Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Allison Grossman @allisong.bsky.social · 8d

an insane expansion and abuse of powers that is so clearly rooted in Global War on Terror architecture

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 9d

we need evidence of two things: first, that trump can distinguish fantasy from reality and second, that trump is actually president

Luke Russell @lukerussell.bsky.social · 9d

The Deputy Chief of Staff... is in charge of military strikes? Do we even have a president?

Allison Grossman @allisong.bsky.social · 19d

Final reminder! Political scientists in the southeast, submit your paper to SoWEPS to get great feedback and hang out in New Orleans on 11/7! We match you with a discussant and everyone reads ahead. Submissions due TOMORROW 9/19: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

#polisky

docs.google.com

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Thomas Zeitzoff @zeitzoff.bsky.social · 21d

Two things to add to this:

1) I am much more concerned with party elites and leaders encouraging and stoking violence than shifts in the public from vaguely worded questions.

2) These public shifts in support for violence are almost always downstream of elite rhetoric and narratives.

Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 22d

These estimates of public support for violence (from www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/o...) are inflated - *much* higher than what we and others have found using question wording that reduces acquiescence bias: brightlinewatch.org/accelerated-... The vast majority of Americans reject political violence.

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Allison Grossman @allisong.bsky.social · 22d

Political scientists in the southeast (broadly defined), submit your paper to SoWEPS to get great feedback! We match you with a discussant and everyone reads ahead. We're hosting at Tulane on November 9, submissions due September 19: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

docs.google.com

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Rachel Schoner @rjschoner.bsky.social · 23d

Come hang out in New Orleans! January, not surprisingly, is a great time to be here!
SPSA deadline today.
spsa.net/annual-meeti...

2026 Conference Information – Southern Political Science Association

The purpose of the Southern Political Science Association (SPSA) shall be to publish professional journals, improve teaching, promote interest and research in theoretical and practical political probl...

spsa.net

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Africa Center for Strategic Studies @africacenter.bsky.social · 24d

Les acteurs russes ont joué un rôle de premier plan en alimentant et en amplifiant de faux récits autour de la junte burkinabè. La junte, à son tour, a été l’un des plus ardents défenseurs de la présence sécuritaire croissante de Moscou en Afrique.

Une divergence croissante de narratifs autour de la sécurité au Burkina Faso – Centre d’Études Stratégiques de l’Afrique

Les conditions sécuritaires du Burkina Faso continuent de se détériorer sous la junte militaire, malgré une campagne d’information de grande envergure.

africacenter.org

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Anjali Dayal @anjalikdayal.bsky.social · 28d

OUT OF EVERY DITCH, A PATH

Ryan Teague Beckwith @ryanbeckwith.bsky.social · 28d

I just don't see politically how the foreign aid comes back. No Democratic president is going to spend political energy to fight, say, AIDS in Africa, knowing that Republicans will attack it and then defund all of it the next time they win back the White House.

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Allison Grossman @allisong.bsky.social · 29d

Come work with me! Tulane Poli Sci is hiring an Assistant Professor in comparative political economy: apply.interfolio.com/172989

I'm not on the committee but happy to answer Qs about dept, NOLA, etc

Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio

apply.interfolio.com

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Alex Dyzenhaus @dyzenhaus.bsky.social · Aug 30

Great forum to present some work and get some feedback if you have a paper on anything on African politics. Given its virtual format, it's a great place for junior scholars and scholars based on the continent to do an hour long workshop-style discussion of a paper!
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

APCG Online Colloquium Call for Papers - Fall 2025 & Spring 2026

The APCG Online Colloquium is designed to increase opportunities for scholars of African politics to present and receive timely, constructive feedback on unpublished work. Colloquium sessions will be ...

docs.google.com

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APSA @apsa.bsky.social · Aug 25

Jamelle Bouie Receives the 2025 Carey McWilliams Award

The Carey McWilliams Award is presented annually by the American Political Science Association (APSA) to honor major journalistic contributions to society’s understanding of politics. Citation from the Award Committee: The American Political…

Jamelle Bouie Receives the 2025 Carey McWilliams Award

The Carey McWilliams Award is presented annually by the American Political Science Association (APSA) to honor major journalistic contributions to society’s understanding of politics. Citation from the Award Committee: The American Political Science Association's Carey McWilliams Award honors "a major journalistic contribution to our understanding of politics." This year's winner is Jamelle Bouie. Since joining the New York Times as a columnist in 2019, Jamelle Bouie has consistently worked to redefine what a newspaper opinion column can be.

politicalsciencenow.com

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Allison Grossman @allisong.bsky.social · Aug 21

We're hosting the next edition of the Southern Workshop in Empirical Political Science (SoWEPS) at Tulane on November 7! Please submit a paper or sign up to be a discussant here by September 19: forms.gle/iB5b4E8mrofq...

forms.gle

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Yvan Guichaoua @yguichaoua.bsky.social · Jul 18

We're at the dawn of some bad shit in the Azawad. Again

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Anjali Dayal @anjalikdayal.bsky.social · Jul 18

this is all horrible. alongside devastating blows to PBS and NPR, this bill totally ends US funding to key UN bodies that do frontline work, including UNICEF & OCHA, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Completely eliminates US contributions—previously the US was the key funder.

Sahil Kapur @sahilkapur.bsky.social · Jul 18

NEWS: Trump's cuts to NPR, PBS and foreign aid clear Congress

House gives final passage by a vote of 216-213.

The Senate passed it yesterday 51-48.

With Republican votes only. Democrats all voted NO.

This now goes to Trump for his signature.

www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...

