.com
Teacher, researcher, globalist, republican.
tompepinsky.com
tompepinsky.com
Bakmi Tiongsim—worth a journey
January 11, 2026 at 12:29 PM
Bakmi Tiongsim—worth a journey
It is time to reclaim the Gadsden flag.
January 11, 2026 at 10:52 AM
It is time to reclaim the Gadsden flag.
I wrote this right after the inauguration.
"The Christian nationalism of today is entirely inconsistent with the religion of the Founders. Our founding fathers kneeled to no pope, and they kneeled to no king. That is because they were mostly Episcopalians."
tompepinsky.com/2025/01/22/w...
"The Christian nationalism of today is entirely inconsistent with the religion of the Founders. Our founding fathers kneeled to no pope, and they kneeled to no king. That is because they were mostly Episcopalians."
tompepinsky.com/2025/01/22/w...
January 10, 2026 at 11:01 PM
I wrote this right after the inauguration.
"The Christian nationalism of today is entirely inconsistent with the religion of the Founders. Our founding fathers kneeled to no pope, and they kneeled to no king. That is because they were mostly Episcopalians."
tompepinsky.com/2025/01/22/w...
"The Christian nationalism of today is entirely inconsistent with the religion of the Founders. Our founding fathers kneeled to no pope, and they kneeled to no king. That is because they were mostly Episcopalians."
tompepinsky.com/2025/01/22/w...
Reposted by Tom Pepinsky
In 2019, the Anti-Extradition Bill Movement marked Hong Kong's most radical mass protest since the transfer of sovereignty. The cause? Economic grievances rooted in fears over resources and mainland influence. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Uncovering Economic Grievances behind Radical Protests: Revisiting People’s Support for the Anti-Extradition Bill Movement in Hong Kong | Journal of East Asian Studies | Cambridge Core
Uncovering Economic Grievances behind Radical Protests: Revisiting People’s Support for the Anti-Extradition Bill Movement in Hong Kong - Volume 25 Issue 2
www.cambridge.org
January 9, 2026 at 1:03 AM
In 2019, the Anti-Extradition Bill Movement marked Hong Kong's most radical mass protest since the transfer of sovereignty. The cause? Economic grievances rooted in fears over resources and mainland influence. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Reposted by Tom Pepinsky
Made in China 2025', a plan aimed to boost innovation and growth, turned sour. Data shows subsidies flow to politically connected firms rather than firms manufacturing cutting-edge products. Maybe subsidies don't equal innovation? www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Unintended Consequences of Business Subsidies: Evidence from “Made in China 2025” | Journal of East Asian Studies | Cambridge Core
Unintended Consequences of Business Subsidies: Evidence from “Made in China 2025” - Volume 25 Issue 2
www.cambridge.org
January 9, 2026 at 5:09 PM
Made in China 2025', a plan aimed to boost innovation and growth, turned sour. Data shows subsidies flow to politically connected firms rather than firms manufacturing cutting-edge products. Maybe subsidies don't equal innovation? www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Reposted by Tom Pepinsky
Two decades of survey data show Indonesians get more positive about democracy as they age yet Gen Z appears to be an outlier. Many supported Prabowo Subianto despite an authoritarian past. Are they complacent democrats or something else? www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Complacent Democrats: The Political Preferences of Gen Z Indonesians | Journal of East Asian Studies | Cambridge Core
Complacent Democrats: The Political Preferences of Gen Z Indonesians - Volume 25 Issue 2
www.cambridge.org
January 10, 2026 at 1:01 AM
Two decades of survey data show Indonesians get more positive about democracy as they age yet Gen Z appears to be an outlier. Many supported Prabowo Subianto despite an authoritarian past. Are they complacent democrats or something else? www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Reposted by Tom Pepinsky
"So-called" ideas get the cold shoulder in Xinhua. In other words, what's labled so-called isn't worth thinking about, as the phrase is often used to discredit ideas that challenge the state. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
The Use of ‘So-called’ as a Propaganda Device in China | Journal of East Asian Studies | Cambridge Core
The Use of ‘So-called’ as a Propaganda Device in China - Volume 25 Issue 2
www.cambridge.org
January 10, 2026 at 6:05 PM
"So-called" ideas get the cold shoulder in Xinhua. In other words, what's labled so-called isn't worth thinking about, as the phrase is often used to discredit ideas that challenge the state. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Reposted by Tom Pepinsky
Bravo, Jakarta.
