Associate Professor of International Affairs at Lewis & Clark College, Portland OR. I research & teach human rights, international law, state repression, and nonprofits during closing civic space
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The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a peer-to-peer evaluation of a country's rights record. All 193 UN member states are expected to participate, and even states like Russia and China do. Today, the US took the unprecedented step of withdrawing from the UPR www.reuters.com/world/europe...
I know there's a lot happening today, but this is sneaking in under the radar. This proposed new rule would absolutely crush foreign PhD students, potentially making it impossible for them to enroll with any certainty of their ability to finish www.politico.com/news/2025/08...
Out today in @poppublicsphere.bsky.social Emigration from closed autocracies is often thought to serve as a safety valve and improve stability. I show that it can also backfire and create more demand for emigration, thus raising popular pressure on the regime. doi.org/10.1017/S153...
American University is currently hiring two faculty positions in international affairs! Assistant Professor, International Security: www.higheredjobs.com/faculty/deta... Assistant Professor, Economic Security jobs.chronicle.com/job/37868709...
šØ šØCalling all #polisky grad students who presented at #ISA2025: I'm chairing the committee for the Human Rights Sectionās Steven C Poe best grad student paper award. We are currently accepting nominations, including self-nominations, and all you have to do is email your paper to me!
Required by Congress, the reports no longer single out things like rigged elections or sexual violence against children as human rights violations.
Trump Orders State Department to Overlook International Human Rights Abuses The State Department was told to cut from its human rights reports info on election integrity, corruption, and the expulsion of refugees. My latest @theintercept.com theintercept.com/2025/08/08/t...
The White House is taking new steps to undermine every international student at our universities. It has approved a new rule restricting student visas to 4 years max. That's not long enough for PhD students, or about half of undergrads, to finish their degree. Likely to enter force within days.
The entire business model of R1 public universities rests on 4 revenue sources: 1. Federal grants 2. Private gifts/endowments 3. Tuition (esp. from foreign students) 4. State $ For decades, š in 1-3 offset a secular š in 4. Now, 1 & 3 are being decimated & 4 ain't coming back. The math is clear.
International Student Enrollment Could Drop 15% This Fall New international enrollments in the U.S. could drop by as many as 150,000 students in the next year, according to scenario modeling by @nafsa-official.bsky.social and JB International. bit.ly/41ryr8c #HigherEd #EDUSky #AcademicSky
It's important to note here that we're not just talking about faculty & university staff. 100s of U.S. colleges are in towns or small cities where they form the major industry & lifeblood of the community. Loss of students -> loss of rent $, restaurant $, bars, bookstores, gaming stores...
Communist regimes insisted on a "propaganda of success," with the media daily and breathlessly reporting ever-higher quotas being met by the heroic workers and massive economic growth. Stalin sent the (few) authors of unfavorable economic reports to the gulag. This of course is very different.
Maybe the report on reports will be read more widely
B/c Brown has not demanded the govāt NOT interfere in hiring, firing, & termination decisions (as Columbia did), these evals & govāt pressure will be used to make faculty personnel decisions, again contravening academic freedom, shared governance, labor contracts, etc. [3/5] (2) The second clauseā¦
Brown's faculty senate should consider abolishing course evals, if they're just going to be used as fodder for witch hunts against vulnerable faculty.
The ādealā that Brown made with the Trump admin is much more extreme than is being reported. It includes government oversight of course evaluations and no barrier to government interference in faculty hiring. Read it for yourself here: www.brown.edu/sites/defaul...
The entire West Coast from Washington to the Mexico border were placed under a tsunami watch after an 8.7 earthquake rocked Russia.
Took the Disney princess loving kid to the Portland Mermaid Parade and did not expect a defense of democratic values and a rousing speech against authoritarianism at the opening ceremony šš
Naturalized citizen, separated from his husband, interrogated for hours, and told he had no rights at a point of entry into the US. His global entry has been revoked for unspecified reasons
More information is available in the following links: 1) Democracy, activism, and/or social movements: www.sujobopps.com/postings/110...; 2) Philanthropy and foundations: www.sujobopps.com/postings/110....
