Tom Pepinsky
@tompepinsky.com
Teacher, researcher, globalist, republican.
tompepinsky.com
tompepinsky.com
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
Feel free to update your beliefs about every single person and institution involved
What in the ever loving fuck has he done
January 3, 2026 at 1:23 PM
Feel free to update your beliefs about every single person and institution involved
What in the ever loving fuck has he done
January 3, 2026 at 1:11 PM
What in the ever loving fuck has he done
Shits, bits, stabes, ceebs /
All were types of cryptocurrencies
All were types of cryptocurrencies
Is crypto money? It depends, & it depends which crypto products we're talking about: shitcoins, Bitcoin, stablecoins, CBDCs, etc.
The way to think about cryptocurrency is to focus on what it aspires to be: money.
Money is three things
1. medium of exchange
2. store of value
3. unit of account
Is crypto these things? It depends, and different crypto products do different things for different reasons
2/
Money is three things
1. medium of exchange
2. store of value
3. unit of account
Is crypto these things? It depends, and different crypto products do different things for different reasons
2/
January 2, 2026 at 6:36 PM
Shits, bits, stabes, ceebs /
All were types of cryptocurrencies
All were types of cryptocurrencies
Reposted by Tom Pepinsky
You wanna read a new (hopefully improved, thanks to very helpful comments from a bunch of very smart colleagues) version of paper called "The Political Economy of Shitcoins"? Of course you do. @tompepinsky.com & I are at your service.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
January 2, 2026 at 5:54 PM
You wanna read a new (hopefully improved, thanks to very helpful comments from a bunch of very smart colleagues) version of paper called "The Political Economy of Shitcoins"? Of course you do. @tompepinsky.com & I are at your service.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
The technology oligarchs have concluded, correctly, that if you do not apply the law to them, then they can do literally whatever they want.
January 2, 2026 at 1:06 PM
The technology oligarchs have concluded, correctly, that if you do not apply the law to them, then they can do literally whatever they want.
Happy New Year! The following things are older than the mayor of New York:
Home Alone
Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Microsoft PowerPoint
Bud Dry
Moldova
Home Alone
Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Microsoft PowerPoint
Bud Dry
Moldova
January 1, 2026 at 11:02 PM
Happy New Year! The following things are older than the mayor of New York:
Home Alone
Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Microsoft PowerPoint
Bud Dry
Moldova
Home Alone
Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Microsoft PowerPoint
Bud Dry
Moldova
Reposted by Tom Pepinsky
We haven't seen an Indiana squad turn back an Alabama offense this decisively since Antietam
January 1, 2026 at 10:23 PM
We haven't seen an Indiana squad turn back an Alabama offense this decisively since Antietam
You should never idolize a politician. They work for you, and you should hold them to account.
You are allowed, however, to celebrate the new year by bathing in the warm salty tears of any identity politics bigot.
You are allowed, however, to celebrate the new year by bathing in the warm salty tears of any identity politics bigot.
January 1, 2026 at 8:35 PM
You should never idolize a politician. They work for you, and you should hold them to account.
You are allowed, however, to celebrate the new year by bathing in the warm salty tears of any identity politics bigot.
You are allowed, however, to celebrate the new year by bathing in the warm salty tears of any identity politics bigot.
Then again the Breakfast Club is on
This is actually a game, and I honestly do not care who wins
January 1, 2026 at 3:21 AM
Then again the Breakfast Club is on