Indonesia temporarily blocks access to Grok over sexualised images reut.rs/4jvw0JI
Indonesia temporarily blocks access to Grok over sexualised images
Indonesia temporarily blocked Elon Musk's Grok chatbot on Saturday due to the risk of AI-generated pornographic content, becoming the first country to deny access to the AI tool.
reut.rs
January 10, 2026 at 7:32 AM
Bravo, Jakarta.
I think that this is correct. I think a lot, though, about how attacks on NYC and DC were interpreted by Americans throughout this enormous country as attacks on them ... which coexists today with the deep hatred of the actual people who live in NYC and DC
I've long said that one of the reasons some Americans went so deep into the sadism and cruelty of Gitmo, dark sites and torture after 9/11 was because they were ashamed of how scared they were that day, and how visible to the world that fear was, both of which were unacceptable to US self-image.
So, one of the things I'm trying to get across in this next book, on a really deep level level, is how the nation could never have got this way--where any frightened cop gets to kill anyone--is because of political choices made after 9/11: to become, as I put it, a "bedwetter nation."
January 10, 2026 at 12:26 AM
I think that this is correct. I think a lot, though, about how attacks on NYC and DC were interpreted by Americans throughout this enormous country as attacks on them ... which coexists today with the deep hatred of the actual people who live in NYC and DC
Reposted by Tom Pepinsky
Martin Peterson's creative response to being banned from teaching Plato (shared with his permission).
January 8, 2026 at 5:38 PM
Martin Peterson's creative response to being banned from teaching Plato (shared with his permission).
Reposted by Tom Pepinsky
I have been seeing discussions about why people can’t call obvious fascism fascism and I am once again going to refer you to this @tompepinsky.com essay. People assume that if their lives feel mostly normal, it can’t *really* be fascism yet.
Life in authoritarian states is mostly boring and tolerable
Americans have an overly dramatic view what the end of democracy looks like.
www.vox.com
January 8, 2026 at 1:20 PM
I have been seeing discussions about why people can’t call obvious fascism fascism and I am once again going to refer you to this @tompepinsky.com essay. People assume that if their lives feel mostly normal, it can’t *really* be fascism yet.
Reposted by Tom Pepinsky
Populism isn't just rising in South Korea, but becoming the norm— Why? Read more in the article below: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
The Sectarian Divide: The Dynamics of Populism in South Korea | Journal of East Asian Studies | Cambridge Core
The Sectarian Divide: The Dynamics of Populism in South Korea - Volume 25 Issue 2
www.cambridge.org
January 8, 2026 at 1:39 AM
Populism isn't just rising in South Korea, but becoming the norm— Why? Read more in the article below: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Renee Nicole Good.
Affan Kurniawan.
Affan Kurniawan.
January 7, 2026 at 10:53 PM
Renee Nicole Good.
Affan Kurniawan.
Affan Kurniawan.
Reposted by Tom Pepinsky
Facing shrinking population and low birth rate, Japan has begun to loosen immigration policy. This article analyzes the ruling party's positions on foreign worker intake and concludes that views have shifted to be supportive of increases in foreign labor. shorturl.at/agUH5
Conservative Politics and the Dilemma of Immigration in Japan | Journal of East Asian Studies | Cambridge Core
Conservative Politics and the Dilemma of Immigration in Japan - Volume 25 Issue 3
shorturl.at
January 7, 2026 at 6:42 PM
Facing shrinking population and low birth rate, Japan has begun to loosen immigration policy. This article analyzes the ruling party's positions on foreign worker intake and concludes that views have shifted to be supportive of increases in foreign labor. shorturl.at/agUH5
This is a major threat to the research ecosystem as we know it. It is relatively easy to identify and contain a hallucinated citation. It is very hard to collectively identify and contain a legitimate citation to an hallucinated finding
This is a quite good analysis.