We're hiring! Review of applications will begin on August 15. #pasky #nonprofitsky #policysky The Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration (PARCC) at Syracuse Universityās Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs seeks two post-doctoral scholars (cont.)
Newly published at NVSQ with @sch-ir.bsky.social and @marcdotson.com! A neat conjoint experiment (analyzed w/fancy multinomial Bayesian models) measuring the effect of anti-NGO crackdown on donor behavior! Prepreint+code: www.andrewheiss.com/research/art... Official version: doi.org/10.1177/0899...
āNEWLY published: "Challenges and Opportunities for Transnational Advocacy" in ISR #openaccess Fantastic collaboration w/ @ninareiners.bsky.social @kellyzvobgo.bsky.social @andreavilan.bsky.social @lisasundstrom.bsky.social @peacemedie.bsky.social @sch-ir.bsky.social Laura Henry & Soumita Basu š
From www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
I also love that I want to pick so many fights with people in this thread
I love this thread so much AND now that I've been introduced to this thought about vada pav, it's probably been ruined for me š
š« I'm sorry!
This would be the death blow to the Bureau of Democracy, Rights and Labor at State www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
šØBy a 6ā3 vote, the Supreme Court ALLOWS states to defund Planned Parenthood, holding that Medicaid does not give patients a right to obtain care from its providers. All three liberals dissent. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...
Not ready to change the framing of "Mira Nair's son is running for NYC mayor" šš
Check out our special issue on illiberal regimes and international organizations out now in RIO! Great thread summarizing each paper below.
Really important. So many people die needlessly every year in the water. Please share.
@qantas-official.bsky.social held onto the phone for the duration of the flight at the request of the Trump administration
Federal agents at the ICE facility in S Portland deployed some kind green gas/smoke. One protester picked it up and carried it in their mouth momentarily.
I am here at the Portland ICE facility where shit is going down. Federal agents have been shooting pepper balls at protesters. A little fire started (I havenāt substantiated how, but it happened amid feds popping off pepper balls) in some dry brush and protesters put it out.
Repeated tear gas, flash bangs, and less lethal munitions at ICE facility in South Portland. The protesting crowds scatter and then return with homemade shields.
Lawfare is hiring! We are looking for a new full-time senior editor. Responsibilities of the role include contributing analysis of key issues in national security law and policy and more. The ideal candidate will have a professional background in journalism, law, policy, or academia.
š Hello, we're the United States Institute of Peace (USIP)! We are very happy to join @bsky.app, and thrilled to announce that our website, www.usip.org, is back online! We look forward connecting here and bringing you useful content, resources and opportunities for peacebuilders around the world.
Ofc when your mom is Mira Nair, you have the most š„š„š„ ads. Hard to pick what my fav part about this ad is but it's probably the explanation for ranked choice voting. Maybe fewer Portlanders would've been confused about ranked choice if it had been explained to them using mango lassi
Many thanks to @ninareiners.bsky.social and @debremaria.bsky.social for hosting a successful workshop (with lots of delicious food š), and an opening event at the incredible Norwegian Nobel Institite!
You can now see a preview on Google Books of my new book w/ Alex Cooley Dictating the Agenda: the Authoritarian Resurgence in World Politics Out next month in USA, available for pre-order everywhere.
Happy to share that our book is out! A Relational Approach to NGOs in Global Politics: Beyond Cooperation and Competition (OUP) theorizes NGOs through their relations to understand their power & effects in global politics. TY to all contributing authors! Open access! academic.oup.com/book/59913
Looking forward to this event and this workshop!
In my latest for FP, I highlight how buried deep in the budget bill are provisions that empower the Treasury secretary to designate any nonprofit as a "terrorist-supporting organization" & revoke its tax-exempt status. foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/28/n...
