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Stephen M. Walt

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Stephen Martin Walt is an American political scientist serving as the Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of international relations at… more

Stephen M. Walt
H-index: 35
Political science 72%
Sociology 17%
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by Stephen M. Walt

stephenwalt.bsky.social
FP editor-in-chief Ravi Agrawal and I had a chance last week to talk at length about how the world has changed since October 7, 2023. You can watch the conversation here: foreignpolicy.com/live/#past
FP Live
foreignpolicy.com
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Reposted by: Stephen M. Walt, Will Jennings, Thomas Masterson , and 1 more

kevinmkruse.bsky.social
Sounds like Republicans ought to get all the Republicans who form the Republican majorities in the Republican-led House and the Republican-led Senate together to pass the budget that Republicans wrote with the Republican White House and that Republicans now insist absolutely must be passed.
atrupar.com
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d
Sean Duffy says the safety of the air traffic control system will start being impacted next Sunday if the shutdown continues
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by Mary L. Dudziak — Reposted by: Stephen M. Walt, Elizabeth Saunders, Will Jennings , and 5 more

marydudziak.bsky.social
Has Trump’s second term posed a greater or lesser threat to the rule of law than you expected? @nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/m...
Has Trump’s second term posed a greater or lesser threat to the rule of law than you expected? Circular graph showing over half answered: much more than I expected, about a quarter: more than I expected, about an eighth: similar threat to what I expected, small sliver: much less threat than I expected.
35 89 270

Reposted by: Stephen M. Walt, Jonathan A. Eisen, Tom Clark , and 6 more

akalhan.bsky.social
"[A]gents engulfed my car in tear gas, smashed my driver-side window, and pepper-sprayed my face.... I spent three nights and three days in federal custody. No explanation. No charges. No apology. One day, I was just told, 'you’re free to go.'" #KavanaughStop
I’m a US citizen and a veteran. ICE arrested me for no reason.
Jailed for three days without an explanation or ability to notify anyone, George Retes argues the only path to healing starts with the government taking accountability for its actions.
newsletter.ofthebrave.org
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Reposted by: Stephen M. Walt, Timothy Snyder, Will Jennings , and 16 more

atrupar.com
Trump: "The problem with Vietnam, we, you know, we stopped fighting to win. We would've won easy. We would've won Afghanistan easy. We would've won every war easy. But we got politically correct. 'Oh, let's take it easy.' We're not politically correct anymore, just so you understand."
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Reposted by: Stephen M. Walt, Rosemary A. Joyce, Juan Cole , and 6 more

wyden.senate.gov
They’re using American tax dollars to fund infrastructure in Argentina because that’s where they’re all going to flee when we kick them out of office
ryangrim.bsky.social
Ryan Grim @ryangrim.bsky.social · 6d
After announcing a $20 billion bailout of Argentina, the White House now says it's pausing $18 billion in funding for NYC infrastructure projects

Russ Vought would love nothing more than to tear this country down to its studs
660 4.2K 14K

by Kim L. Scheppele — Reposted by: Stephen M. Walt, Brendan Nyhan, Laurent Pech , and 1 more

kimlanelaw.bsky.social
A must-read for those who are concerned about the future of universities under Trump. Trump is replacing the rule of law with rule by deal, and guaranteeing nothing for universities except that they give up their constitutional freedoms to avoid political punishments.
fishkin.bsky.social
Joey Fishkin @fishkin.bsky.social · 3d
I thought I'd put the administration's proposed "compact" with universities in context, so I wrote the blog post below.

It's especially for journalists covering this story!