January 6, 2026 at 2:55 PM
This is a major threat to the research ecosystem as we know it. It is relatively easy to identify and contain a hallucinated citation. It is very hard to collectively identify and contain a legitimate citation to an hallucinated finding
Reposted by Tom Pepinsky
Why does public support for nuclear armament persist in South Korea despite strong trust in U.S. deterrence? This recent article shows that pessimism about inter-Korean relations is a factor driving public support for domestic nuclear capabilities: resolve.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Preventive Nuclearization: Power Shifts, Anticipated Insecurity, and Public Support for Nuclear Armament in South Korea | Journal of East Asian Studies | Cambridge Core
Preventive Nuclearization: Power Shifts, Anticipated Insecurity, and Public Support for Nuclear Armament in South Korea - Volume 25 Issue 3
resolve.cambridge.org
January 6, 2026 at 1:02 AM
Why does public support for nuclear armament persist in South Korea despite strong trust in U.S. deterrence? This recent article shows that pessimism about inter-Korean relations is a factor driving public support for domestic nuclear capabilities: resolve.cambridge.org/core/journal...
You can imagine the confusion that this creates for me
January 6, 2026 at 11:12 AM
You can imagine the confusion that this creates for me
This is just so embarrassing for everyone involved.
Hannity: Did you at any point offered to give him the Nobel peace prize?
Machado: It hasn’t happened yet. We want to give it to him. Share it with him.
Machado: It hasn’t happened yet. We want to give it to him. Share it with him.
January 6, 2026 at 8:36 AM
This is just so embarrassing for everyone involved.
This polling data is really important, not least because it is a sober reminder that the government in power in DC does not make policy by public opinion poll. The other party that might want to hold power ought to think hard about what this means.
Polls conducted in late 2025 show that most Americans, by a 25-50 point margin (depending on question wording), oppose the use of military force against Venezuela.
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/americans-...
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/americans-...
January 4, 2026 at 1:05 PM
This polling data is really important, not least because it is a sober reminder that the government in power in DC does not make policy by public opinion poll. The other party that might want to hold power ought to think hard about what this means.
honestly wild that I, a citizen of the United States, do not know if we have conquered Venezuela or not, and I have no confidence that the print or broadcast media are capable of telling me the answer
January 4, 2026 at 12:45 PM
honestly wild that I, a citizen of the United States, do not know if we have conquered Venezuela or not, and I have no confidence that the print or broadcast media are capable of telling me the answer
Many people do not know that Mearsheimer wrote a whole book about a military thinker who was catastrophically wrong about everything all the time, but then rehabilitated himself anyway
books.google.com/books/about/...
books.google.com/books/about/...
January 3, 2026 at 10:58 PM
Many people do not know that Mearsheimer wrote a whole book about a military thinker who was catastrophically wrong about everything all the time, but then rehabilitated himself anyway
books.google.com/books/about/...
books.google.com/books/about/...
The countries you liberate always enjoy donating their natural resources to American companies. That’s just science
DID HE JUST SAY THE OIL WILL PAY FOR THE OCCUPATION
January 3, 2026 at 5:44 PM
The countries you liberate always enjoy donating their natural resources to American companies. That’s just science
Reposted by Tom Pepinsky
Some thoughts on what Trump has done in Venezuela and what it might mean for US national security. Caveat: not a Latin America scholar so this is focused on US policy. Clearly huge consequences for Venezuela that others can address.
First, despite the buildup, I didn't think Trump would do it.
1/
First, despite the buildup, I didn't think Trump would do it.
1/
January 3, 2026 at 2:37 PM
Some thoughts on what Trump has done in Venezuela and what it might mean for US national security. Caveat: not a Latin America scholar so this is focused on US policy. Clearly huge consequences for Venezuela that others can address.
First, despite the buildup, I didn't think Trump would do it.
1/
First, despite the buildup, I didn't think Trump would do it.
1/
War, the State, and Man
Just imagine being an IR Realist this morning
January 3, 2026 at 2:13 PM
War, the State, and Man
Reposted by Tom Pepinsky
just watching all my US follows casually scrolling through Bluesky while they wait for the first pot of the day to brew
What in the ever loving fuck has he done
January 3, 2026 at 1:29 PM
just watching all my US follows casually scrolling through Bluesky while they wait for the first pot of the day to brew