New details on the Trump admin's plan to gut the State Dept's democracy and human rights bureau (DRL) 80 percent staffing cut, but also "calls for the creation of new positions that reflect the Trump administrationās cultural lurch to the right in foreign policy" www.politico.com/news/2025/05...
If passed through the Senate, the US will join a large group of countries that have recently started using administrative or legal strategies to crack down on civil society organizations, particularly NGOs.
In my latest for FP, I highlight how buried deep in the budget bill are provisions that empower the Treasury secretary to designate any nonprofit as a "terrorist-supporting organization" & revoke its tax-exempt status. foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/28/n...
International students add $44 billion to the US economy, annually. www.aau.edu/newsroom/lea...
Recent graph from The Conversation on where these students are from - these policies are bound to have a ripple effect within countries. If you're an Indian student & see your peers move away from the US, it's going to start affecting your decision on where to apply and study too.
As folks are pointing out in the replies, the J-1 visa is widely used in a lot of different industries and applications, from au pairs to seasonal workers at ski resorts and national parks, to post-docs and medical residents.
Tell me again how Rubio is fine: "In preparation for such required vetting, the administration is ordering U.S. embassies and consular sections to pause scheduling new interviews for such student visa applicants, according to the cable, dated Tuesday and signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio."
Rookie mistake from someone who never knew about the politics of RWAs (resident welfare associations) in India
The block by the federal judge today is good news for those already here (& for other domestic reasons), but the medium/long-term damage has already been done because of the messaging being projected to foreign students
And other schools lose too bc international students can see that this could happen anywhere, with no notice. So many international students will choose not to study in the United States at all. The ones who are able to get into Harvard can likely get in anywhere else they want (I.e., in EU)
Many students were recently admitted to Harvard (to various programs), and even if Harvard gets an injunction the students may choose to go elsewhere thinking itās risky and the may end up having to transfer. Even if Noem loses in court it has caused irreparable damage, at least for coming year 1/
Did you get a dog???
Federal judge blocks Trump from revoking international studentsā immigration status. Via @briannaatucker www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Also: I assume Harvard will try to sue fast and fix things, but the cruelty this letter unleashes *today* will induce lasting fear and panic not just on the 6800 international students at Harvard, but also on all international students in this country, even if there is a swift TRO. Why stay here?
America is in danger of experiencing an academic brain drain economist.com/science-and-...
Here's the letter Noem sent Harvard, as posted on X. Nothing alleges ANY specific violation of the Student and Exchange Visitor Program. Nothing. She cites no law violated, no regulation broken, no policy ignored. I don't care what you think of Harvard; this is clear weaponization of government.
Regardless of your party, you should see that this is what fascism looks like. For defying him, Trump zeroed out Harvardās research funds and is now blocking its ability to host international studentsādemanding that they force 6800 current such students to transfer. www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...
Trump just revoked the ability for foreign students to enroll at Harvard. Every foreign student, which is in the thousands, enrolled for next year at Harvard will not be able to continue studying if this isn't challenged in court. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/22/u...
Yet another reason why the US will cease to be an attractive destination for international students
OPT is the program that allows foreign students graduating with STEM degrees stay and work for up to three years. Because of the oversubscribed H-1B lottery, OPT is one of the main ways that foreign students manage to transition to jobs in the US. Ending it would destroy a major STEM pipeline.
Breaking character: Just got a very funny fake call. Someone pretending to be ICE, asking for personal information. It's weird...things like this don't jump out as fake so much if they involve ICE since ICE is so insane. I wonder if we will see a lot of scams like this. Anybody else heard of one?
Indian reports that there are still strikes going on. "Jammu's Udhampur was again attacked by drones, while explosions led to sirens and blackout in Srinagar on Thursday evening, hours after ceasefire was agreed between India and Pakistan." www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/a...
Reactions to Trump claiming direct credit for the ceasefire š
India and Pakistan confirm a cease-fire.