Many details about how the compact itself works and why the administration has retreated to this strategy.
Balkinization: The Art of Replacing the Law with the Deal
A group blog on constitutional law, theory, and politics
balkin.blogspot.com
2 21 48

Reposted by: Stephen M. Walt, Jonathan Portes, Michelle Everson , and 1 more

sturdyalex.bsky.social
Here is a thing that I hear from *almost every British Jew I know* but have barely heard expressed in any of these programmes: No single person has done more to make Jewish people globally less safe than Benjamin Netanyahu.
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Reposted by: Stephen M. Walt, Philip Nel, Jo Barraket , and 2 more

marcelias.bsky.social
🚨BREAKING: A federal judge Saturday blocked President Donald Trump’s call-up of the National Guard for a deployment in Portland, saying Trump’s actions were based on false claims and undermined Oregon’s sovereignty. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
Federal Judge Blocks Trump’s Seizure of Oregon National Guard for Portland Deployment
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com
160 1.7K 6.5K

Reposted by: Stephen M. Walt, Kim L. Scheppele, Lisa W. Fazio , and 24 more

fishkin.bsky.social
I thought I'd put the administration's proposed "compact" with universities in context, so I wrote the blog post below.

It's especially for journalists covering this story!

Many details about how the compact itself works and why the administration has retreated to this strategy.
Balkinization: The Art of Replacing the Law with the Deal
A group blog on constitutional law, theory, and politics
balkin.blogspot.com
12 260 540

Reposted by: Stephen M. Walt, Brendan Nyhan

heidikitrosser.bsky.social
In case you missed it: 🎁link to Erwin Chemerinsky's outstanding article on the Trump Administration's pernicious proposed "compact" with universities.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/o...
Opinion | Trump’s ‘Compact’ With Universities Is Just Extortion
www.nytimes.com
2 21 45

Reposted by: Stephen M. Walt, Brendan Nyhan, Rosemary A. Joyce , and 3 more

davidcorn.bsky.social
Can Miller really believe this? If so, he is delusional. If not, then he’s a reprehensible demagogue.
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Reposted by: Stephen M. Walt, Christian Odendahl, Rebecca Solnit , and 15 more

cnn.com
Adults and children alike were pulled from their Chicago apartments, crying and screaming, during a large overnight raid that has left tenants and neighbors shaken. https://cnn.it/4pPCXIt
37 people arrested and American kids separated from parents after ICE raid at Chicago apartments | CNN
Adults and children alike were pulled from their Chicago apartments, crying and screaming, during a large overnight raid that has left tenants and neighbors shaken.
www.cnn.com
430 850 1.4K

Reposted by: Stephen M. Walt, Steve Peers, Alan Richardson , and 3 more

dinfontay.com
“'The fact that we don't have money to pay journalists, but we have money to pay Bari Weiss between $100 and 200 million is indicative of what the Ellisons' true goal here is,' a network correspondent said. 'And it's not journalism.'"
CBS News staffers are ‘literally freaking out’ about Bari Weiss taking over newsroom
EXCLUSIVE: ‘People are using words like depressing and doomsday – feels like some sort of doomsday,’ one source told The Independent about the mood inside CBS News right now.
www.independent.co.uk
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by Stephen M. Walt

stephenwalt.bsky.social
There will come a time in America when many ICE agents delete it from their resumes.
6 5 37

by Jason Lyall — Reposted by: Stephen M. Walt, Susan Hyde, Jonathan Hopkin , and 2 more

jaylyall.bsky.social
"It is not hyperbole to say that the future of higher education in America requires that every university reject it. If any schools capitulate, the pressure will be enormous on all to fold. The only solution is solidarity & collective action against this effort at federal control over higher ed"
Opinion | Trump’s ‘Compact’ With Universities Is Just Extortion
www.nytimes.com
1 46 100

Reposted by: Stephen M. Walt

gypsyrights.bsky.social
Ideology over experience.
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by Jacob T. Levy — Reposted by: Stephen M. Walt, Marc Lynch, Samantha Brennan , and 1 more

jacobtlevy.bsky.social
www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...

