Sveta Yefimenko
@svetayefimenko.bsky.social
170 followers 180 following 130 posts
Political junkie & policy wonk. Research director at Massachusetts House of Representatives. Writing about Russia's war narratives & memory politics. PhD from Uni of Exeter "Империя - страна для дураков" -Бродский
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Reposted by Sveta Yefimenko
markgaleotti.bsky.social
Monday morning re-up: Yes, there is a threat from Russia. But mischaracterising it and, more to the point, presenting every potential setback as existential for NATO/the West risks actually inflaming the problem and encouraging Putin to push harder
svetayefimenko.bsky.social
New book by @emmamashford.bsky.social just arrived in the mail. Looking forward to Ashford's argument for a 'realist internationalism' that avoids both strategic overreach & ceding ground to rivals like China.

emmamashford.substack.com/p/first-amon...
First Among Equals
U.S. Foreign Policy in a Multipolar World
emmamashford.substack.com
Reposted by Sveta Yefimenko
mattsteinglass.bsky.social
Europe will never be taken seriously in security circles until it has a scary animal. American eagle, Russian bear, Chinese dragon, Indian tiger. I back the gryphon, traditionally valid and currently unclaimed
svetayefimenko.bsky.social
Well, philosophy isn't for everyone, but if someone signs up for the course, they're expected to learn the material. It's fine to contradict Nietzsche, and many have done so brilliantly, but that involves wrestling w his arguments, which requires first being open to understanding them
svetayefimenko.bsky.social
they weren't able to explain what Nietzsche (or whoever) thought by the end of the course, and that I didn't care if they agreed with it as long as they understood it.
svetayefimenko.bsky.social
Most students understood and we worked w thinkers who argued thoughtfully in defense of God (Augustine, Kierkegaard) but some students were upset that we were trying to "stop them from believing in God." I explained that it doesn't matter to me what they believe, but that I wasn't doing my job if/
svetayefimenko.bsky.social
Well put. When I was a TA for intro to philosophy courses, we sometimes marked essays that consisted of some variation of "Nietzsche is wrong bc he contradicts the Bible" (not even paraphrasing here). I explained to students that this isn't an argument or even an inquiry, but a dogmatic assertion./
svetayefimenko.bsky.social
Thank you for saying this, I needed it. I've been bewildered by the endless posts rejecting violence & instantly inserting, as if they can't help themselves, a criticism of Kirk's politics, not realizing that maybe, just for a *moment*, critique can be less important than ordinary humanity
Reposted by Sveta Yefimenko
radchenko.bsky.social
What should we make of Xi's great show? open.substack.com/pub/profradc.... I draw on my new FP piece to spell out additional thoughts on where we are post-Tianjin and Beijing.
What should we make of Xi's great show?
A reflection on the SCO summit in Tianjin and the parade in Beijing
open.substack.com
svetayefimenko.bsky.social
Consistent with Arlie Hochschild's research on lost pride among white working class
Reposted by Sveta Yefimenko
Reposted by Sveta Yefimenko
owasow.bsky.social
“Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork among MAGA activists…We find [they] are not simply voters responding to policy preferences or culture-war appeals but are also participants in a social movement organized around a shared perception of lost honor, declining esteem, and institutional disrespect.”
The Symbolic Politics of Status in the MAGA Movement | Perspectives on Politics | Cambridge Core
The Symbolic Politics of Status in the MAGA Movement
www.cambridge.org
Reposted by Sveta Yefimenko
kevinrothrock.me
Counterproductive to divine grace, perhaps, but not international relations.
svetayefimenko.bsky.social
And they're joining the civilian militia in the thousands
Reposted by Sveta Yefimenko
ianbremmer.com
most americans don’t think war in ukraine will be resolved anytime soon
(sadly, including me)
svetayefimenko.bsky.social
This was always the case
svetayefimenko.bsky.social
Ideologues can't do politics. Politics is an endlessly messy wrangle full of compromises and tiny, tiny wins that take eons, where you celebrate getting half a sentence of the legislation you drafted into someone else's bill. The DSA are purists who prefer to go down proudly with the ship
svetayefimenko.bsky.social
Maga isn't a conservative movement