Sebastian van Baalen
@sebastianvanbaalen.se
4.4K followers 970 following 290 posts
Associate Professor at the Dep. of Peace & Conflict Research, Uppsala University (@uupeace.bsky.social). Researching dynamics of civil war, rebel governance, civil resistance, electoral violence, postwar violence, Côte d’Ivoire. www.sebastianvanbaalen.se
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sebastianvanbaalen.se
🆕 Excited that @andresuribe.bsky.social and my joint work is out 🔓 open-access in @cpsjournal.bsky.social We study under what conditions rebels succeed in establishing rebel governance in areas dominated by the state. A thread 🧵



Conflictsky @polviolencepapers.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1177/0010...
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
doi.org
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
filipecampante.bsky.social
I'm of the view that, when @adamprz.bsky.social writes about democracy, we should pay a lot of attention... adamprzeworski.substack.com/p/musings-1
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
tompepinsky.com
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.
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
charig.bsky.social
This is absurd. But to be honest, we all should have left academia.edu ages ago because of their spamming. Their "AI-generated professional podcasts" of papers are another very good reason to delete your account. Good riddance!
Picture of AI generated podcast of a paper I had uploaded on academia.edu
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
luigiprosperi.bsky.social
The International Association of Genocide Scholars has adopted (with 90% of its members in favor) a resolution calling what’s happening in Gaza a genocide genocidescholars.org/wp-content/u...
genocidescholars.org
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
adhaque.bsky.social
“People who are experts in the study of genocide can see this situation for what it is,” Melanie O’Brien, the organization’s president and a professor of international law at the University of Western Australia, told The Associated Press.
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
dmsilverman.bsky.social
Frankly I’m surprised more comparativists aren’t saying, “Aw that’s so cute. America’s having its first little premature rumor and speculation frenzy about the autocrat’s death after his public absence for a brief period” (common in authoritarian regimes)
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
vermontgmg.bsky.social
The precise moment when and where in recent weeks America crossed that invisible line from democracy into authoritarianism can and will be debated by future historians, but it’s clear that the line itself has been crossed. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/america-ti...
America Tips Into Fascism
Today is different than before.
www.doomsdayscenario.co
sebastianvanbaalen.se
Extra fun to see this article out in the world as I've had the privilege to follow its progression as a writing mentor for the author 🙌 Congratulations @maureenfubara.bsky.social 🎉
sebastianvanbaalen.se
🆕 Excited to see this article by @maureenfubara.bsky.social out.

Drawing on 100+ interviews across Nigerian states, she shows how access to rents shapes whether leaders rely on armed groups or ordinary citizens for perpetrating electoral violence.

doi.org/10.1177/0022...
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
doi.org
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
allardduursma.bsky.social
Armed conflicts involve governments, rebel groups, militias, communal factions, and foreign forces — all interacting in complex ways. The result? A web of violence that can feel overwhelming to understand.

That's why we launch the Conflict Networks Explorer
peaceobservatory.com/conflict-networks
Peace Observatory
Peace observatory website.
peaceobservatory.com
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
jodemocracy.bsky.social
🚨 Recognize these symptoms of democratic backsliding before it's too late:

1) Extreme polarization
2) Executive control of legislature
3) Quiet incremental tests of democratic norms and limits

muse.jhu.edu/article...
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
katelonergan.bsky.social
🆕 📣 Making my BlueSky debut to share some exciting news: the first solo-authored publication from my PhD dissertation, published last week 🔓 open access in @gsqjournal.bsky.social: academic.oup.com/isagsq/artic...

A thread 🧵:
sebastianvanbaalen.se
Really cool work out by @andresuribe.bsky.social and colleauges on estimating the prevalence of criminal governance in Latin America ⤵️
poppublicsphere.bsky.social
NOW OUT ON FIRSTVIEW!!

#Criminal #Governance in #Latin #America: Prevalence and Correlates

By @andresuribe.bsky.social, Benjamin Lessing, Noah Schouela & Elayne Stecher

doi.org/10.1017/S153...
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
scrosenzweig.bsky.social
Now out: new article w/ @niloufersiddiqui.bsky.social - "Conceptualizing Election-Related Violence" - takes stock of the rapidly growing literature on election violence, identifying points of agreement and disagreement across studies on how the concept is defined and disaggregated into sub-types.
Conceptualizing Election-Related Violence
Electoral violence has become an increasingly common manifestation of political violence around the globe. Reflecting the growing significance of this form of violence, there has been a sharp rise ...
doi.org
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
mehr.nz
samuel mehr @mehr.nz · Dec 14
it's wild that R, the ubiquitous statistical computing language, was co-created by a Māori prof (Ross Ihaka) — and yet the vast majority of scientists who use R don't know

this is like inventing the toaster. possibly the largest impact of a single member of an indigenous community on modern science
sebastianvanbaalen.se
Done! You are in the Part II
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
eriklarsson180.bsky.social
Europa inskränker yttrandefriheten. Allt fler fängslas pga inlägg i sociala medier. Intressant (låst) artikel i WSJ. En kvinna från England har suttit fängslad mer än 330 dagar för rasistisk tweet, vilket lett till stor debatt om vad man får skriva offentligt… (1). www.wsj.com/world/europe...
Europe’s Crackdown on Speech Goes Far and Wide
Loosely defined hate-speech laws and the rise of social media have led to zealous policing, resulting in fines and prison sentences for some offenders.
www.wsj.com
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
merriam-webster.com
'Vacations.'

The word is 'vacations.'

FAST COMPANY Article: 

While retirement typically occurs, after
completing a career and saving and investing for it, a new trend is emerging among Gen Z career professionals
called "micro-retirement." Micro-
retirements involve taking a one to two- week break from work every 12 to 18 months.
Gen Z is using micro-retirement to avoid burnout, find greater fulfillment in their work, and enhance their overall well-being. However, it's not just Gen-Z:
Reposted by Sebastian van Baalen
starsandstripes.bsky.social
Veterans’ advocates who are in direct contact with troops and their families say they are deeply concerned about the morale of the roughly 4,100 National Guard members and 700 U.S. Marines deployed to Los Angeles amid protests against immigration raids.

"This is not what we signed up for."
Veterans’ advocates warn of low morale amid LA deployment: ‘This is not what we signed up for’
www.stripes.com