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Patrick Heller

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Patrick Heller is an American sociologist and the director of the development research program at the Watson Institute for International… more

H-index: 28
Political science 46%
Economics 28%
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by Patrick Heller

Lula: Brazilian Democracy and Sovereignty Are Non-Negotiable www.nytimes.com/2025/09/14/o...
Opinion | Lula: Brazilian Democracy and Sovereignty Are Non-Negotiable
www.nytimes.com
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by Patrick Heller

The rule of law
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...
Bolsonaro sentenced to 27 years for plotting military coup in Brazil
Former president sought to ‘annihilate’ country’s democracy after losing 2022 election
www.theguardian.com

by Patrick Heller

pranabbardhan.substack.com/p/a-conversa...
A Conversation on Brazil, India and South Africa
This conversation is with a political sociologist, Patrick Heller, on comparative political-economy features of the three countries
pranabbardhan.substack.com
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by Patrick Heller

My conversation with Pranab Bardhan in his great substack on the state of democracy in Brazil, India and South Africa
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by Patrick Heller

How social media influencers are pushing disinformation on climate change
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Joe Rogan claims study shows Earth cooling – but report’s authors say he’s wrong
Scientists say ‘old-school denier nonsense’ isn’t helpful as podcaster repeatedly airs false claim on his show
www.theguardian.com
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by Patrick Heller

www.foreignaffairs.com/germany/hitl...
Warnings From Weimar
Why bargaining with authoritarians fails.
www.foreignaffairs.com

Reposted by Patrick Heller, Katharine Hayhoe, Suresh Venkatasubramanian , and 42 more

timmonsroberts.bsky.social
My lab's been attacked by an anti-wind group and their lawyers. They threatened the science funding of my whole university, to shut me and my undergraduate research assistants up.

NYT just covered it. 1/n

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/c...
Law Firm Pressures Brown University to Erase Research on Anti-Wind Groups
www.nytimes.com
20 2.2K 4.5K

by Patrick Heller

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
I spent decades at Columbia. I’m withdrawing my fall course due to its deal with Trump | Rashid Khalidi
The university’s draconian policies and new definition of antisemitism make much teaching impossible
www.theguardian.com
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by Patrick Heller

Juan Crow Is Back With a Vengeance www.nytimes.com/2025/07/29/o...
Opinion | Juan Crow Is Back With a Vengeance
www.nytimes.com

by Patrick Heller

Brilliant summary of the democratic crisis in US
When It Comes to Undermining America, We Have a Winner www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/o...
Opinion | When It Comes to Undermining America, We Have a Winner
www.nytimes.com
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by Patrick Heller

Bartov has long warned this was heading towards genocide.
I’m a Genocide Scholar. I Know It When I See It. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/o...
Opinion | I’m a Genocide Scholar. I Know It When I See It.
www.nytimes.com
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by Patrick Heller

3) Agro business: hits the right's most powerful constituency the hardest 4) Democracy: reminding us that that the judiciary should be independent 5) Coups: reminding us that they are illegal and that plotters should be prosecuted

by Patrick Heller

Five reasons why Trump's attack on Brazil is just so mindlessly stupid: 1) Nationalism: it backfired and Lula is now the defender of Brazilian sovereignty2) Treason: exposes Bolsonaro and his gang as agents of a foreign government
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by Patrick Heller

The latest rationale for Trump tariffs: propping up would be dictators who organize failed coups.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/live...
Trump announces 50% tariff on Brazil, citing what he claims is a ‘witch-hunt’ against Bolsonaro – live updates
US president slaps tariff on Brazil and complains about treatment of Brazil’s former president, who is facing trial over an alleged coup attempt
www.theguardian.com
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by Patrick Heller

Saying it out loud. Larry Summers on US universities: “98 percent of students are curious and open minded. The problem is much more with faculty in humanities and the less quantitative social sciences and with the noncommercial professions like public health, divinity and education”
Opinion | ‘Are We Past Peak Harvard?’: 3 Writers Mull Higher Education’s Woes
www.nytimes.com

by Patrick Heller

www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
This Isn’t Negotiation. It’s Authoritarian Extortion. | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson
Defending democracy requires sacrifice. There are moments when we must pay a price to ensure the long-term survival of our basic freedoms. This is one of those moments.
www.thecrimson.com

by Patrick Heller

Mamdani won by organizing the working class and winning back low income voters that centrist dems have lost to Trump
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Zohran Mamdani has unleashed a political earthquake | Ben Davis
Mamdani’s popularity represents the total collapse of a Democratic party establishment
www.theguardian.com
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by Patrick Heller

