Bryan R. Early
@brephd.bsky.social
Political scientist with expertise on economic sanctions, strategic trade controls, and WMD security issues.
Having written about why conventional bombings should be considered WMD terrorism, I can attest that there’s no way fentanyl should be treated as one in US policy. It further muddies the already muddled definitions of WMD and makes it harder to stop real proliferation.
doi.org/10.1080/1746...
doi.org/10.1080/1746...
December 16, 2025 at 2:28 AM
Having written about why conventional bombings should be considered WMD terrorism, I can attest that there’s no way fentanyl should be treated as one in US policy. It further muddies the already muddled definitions of WMD and makes it harder to stop real proliferation.
doi.org/10.1080/1746...
doi.org/10.1080/1746...
My wonderful co-author Dr. Keith Preble has just updated our economic sanctions enforcement data set (2003-2025). It’s a great resource if you want to track or study how the US government’s #OFAC follows through on US sanctions by penalizing parties that violate them. Public release in Jan. 2026.
🎄 It's that special time of year again when the OFAC Enforcement Data Set gets updated! ☃️
I will publish the updated version of the dataset to Harvard Dataverse on 31 December. Last year, OFAC snuck in an EA on the last day of the year, so I'll wait until then to update the data set. /1
I will publish the updated version of the dataset to Harvard Dataverse on 31 December. Last year, OFAC snuck in an EA on the last day of the year, so I'll wait until then to update the data set. /1
December 10, 2025 at 2:57 PM
My wonderful co-author Dr. Keith Preble has just updated our economic sanctions enforcement data set (2003-2025). It’s a great resource if you want to track or study how the US government’s #OFAC follows through on US sanctions by penalizing parties that violate them. Public release in Jan. 2026.
Tomorrow, I’ll be delivering a talk on my co-authored book project with Togzhan Kassenova entitled “Banks and the Bomb” as part of UAlbany’s Pathbreaking Research series at 10 am.
The event is open to the public with registration.
See: events.albany.edu/event/day-5-....
The event is open to the public with registration.
See: events.albany.edu/event/day-5-....
Four Faculty Members Tapped for 'Pathbreaking Research' Talks
The presentations, covering topics ranging from health communication to the aviation industry's impact on climate, will take place on Oct. 31 from 10 a.m. to noon at ETEC as part of Day 5 of Research ...
www.albany.edu
October 30, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Tomorrow, I’ll be delivering a talk on my co-authored book project with Togzhan Kassenova entitled “Banks and the Bomb” as part of UAlbany’s Pathbreaking Research series at 10 am.
The event is open to the public with registration.
See: events.albany.edu/event/day-5-....
The event is open to the public with registration.
See: events.albany.edu/event/day-5-....
I just watched “A House of Dynamite.” It was excellent and terrifying. It was a great reminder of why it is crucial to stop the spread of #nuclear weapons and work towards disarmament.
I’m grateful to have such great colleagues working with me at PISCES/CPR at UAlbany to prevent WMD proliferation.
I’m grateful to have such great colleagues working with me at PISCES/CPR at UAlbany to prevent WMD proliferation.
October 30, 2025 at 3:46 AM
I just watched “A House of Dynamite.” It was excellent and terrifying. It was a great reminder of why it is crucial to stop the spread of #nuclear weapons and work towards disarmament.
I’m grateful to have such great colleagues working with me at PISCES/CPR at UAlbany to prevent WMD proliferation.
I’m grateful to have such great colleagues working with me at PISCES/CPR at UAlbany to prevent WMD proliferation.
I think this concept applies to more than just digital platforms…
enshittification | noun | when a digital platform is made worse for users, in order to increase profits
September 3, 2025 at 10:12 PM
I think this concept applies to more than just digital platforms…
Getting to work with the fine civil servants and foreign service officers at the State Department to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction has been the greatest privilege and honor of my professional career. 1/2
July 13, 2025 at 9:38 PM
Getting to work with the fine civil servants and foreign service officers at the State Department to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction has been the greatest privilege and honor of my professional career. 1/2
Reposted by Bryan R. Early
New, from me @theatlantic.com:
*No, the federal government is not too big
*It has real human capital needs
*Firings are indiscriminate, weakening state capacity
*Creating a toxic and politicized workplace is driving away dedicated employees
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
*No, the federal government is not too big
*It has real human capital needs
*Firings are indiscriminate, weakening state capacity
*Creating a toxic and politicized workplace is driving away dedicated employees
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
The DOGE Project Will Backfire
Trump’s war on public employees is bad for all of us.
www.theatlantic.com
February 22, 2025 at 3:08 PM
New, from me @theatlantic.com:
*No, the federal government is not too big
*It has real human capital needs
*Firings are indiscriminate, weakening state capacity
*Creating a toxic and politicized workplace is driving away dedicated employees
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
*No, the federal government is not too big
*It has real human capital needs
*Firings are indiscriminate, weakening state capacity
*Creating a toxic and politicized workplace is driving away dedicated employees
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Reposted by Bryan R. Early
“I was in a mission meeting last week where the mission director said, ‘We have lost contact with Washington. We are on our own.’ I can tell you, in my entire career in government, have never seen such a thing. Not during Covid, not during crisis, not during civil war. Never.”
February 10, 2025 at 9:41 PM
“I was in a mission meeting last week where the mission director said, ‘We have lost contact with Washington. We are on our own.’ I can tell you, in my entire career in government, have never seen such a thing. Not during Covid, not during crisis, not during civil war. Never.”
Reposted by Bryan R. Early
Also, the pause is destroying implementing partners’ finances, and is likely to permanently wreck capacity going forward
I really wish reporting would stop faithfully citing this “pause and review” line at agencies experiencing impoundment. Every previous administration reviewed programs. The difference is they still executed the law.
Pausing spending for “review” is not a thing.
Pausing spending for “review” is not a thing.
February 11, 2025 at 2:11 AM
Also, the pause is destroying implementing partners’ finances, and is likely to permanently wreck capacity going forward