"Both graduation and retention rates have fallen since the takeover in 2023.... even as New College spends more than 10 times per student what the other 11 members of the State University System... a head count under 900 and a $118.5 million budget"
Spending Soars, Rankings Fall at New College of Florida
Student outcomes and rankings are slipping at the liberal arts college while spending is up. Critics believe the college is at risk of implosion, and some are calling for privatization.
www.insidehighered.com
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Reposted by: Stephen M. Walt

foreignpolicy.com
Trump’s tariffs and pointless military displays are the opposite of foreign-policy restraint, argues columnist @stephenwalt.bsky.social.
Donald Trump Will Never Be a Restrainer
The final verdict is in.
foreignpolicy.com
1 5 8

by Stephen M. Walt

stephenwalt.bsky.social
Does Hegseth seriously believe all senior military officers should have resigned if they disagreed with any of Trump’s predecessors? Can’t think of a better way to have a crappy military.
1 1 11

Reposted by: Stephen M. Walt

gregjaffe.bsky.social
Senior officers, entrusted to manage complex military operations, were summoned from around the world.
They got a lecture on fitness and grooming standards.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/30/u...
A Novice Defense Secretary Lectures the Brass on What It Takes to Win
www.nytimes.com
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Reposted by: Stephen M. Walt, Kori Schake, Elizabeth Saunders , and 5 more

risabrooks12.bsky.social
It's easy to see this speech as just weirdly performative, but there's a lot more—and a lot worse—going on here.

The meeting & speeches are part of a larger project aimed at promoting the military leadership’s partisan alignment with the administration.

How? 1/
atrupar.com
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 7d
Hegseth: "If the words I'm speaking today are making your heart sink, they you should do the honorable thing and resign."
55 510 1.3K

Reposted by: Stephen M. Walt

gtconway.bsky.social
"I am proud to shut down the government .... I will take the mantle. I will be the one to shut it down."

—Donald Trump, Dec. 11, 2018
190 990 2.7K

by Stephen M. Walt

stephenwalt.bsky.social
I keep thinking about something John Kenneth Galbraith once said about the flaws of Reaganomics: “It assumes the rich aren’t working hard enough because they don’t have enough money, and the poor aren’t working hard enough because they have too much.”
3 14

Reposted by: Stephen M. Walt, Anna O. Law, Silvia Secchi

thegurglingcod.bsky.social
At Cornell University, an eminent prof, whose work I was reading in graduate school got suspended b/c an IDF veteran grad student enrolled in his class for the express purpose of disrupting it. We are all cooked.
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Cornell Cut Classes by a Pro-Palestinian Professor After an Israeli Student’s Discrimination Complaint
Dr. Eric Cheyfitz, who has taught at Cornell for more than two decades, claims the university is attempting to silence him as part of a broader crackdown on pro-Palestinian activism.
www.thenation.com
4 21 49

by Stephen M. Walt

stephenwalt.bsky.social
It would be fascinating to have 24/7 full spectrum surveillance on Ellison, but I like privacy for everyone even more.
2

Reposted by: Stephen M. Walt, Marc Gopin

kendrawrites.com
He also gutted the VA of at least 150 psychologists and 500 social workers. I'm sure they weren't doing anything important.
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by Brendan Nyhan — Reposted by: Stephen M. Walt, Marc Lynch, Jan W. Mueller , and 9 more

brendannyhan.bsky.social
Trump is building a personalist regime where every university must bend the knee or lose funding and every business must bend the knee or face tariffs, H-1B fees, and regulatory blackmail. You can't cover each domain in isolation; they are all the same story.
jakemgrumbach.bsky.social
Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 9d
Awarding scientific grants based on scientific merit? That pales in comparison to my strategy, giving grants based on political loyalty

www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...
Wp EXCLUSIVE White House considers funding advantage for colleges that align with Trump policies The proposal could potentially transform the government's vast research funding operation, which has long awarded university grants based on scientific merit. Today at 6:00 a.m. EDT
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Reposted by: Stephen M. Walt

jimgoldgeier.bsky.social
What CEOs are saying in private www.axios.com/2025/09/22/t...
Most CEOs say Trump policy has harmed their businesses, new survey finds
71% of CEOs surveyed said tariffs were harmful to their businesses.
www.axios.com
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Reposted by: Stephen M. Walt, Rosemary A. Joyce, Melanie C. Green , and 4 more

wyden.senate.gov
Every single one of these clips was taken today in downtown Portland. Portland doesn’t want or need a federal takeover. If Trump insists on sending federal “resources” he can start with funding health care, bridges, affordable housing, and wildfire protection to name a few.
300 3.4K 9.6K

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