Best assessment of US bombing of Iran www.politico.com/news/magazin...
Opinion | JD Vance Said the Iran Strikes Set Their Nuclear Program Back ‘Substantially.’ He’s Wrong.
The strikes probably only delayed Iran’s nuclear ambitions — and reinvigorated them.
www.politico.com
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by Patrick Heller

thewire.in/politics/ash...
Ashoka University Can't Call Its Refusal to Stand Up to BJP's Bullying 'Institutional Neutrality'
From Ali Khan Mahmudabad to Sabyasachi Das, a common thread emerges: a discernible threat from Hindutva elements and the Ashoka administration's apparent inability or unwillingness to confront it.
thewire.in

by Patrick Heller

scroll.in/article/1082...
Harsh Mander: The message from the persecution of Ali Khan Mahmudabad
Freedom of speech and conscience are under grave threat in Modi’s India for all citizens. But these freedoms are completely erased for the Indian Muslim.
scroll.in

by Dani Rodrik — Reposted by Patrick Heller, Edward Witten, Adam S. Posen , and 19 more

drodrik.bsky.social
Three things made the US a rich and powerful nation: the rule of law, its science & innovation system, and openness to foreign talent. Remarkable how Trump has taken a sledgehammer to all three. No enemy of this country could do more.
300 3.8K 11K

by Patrick Heller

Coincidence? Just as the Brazilian supreme prepares to put Bolsonaro on trial for an attempted coup, Rubio announces the White House is looking into sanctions against the judge who has led the investigation. www1.folha.uol.com.br/poder/2025/0...
www1.folha.uol.com.br

by Patrick Heller

Le Monde editorial on latest statements by Israeli govt: "the facts as well as the statements only reinforce the possibility of a qualification of genocide by international justice" - www.lemonde.fr/idees/articl...
Le gouvernement israélien ne doit plus bénéficier de la moindre impunité
ÉDITORIAL. Dire clairement que ce qui est en cours à Gaza est inacceptable est nécessaire. Mais cela doit s’accompagner du constat que de nombreux alliés d’Israël n’ont plus rien en commun avec la co...
www.lemonde.fr

by Patrick Heller

Behind AI: the humans, the power
www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
The Day Grok Told Everyone About ‘White Genocide’
What in the world just happened with Elon Musk’s chatbot?
www.theatlantic.com

by Patrick Heller

A significant development in India politics: government agrees to enumerate castes in census. This goes against its own ideological line of denying the significance of caste. More an electoral calculation than an ideological shift.
thewire.in/politics/mod...
Modi’s Somersault on Caste Census is a U-turn Fraught with Long-Term Challenges for the RSS-BJP
It underlines caste’s enduring power in politics and the limits of majoritarian identity politics when confronted with demands for social justice.
thewire.in
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by Patrick Heller

congrats Ben. this is amazing
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by Patrick Heller

Looking for a good summer reading list? Read the Naval Academy’s list of removed books www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Read the Naval Academy’s list of removed books
The Navy released the titles of 381 books that were removed from the U.S. Naval Academy’s Nimitz Library on the Annapolis, Md., campus this week because their subject matter was seen as being related ...
www.nytimes.com
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by Patrick Heller

All you need to know

Reposted by Patrick Heller

asociologist.bsky.social
The charge for Columbia’s new Senior Vice Provost for the Prevention of Thought Crimes or whatever we are calling it.
Advancing Knowledge and Understanding • Appointment of new Senior Vice Provost. As part of our ongoing efforts, we are appointing a new Senior Vice Provost this week with a focus on promoting excellence in Regional Studies. As part of this portfolio, the Senior Vice Provost, acting with the authority of the Provost Office, will conduct a thorough review of the portfolio of programs in regional areas across the University, starting immediately with the Middle East. This review will include the Center for Palestine Studies; the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies; Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies; the Middle East Institute; the Tel Aviv and Amman global hubs; the School of International and Public Affairs Middle East Policy major; and other University programs focused on the Middle East (together, the "Middle East Programs"). In this role, the Senior Vice Provost will: (1) review the educational programs to ensure the educational offerings are comprehensive and balanced; (2) review all aspects of leadership and curriculum; (3) steward the creation of new programs to address the full range of fields; (4) create a standard review process for the hiring of non-tenured faculty across the University, partnering with the Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and the schools; (5) review the processes for approving curricular changes; (6) following academic procedures, make recommendations to the President and Provost about any necessary changes, academic restructuring, or investments that will ensure academic excellence and complementarity across all programs in the given academic areas.
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by Patrick Heller

What is the logic of going after Kidney transplant doctors who are in high demand? Just pure terror. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/16/u...
Brown University Professor and Doctor Are Deported to Lebanon Despite a Judge’s Order
Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a kidney transplant specialist and Brown University professor who had a valid visa, was expelled in apparent defiance of a court order.
www.nytimes.com
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