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scottrw630.bsky.social
Scott Williamson
@scottrw630.bsky.social
2.7K followers 690 following 64 posts
Associate Professor of Politics at Oxford studying authoritarianism, migration, and the Middle East. https://www.scott-williamson.com
www.scott-williamson.com
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scottrw630.bsky.social
Scott Williamson @scottrw630.bsky.social · Nov 27
My book is out! I’m grateful for the many people in Jordan, Tunisia, Stanford, and elsewhere who helped it reach this point.

If you’re interested in why some autocrats stay popular or why ruling monarchs are so durable in today’s world, this book is for you!

www.cambridge.org/core/books/k...
The King Can Do No Wrong
Cambridge Core - Middle East Government,Politics and Policy - The King Can Do No Wrong
www.cambridge.org
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eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 2h
'Arm’s-length bodies such as the Office for Students (OfS) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) are particularly “vulnerable to political interference”, a new report has warned.' 1/3
‘Learn lessons from US’ and stop political interference, UK told
OfS and UKRI seen as particularly vulnerable to meddling from government, with report authors calling for more safeguards to ensure independence
www.timeshighereducation.com
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govpritzker.illinois.gov
Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 19h
I will not back down.

Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power.

What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?
Donald Trump Truth Social Post: Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers! Governor Pritzker also.
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xuxupolitics.bsky.social
Xu Xu @xuxupolitics.bsky.social · 2d
Why do authoritarian states charge political opponents with non-political crimes? In our @thejop.bsky.social paper with Jennifer Pan & @yiqingxu.bsky.social, we examine how *Disguised Repression* undermines opponents’ moral authority and mobilization capacity. doi.org/10.1086/7342...
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apsgworkshop.bsky.social
Authoritarian Political Systems Group @apsgworkshop.bsky.social · 2d
Join us tomorrow!
apsgworkshop.bsky.social
Authoritarian Political Systems Group @apsgworkshop.bsky.social · 8d
Join us next week!
@lisayfan.bsky.social (@politicsoxford.bsky.social) will present her work on expressions of loyalty by female elites. Jakob Tolstrup (Aarhus) and @parzetterberg.bsky.social (@uu-polisci.bsky.social) will discuss.
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govpritzker.illinois.gov
Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 4d
This morning, the Trump Administration’s Department of War gave me an ultimatum: call up your troops, or we will. It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a Governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will.
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pavisuri.bsky.social
Pavithra Suryanarayan @pavisuri.bsky.social · 5d
See if you saw this in Indonesia or India you would call it corruption. But since that’s the word used only when it happens in the developing region of the world here will just call it sparkling money-making
carlquintanilla.bsky.social
Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 6d
“.. no modern American president has positioned his family to make so much money while in the White House. Already, since the early days of his reelection campaign, he’s more than doubled his net worth to about $5.4 billion.”

@bloomberg.com
www.bloomberg.com/features/202...
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apsgworkshop.bsky.social
Authoritarian Political Systems Group @apsgworkshop.bsky.social · 7d
Our Call for Papers for the Spring 2026 is now open!
Submit your proposal by November 9th using this link: forms.gle/SvZv98ke4QUT...
For more information visit: apsg.work/cfp/
Apply to Present Your Work!
Complete the form to be considered for the Authoritarian Political Systems Group Spring 2026 Season. Read the Seminar Rules before applying.
forms.gle
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scottrw630.bsky.social
Scott Williamson @scottrw630.bsky.social · 8d
Feel free to reach out with ideas, and otherwise stay tuned for updates!
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scottrw630.bsky.social
Scott Williamson @scottrw630.bsky.social · 8d
The section’s hundreds of experts in authoritarianism, regime transitions, and democratic backsliding have a lot to say about our current moment in global politics. In addition to running section events at APSA’s annual conference, we’re looking to promote the section’s expertise more widely.
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scottrw630.bsky.social
Scott Williamson @scottrw630.bsky.social · 8d
Last spring, I was elected to chair APSA’s Democracy & Autocracy Section for 2025-2027. I’m excited to be taking on the position as of this month. Thanks to @annemeng.bsky.social for leading the section the last two years!
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jdportes.bsky.social
Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 9d
Delaying ILR/settlement/citizenship for this group would very likely leave them to the mercy of a future Reform/Tory govt -and to policies which Starmer and Mahmood have (rightly) explicitly described as racist.

A real litmus test for Labour.
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patrickiber.bsky.social
Patrick Iber @patrickiber.bsky.social · 12d
It was a true honor to talk to legendary political scientist Adam Przeworski about how he understands the present crisis, what he learned from Chile and Poland, and how to move forward from here www.dissentmagazine.org/article/how-...
How Democracies Fall Apart - Dissent Magazine
An interview with Adam Przeworski.
www.dissentmagazine.org
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chowleen.bsky.social
eileen chengyin chow @chowleen.bsky.social · 11d
The South Korean Ministry of Defense has awarded medals of merit to 11 officers for disobeying direct orders of superiors during the martial law fiasco, orders that they deemed to be contrary to the constitution and endangerment to democracy.
www.chosun.com/english/nati...
National Defense Ministry Honors 11 Soldiers for Refusing Illegal Orders
National Defense Ministry Honors 11 Soldiers for Refusing Illegal Orders Honored for rejecting illegal orders during martial law, Marine death probe
www.chosun.com
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tompepinsky.com
Tom Pepinsky @tompepinsky.com · 11d
Przeworski says it cleanly, clearly, and convincingly.

