Scholar

Deborah Avant

Deborah Denise Avant is an American political scientist and faculty member at the University of Denver's Josef Korbel School of… more

H-index: 23
Political science 66%
Economics 18%
deborahavant.bsky.social
Yep... though I haven't read it yet.
blakeprof.bsky.social
These are the Trump Administration’s demands on UCLA, in addition to a 1.2 billion dollar fine, as reported by the LA Times today. I must note again that the Trump Administration’s attempt to use title vi to enforce conservative agenda items is flagrantly illegal.
3:164
• Make five years of payments — $200
million annually - and set up a $172 million fund for people with claims of civil rights violations.
• Ensure foreign students who are "anti-Western" will not be admitted.
• Pay for all costs of the settlement, including the fee for an outside monitor.
• Annually release demographic data for hires as well as students who have applied or have been admitted, broken down by "race, color, grade point average, and performance on standardized tests."
• Make a public statement declaring that transgender people's identities are no longer recognized.
• End gender-affirming care for minors at medical facilities.
• Give the government access to "all
UCLA staff, employees, facilities, documents, and data related to the agreement" not protected by attorney-client privilege.
deborahavant.bsky.social
As we approach September, I thought I would repost our ad for an Assistant or Associate Professor in Technology and Global Affairs. Interested? Apply by September 15!
deborahavant.bsky.social
The @josefkorbelschool.bsky.social is searching for a tenure line position in Technology and Global Affairs at the Assistant or Associate level. I am chairing the committee and happy to talk with anyone who is interested. Please share!
jobs.du.edu/en-us/job/49...
Details - Assistant or Associate Professor, Global and Public Affairs - Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs | University of Denver
jobs.du.edu
deborahavant.bsky.social
Despite the subtitle @dandrezner.bsky.social gives a hopeful look at how Tufts (and I think many universities) are managing in the face of the Trump assault on higher education.
open.substack.com/pub/danieldr...
What It's Like To Be An International Affairs Graduate School Administrator in 2025
Not great, Bob.
open.substack.com
laurelann.bsky.social
It is important that we don't become desensitized to the astonishing level of Trump's profiting from the presidency

It's illegal, of course, but who will stop him?

David D. Kirkpatrick, from the New Yorker, estimates $3.4 Billion in grift. The income sources are in the chart below.
sources of trump profit from presidency
deborahavant.bsky.social
Exactly. They should be speaking loudly and to their local and state lawmakers as well as to the country as a whole. Universities are important economic engines and screwing them up will affect local and state economies - in addition to national competitiveness.
mcopelov.bsky.social
Today in "You can't unplug 1/4 of the budget of research universities & do the same things, & there doesn't seem to be any backup plan other than to cancel things, & WHERE ARE THE UNIVERSITY PRESIDENTS SPEAKING OUT LOUDLY & COLLECTIVELY ABOUT THIS EXISTENTIAL CRISIS?"

bsky.app/profile/mcop...
chicagotribune.com
The University of Chicago will pause admissions for “a small number” of Ph.D. and master’s programs across several schools amid mounting fiscal pressures.
mcopelov.bsky.social
Today in "You can't unplug 1/4 of the budget of research universities & do the same things, & there doesn't seem to be any backup plan other than to cancel things, & WHERE ARE THE UNIVERSITY PRESIDENTS SPEAKING OUT LOUDLY & COLLECTIVELY ABOUT THIS EXISTENTIAL CRISIS?"

bsky.app/profile/mcop...
deborahavant.bsky.social
Yup, this is the crime spree I wish everyone was paying attention to.
benjaminwittes.lawfaremedia.org
The Situation
lawfaremedia.org
"There is a real out-of-control crime situation in Washington, but it is not the one referred to in the president’s executive order. It is the one he is leading," writes @benjaminwittes.lawfaremedia.org in The Situation.

Reposted by: Deborah Avant

benjaminwittes.lawfaremedia.org
The Situation
lawfaremedia.org
"There is a real out-of-control crime situation in Washington, but it is not the one referred to in the president’s executive order. It is the one he is leading," writes @benjaminwittes.lawfaremedia.org in The Situation.
The Situation: My Dangerous City
Making Washington Safe Again
www.lawfaremedia.org
deborahavant.bsky.social
Check out my colleague and co-author, George DeMartino's interview on the Hale Report. He argues that economists need ethics (maybe so do political scientists). Don't give up when things go quiet a minute in, the sound comes back before long!
lnkd.in/gTZ-CzZs
jedkolko.bsky.social
For six months, I've said that threats to economic data have been more collateral damage than intentional harm.

No longer.

Firing the head of the BLS is five-alarm intentional harm to the integrity of US economic data and the entire statistical system.
deborahavant.bsky.social
I don't know. It seems pretty honest to me. Maybe that is what we need right now...

Reposted by: Deborah Avant

sifill.bsky.social
Would love to see media attention to the fact that right of center groups like the Pacific Legal Foundation and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have filed briefs in the case opposing Trump’s tariffs.

Counsel in the case @ilyasomin.bsky.social has provided a helpful summary. reason.com/volokh/2025/...
deborahavant.bsky.social
We are! And I am happy to answer questions from any who are interested.
naazneenbarma.bsky.social
📣 The @josefkorbelschool.bsky.social is searching for a tenure-line assistant or associate professor with a focus on the intersection of technology and global and public affairs — please share widely!
jobs.du.edu/en-us/job/49...
Details - Assistant or Associate Professor, Global and Public Affairs - Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs | University of Denver
jobs.du.edu
deborahavant.bsky.social
Agreed. The whole post is also interesting but this*aside* is actually a key point.
dandrezner.bsky.social
This is a *really* interesting aside and I would like to know more.
dandrezner.bsky.social
This is a *really* interesting aside and I would like to know more.
deborahavant.bsky.social
I don't think the rigidity of the postwar system was in its liberal DNA, but this is nonetheless a very smart article and I agree that the most optimistic future lies in an embrace of pragmatism and pluralism.
www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
Liberalism Doomed the Liberal International Order
A less legalistic system would help protect democracies.
www.foreignaffairs.com
deborahavant.bsky.social
This is horrifying... should scare all of us.
brendannyhan.bsky.social
A classic coordination failure: everyone makes excuses for why they go along with authoritarianism rather than resisting. And democracy and the rule of law crumble. We thought our institutions and culture were stronger, but we are following Hungary's path.
kimzetter.bsky.social
Former US ambassador to Hungary: "After years watching Hungary suffocate under the weight of its democratic collapse, I came to understand that the real danger of a strongman isn’t his tactics; it’s how others, especially those with power, justify their acquiescence." (h/t @bnovak.bsky.social)
Opinion | I Watched It Happen in Hungary. Now It’s Happening Here.
www.nytimes.com

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Fields & subjects

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