Van Jackson
@vanjackson.bsky.social
The class politics of geopolitics. Newsletter, http://Un-Diplomatic.com. Co-host, https://www.BangBangPod.com; https://www.undiplomaticpodcast.com. 🇺🇸🇵🇭🇳🇿. https://www.vanjackson.org
Obama literally told us our greater service would be not on the streets but rather trying to manifest Aaron Sorkin’s West Wing by serving power
January 12, 2026 at 10:25 PM
Obama literally told us our greater service would be not on the streets but rather trying to manifest Aaron Sorkin’s West Wing by serving power
Empirically started with Obama (this was my life story but there’s also a very dry academic book called Party in the Streets that talks about co-optation and de-mobilization)
January 12, 2026 at 9:51 PM
Empirically started with Obama (this was my life story but there’s also a very dry academic book called Party in the Streets that talks about co-optation and de-mobilization)
I don’t want to be right! But we’ve definitely crossed some kind of rubicon and the best-case scenario really seems messy (and not very democratic, and locking in further the tradition of American militarism)
January 12, 2026 at 2:04 AM
I don’t want to be right! But we’ve definitely crossed some kind of rubicon and the best-case scenario really seems messy (and not very democratic, and locking in further the tradition of American militarism)
It matters a lot that the military sees itself as “conservative realists,” that troops are indoctrinated to reflexively follow orders, that they have no training on discerning illegal orders, that Hegseth has purged as many non-MAGA loyalists as he can under the guise of anti-DEI etc etc
January 12, 2026 at 1:50 AM
It matters a lot that the military sees itself as “conservative realists,” that troops are indoctrinated to reflexively follow orders, that they have no training on discerning illegal orders, that Hegseth has purged as many non-MAGA loyalists as he can under the guise of anti-DEI etc etc
Lyle and I have been saying for 18 months that the military would be make or break. As veterans, both of us, it’s very hard to see that happening for many reasons. But we’re in unprecedented territory
January 12, 2026 at 1:45 AM
Lyle and I have been saying for 18 months that the military would be make or break. As veterans, both of us, it’s very hard to see that happening for many reasons. But we’re in unprecedented territory
Pacification, while brutal, works tho...as long as it’s concentrated and not gradual...and that’s scary journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Repression Works (Just Not in Moderation) - Yuri M. Zhukov, 2023
Why does government violence deter political challengers in one context but inflame them in the next? This paper argues that repression increases opposition act...
journals.sagepub.com
January 12, 2026 at 1:32 AM
Pacification, while brutal, works tho...as long as it’s concentrated and not gradual...and that’s scary journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...
That’s what it looks like from NZ too…the problem is that the US national security state—the repressive apparatus that polices race and class—is the most capable in history. That repressive constraint is compounded by the state being used on behalf of a counter-revolution (preceding revolution)
January 12, 2026 at 1:23 AM
That’s what it looks like from NZ too…the problem is that the US national security state—the repressive apparatus that polices race and class—is the most capable in history. That repressive constraint is compounded by the state being used on behalf of a counter-revolution (preceding revolution)