What then must we do?

www.dissentmagazine.org/article/how-...
The Democratic establishment is clearly betting that Republicans will offer them an electoral victory while they attend the wedding parties of billionaires. The only vision for the Democratic Party originates from its left wing, which is vigorously censured by its mainstream. It may well be that the Democratic leadership is correct in thinking that the best strategy is to do nothing and waiting for MAGA to fail. But this, like MAGA, is a “back again” ideology, one of “restoring” democracy rather than transforming the conditions that generated the present disaster. To restore democracy, it needs to be reformed. This is the project we need.
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tabouchadi.bsky.social
Tarik Abou-Chadi @tabouchadi.bsky.social · 12d
For the Guardian, @turnbulldugarte.com and I discuss our research that clearly shows one thing: Labour's anti-immigration strategy will only strengthen Reform and weaken its own electoral prospects. It won't win voters back but ultimately normalizes the far right

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Our research makes it clear: by capitulating to the right, Labour is driving voters to Reform UK | Tarik Abou-Chadi and Stuart Turnbull-Dugarte
Mimicking Farage on immigration is senseless. Labour voters feel betrayed; anti-immigration voters see through the ruse, say academics Tarik Abou-Chadi and Stuart Turnbull-Dugarte
www.theguardian.com
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davidakaye.bsky.social
David Kaye @davidakaye.bsky.social · 13d
so many levels to condemn this out-of-control abuse of power:

- the antisemitism of the anti-Soros agenda

- its roots in authoritarian repression of democracy support, esp by Putin and Orban

- trump's targeting of perceived political enemies by a weaponized DoJ.

and that's just a start.
Justice Dept. Official Pushes Prosecutors to Investigate George Soros’s Foundation
www.nytimes.com
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Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 16d
Alaa has been pardoned! Wonderful, wonderful news. Yet, it also brings to mind the tens of thousands of political prisoners who remain behind bars in Egypt under terrible conditions.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/22/w...
Egypt Pardons Most Prominent Political Prisoner
www.nytimes.com
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robfordmancs.bsky.social
Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 16d
I'll have more to say on Reform's proposals to scrap ILR at some point but for now I'll just note this - anyone telling you this is a popular idea doesn't know the polling. Overwhelming majority of public back giving people who work and pay taxes most or all rights after 5 years or less
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benansell.bsky.social
Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 16d
Some very obvious cases that Farage and Yusuf need to be hammered on:
1. 78 year old pensioner on ILR for last 30 years who obviously cannot get work visa
2. 35 year old born in UK to non-nationals, never got UK citizenship because of cost, loses job and has to move to country they've never lived in
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sumitra.bsky.social
Sumitra Badrinathan @sumitra.bsky.social · 18d
i don’t think people on bluesky understand the severity of this situation.

i woke up to literally hundreds of texts from friends and family thinking about either moving back home to india or applying to other countries for jobs. this includes me.
gergely.pragmaticengineer.com
Gergely Orosz @gergely.pragmaticengineer.com · 19d
Those on an H1B cannot return to the US from tomorrow (Sunday) unless paying $100K. This is an out-of-the blue presidential action. We’ll see software engineers stranded abroad.

One easy to predict outcome: those on US visas will travel less… for work, for conferences etc.
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psrm.bsky.social
Political Science Research and Methods @psrm.bsky.social · 20d
🤔 Do surveys exaggerate democratic support due to social desirability bias (SDB)?

➡️ Using survey-mode variation & list experiments in 24 countries, @pcmagalhaes.bsky.social & @aarslew.bsky.social find no evidence that SDB inflates democratic attitudes www.cambridge.org/core/journal... #FirstView
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karenattiah.bsky.social
Karen Attiah @karenattiah.bsky.social · 20d
The last political column I was allowed to write in the @washingtonpost.com was a criticism of Obama.

His people took issue with my piece, but we were respectful.

Now he is tweeting in support of me.

This is how free political speech and respect for debate *actually works*.

Or used to work.
Tweet From Obama mentioning my firing from the Washington post. Wirh a photo of me
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barackobama.bsky.social
Barack Obama @barackobama.bsky.social · 20d
After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like.
Let’s be clear about what happened to Jimmy Kimmel
Trump’s most brazen attack on free speech yet.
www.yahoo.com
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filipecampante.bsky.social
Filipe Campante @filipecampante.bsky.social · 20d
The media landscape shaping up leading into the midterms is disturbing. Two key platforms (TikTok and X) controlled by regime-friendly oligarchs — not even counting Meta. Many of the most powerful figures voicing opposition will be off the air, by regime demand. CBS, WaPo, LA Times, you name it…
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yoshikoherrera.bsky.social
Yoshiko Herrera @yoshikoherrera.bsky.social · 21d
Respectfully disagree: 1) in fact it is unusual for a democracy w/ this level of GDP to turn authoritarian & so quickly; 2) the weakness of both institutions (congress & courts) and individuals (Schumer etc) is shocking. Would take less than 10 people in congress or 2 SC justices to stop all this.
donmoyn.bsky.social
Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 21d
What America is going through is not unusual in historical terms. Plenty of examples like it today elsewhere in the world.
What makes it unusual is the rapid collapse from a set of widely espoused norms and values that centered on liberty. It is the sacking of the shining city on hill that shocks.
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