An excellent explainer on both countries' nuclear policy
And just as I wrap this thread, Pakistan announces that it is convening the National Command Authority. (This is not unprecedented and happened in 2019, but is a well-understood nuclear signal, as this is the decision-making mechanism for nuclear use in that country.)
Major medical institutions in India cancelling leaves of residents and doctors
time for some nuclear signaling:
šš½
"All of this is taking place as the United States has stepped back from being South Asiaās crisis manager. Washington once served as an intermediary, trusted by both sides and able to pull India and Pakistan back from the brink" www.nytimes.com/2025/05/09/o...
Major airspace closures for civil aviation announced by both Pakistan (all airspace) and India (along the border with Pakistan) in the last few hours. We're possibly about to witness the start of the most intense and broad-spectrum direct conflict between two nuclear-armed states ever.
Continued absence of reporting on India Pakistan in US mainstream media as the situation escalates this early am
Lots of uncertainty at the moment, but both Indian and Pakistani sources are reporting missile strikes into India (as deep as Sirsa in Haryana). Pakistan has announced a major military operation: "Bunyan ul Marsoos".
This was the first semester I taught Democratic Erosion where I taught cases from elsewhere in the world and thought to myself - āthat doesnāt actually sound that badā in comparison to the U.S.
A useful news source for those of us who can still access it
Surreal being on Bsky and Twitter right now--here, everything going on in South Asia at this moment (escalating skirmishes, along Indo-Pak border, bombing in N. India, the regime doing mass-censorship online) barely registers. Over on Twitter, it feels like being in in S. Asia at this moment.
"Indiaās civil aviation ministry says 24 airports in the country will be closed for civil flights as tensions with Pakistan escalate" www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblo...
āIn Pakistanās Sindh region, which shares a border with India, a state of emergency was declared in all hospitals ā¦ and all medical personnel and support staff leave was cancelled, according to a notice issued by the provincial health department.ā www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...
"a blackout is in place across the entire of Indian-administered Kashmir, including Jammu city." www.bbc.com/news/live/cw...
scrolled for 15 min on here and couldnāt find ANYTHING on my feed re war on the south asian subcontinent on the other hand, my twitter is full of indian & pak journalists and valuable commentary going to be a long time before this site is useful for people who care about the world beyond the US
in other news, pakistan is bombing cities in the north of india. blackouts in Jammu and nearby states. military evacuations of citizens. thewire.in/security/pro...
Nope, I've looked through a bunch of lists of who people are following, but if those people post here once a week...
For the first time since deleting Twitter, I'm actually missing Twitter over Bluesky and truly realizing people in other parts of the world don't exist on the latter - how do I reconfigure my feed to be a lot less Pope and a lot more about a potential war between two nuclear states
pretty remarkable how little attention India-Pakistan clashes are getting in US media (whether WaPo, WSJ, Fox, NYTimes, etc).
If you don't pay attention in intro to IR, you too could end up becoming VP of the US
Are you an interested member of the public or a currently serving cabinet secretary looking for a primer on the India-Pakistan crisis which has now escalated into a war? Try @claryc.bsky.socialās explainer in @goodauth.bsky.social. goodauthority.org/news/why-the...
Just out here counting on the goodwill of the Australian government to continue & expand its soft power in all toddler households
This is a breaking news story, more details to follow.
"January saw a 50 percent drop in visas issued to Indian students as compared with the previous year"
"The United States hosts more than 300,000 students from India, more than from any other country.... Half of the 327 visa revocation cases tracked by the American Immigration Lawyers Association involved Indian nationals." www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
šÆ. Why does almost no one in the public know this though? If you think about it, the governmentās creation of the internet is probably one of the greatest policy achievements and worst communication failures of all time.
A student mentioned yesterday that our class was depressing & when I countered that it wasn't that sad, someone said, "well it's not called Fun Times in the Global South!" and now all I want to do is offer a class called that and keep thinking about what a syllabus for that class would look like š