Trump's cuts to NPR, PBS and foreign aid clear Congress

The $9 billion package passed the House and Senate with only Republican votes through the rarely used "rescissions" process. Trump is now expected to sign it into law.

www.nbcnews.com

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Allison Grossman @allisong.bsky.social · May 16

indefensible

Michael Derby @michaelsderby.bsky.social · May 16

NBC reports Trump administration working on plan to ethnically cleanse 1 million Gazans into strife torn Libya: “In exchange for the resettling of Palestinians, the administration would potentially release to Libya billions of dollars of funds that the U.S. froze more than a decade ago.”

Trump administration working on plan to move 1 million Palestinians to Libya

Details are murky and no final agreement has been reached, but the plan is under serious enough consideration that the administration has discussed it with Libyan leadership.

www.nbcnews.com

Reposted by Allison Grossman

Yvan Guichaoua @yguichaoua.bsky.social · May 12

This is the reality of Burkina, just when a massive campaign on anglophone social media invents non-existent, crazy achievements by IB Traoré and makes him the liberator of Africa, thanks to AI generated posts. Also, yesterday was another day of debacle for the army, with 11 attacks by JNIM

Burkina Faso: Army Directs Ethnic Massacres | Human Rights Watch

The Burkina Faso army led and participated in the massacre of more than 130, possibly many more, ethnic Fulani civilians by pro-government militias in the western Boucle du Mouhoun region in March 2025.

www.hrw.org

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Africa Center for Strategic Studies @africacenter.bsky.social · May 6

After noteworthy gains in the previous decade under democratically elected governments, Niger’s military coup in July 2023 has resulted in a deterioration in security, economic wellbeing, and agency for Nigerien citizens.
africacenter.org/spo...
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Virginia Oliveros @viroliveros.bsky.social · May 2

My colleagues @andrewleber.bsky.social & @stano.bsky.social: "If American university presidents do not forcefully denounce these unconstitutional and un-American actions, our universities will soon be shells of their former selves, like (...) other nations that have lapsed into authoritarian rule."

Stan Oklobdzija @stano.bsky.social · May 2

@andrewleber.bsky.social and I have an op-ed out in @nolanews.bsky.social urging @tulaneu.bsky.social to denounce and take legal action to stop the unconstitutional and utterly un-American attacks on foreign students and faculty for their political speech.

Tulane professors: Tulane must speak out to protect international students

Tulane professors: The Trump administration's actions in relation to international students at U.S. universities are those of an autocrat. Tulane officials must speak out.

www.nola.com

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Kai Thaler @kaimthaler.bsky.social · Apr 28

This is horribly unethical. Violating the subreddit’s rules, no meaningful consent, and has the downstream consequence of reducing people’s trust in other posters in a space that seems like it was actually a decent place for dialogue & people being open to changing their minds about important issues

Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · Apr 28

NEW: Researchers secretly ran a massive, unauthorized AI persuasion experiment on Reddit users in a large debate subreddit. The bots' answers mined the original posters' identity and post history to generate its answers & created identities such as "rape survivor"

www.404media.co/researchers-...

Researchers Secretly Ran a Massive, Unauthorized AI Persuasion Experiment on Reddit Users

The researchers' bots generated identities as a sexual assault survivor, a trauma counselor, and a Black man opposed to Black Lives Matter.

www.404media.co

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Africa Center for Strategic Studies @africacenter.bsky.social · Apr 28

About 70% of the migration flows across West & Central Africa involve temporary, seasonal, and permanent migration of workers, with economic hubs such as Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Nigeria the key destinations.

See our Spotlight for more:
africacenter.org/spo...

African Migration Trends to Watch in 2025 – Africa Center

A preview of migration trends for 2025 including the need for more regional innovation to accommodate intracontinental population movements.

africacenter.org

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Allison Grossman @allisong.bsky.social · Apr 24

Cuts are less severe than anticipated, but still drastically undermine America's ability to understand the increasingly complex global environment in which it operates. A true loss of expertise [2/2]

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Allison Grossman @allisong.bsky.social · Apr 24

"The same person [...] coordinating all foreign assistance across the department is also [...] the chief humanitarian for the U.S. government, responsible for getting billions of dollars of assistance to the most difficult operating environments with likely 95 percent less staff than before" 1/2

Rubio unveils sweeping reorganization of State Department

The Trump administration’s proposed shake-up of the State Department targets human rights programs and others focused on war crimes and democracy.

www.washingtonpost.com

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🏳️‍⚧️ Josephine Riesman @josie.zone · Apr 23

Well this was a fucking ride

archive.is/0SrwO

NEWYORK
ICan Hear Thoughts A podcast claims a group of nonspeaking autistic children can read minds. But what's the real story behind The Telepathy Tapes? BY ELIZABETH WEIL

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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · Apr 22

I first learned Rwanda was open to accepting people not wanted in the US via a copy of a diplomatic cable sent in March.

A new cable sent today confirmed that the first person had been "relocated" after the US paid the Rwandan government $100,000.

US “relocates” Iraqi refugee to Rwanda via new diplomatic arrangement

A State Department cable indicates at least 10 more people will be subjected to the same.

www.thehandbasket.co

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Ken Opalo @kopalo.bsky.social · Apr 14

Mobutu couldn’t hold a candle to these guys.

“Taken together, the various projects are approaching $1 billion in paper gains even after accounting for the latest round of trade war-induced market gyrations, according to Bloomberg.”

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

The Trump Family Is Going All-In on Crypto Projects, From Bitcoin Mining to Stablecoins

President Donald Trump and his family have taken a interest in just about every corner of the crypto industry.

www.bloomberg.com

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