Asma Khalifa

Holding up a copy of ONE DAY, EVERYONE WILL HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AGAINST THIS by Omar El Akkad

One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad is very much worth your time.

So, the 12-day war between Israel (& the US) vs Iran seems to be over, and the ceasefire seems to be holding. Here's a thread assessing what has changed, what didn't change, and what may be next:

This paper has been in the making for some years now, so am very glad to finally see it published and out there. Libya's Imazighen identity formation during conflict is based on primary interview data, and my memoes/notes when I worked with the Amazigh Supreme Council. library.fes.de/pdf-files/bu...

Tomorrow June 19th, 2025, at the University of Edinburgh’s Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, I’ll be a co-panelist with Asma Khalifa (University of Marbur) & Inès Mrad-Dali (European University Institute)

Here's a big-picture geopolitical thread on Israel's war on Iran - its possibilities, impossibilities, dynamics, and delusions. My goal is to give you a full big-picture view in one place, which is why this is a long thread. If you prefer drip-fed updates, skip this thread.

This. A million times this 👇

When you are a country of 10 million and define your survival and security not as mutual deterrence but as military domination over a region of more than half a billion, your challenges are unending. 1/2

The lack of clear understanding and knowledge on Iran, drivers of the regime, policy and priorities of the regime, its culture, politics, etc is all on clear, fabulous display across English language media this morning.

Best walking view 🐺

Have you watched our latest #film Escaping Libya’s Detention Industry?

The investigation traces how detention centres across #Libya have become a part of a cycle of extortion, abuse, release, and re-capture, fuelled by #EU support.

Watch full video here: www.libyanjustice.org/news/film-es...

Libya: Barriers to Justice Libya’s fragmented justice sector is suppressing fundamental freedoms and obstructing accountability for abuses.

Libya's fragmented & polarised justice sector suppresses fundamental freedoms, obstructs accountability.

Authorities should urgently overhaul judiciary, reform repressive legislation, end military trials of civilians, arrest ICC suspects.

New @hrw.org report:
www.hrw.org/news/2025/06...

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Everyday Life and War. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. The Arab Political Science Network (APSN), in collaboration with the Center for Economic, Legal, and Social Studies and Documentation (CEDEJ) and the Middle East Studies Program at the American Univer...

Today I will be joining "Everyday Life and War" webinar organised by The Arab Political Science Network (APSN), in collaboration with CEDEJ and the Middle East Studies Program at the American University in Cairo (AUC).

You can register to listen in us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Last night we saw why...

Fighting quickly exploded across Libya's capital, mortar stations set up on high streets, civilian buildings damaged, and Dbeiba's enemies pouring in.

There is no good outcome to this battle unless the international community step in to segway to a political process

Tripoli may be on the cusp of being the theater for warfare unlike anything seen since 2011 - an urban battlefield marked by drone strikes, street-to-street clashes, & guerilla warfare.

The vast majority of casualties in this context will unfortunately be innocent civilians.

Turns out it was more the former than the latter.

Brigades nominally aligned with the PM, and other forces from his home city of Misrata poured through Tripoli seizing bases of Ghneiwa's Stabilisation Support Apparatus.

Less clean than may be depicted today and sets a grizzly precedent for Libya

Libya won’t accept migrants deported from U.S., its leaders say The denials from Libya’s rival governments followed reports that the Trump administration intended to send a planeload of migrants there.

Update: Libya’s rival governments united in saying they would reject any deportations of migrants from the US www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

How RSF is adopting Israel’s ‘template for genocide’ in Sudan For years, Israel has used human rights terminology to whitewash killing civilians, now the RSF is doing the same.

Israel has used human rights jargon and terms from IHL to provide a veneer of legality for its genocide in #Gaza.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces are now adopting the same practice to perpetrate atrocities in #Sudan.

My in-depth story for AJE.

www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/5/...

The bear who came to tea: Russia, Libya and the Kremlin’s playbook for fragile states Russia’s re-entrenchment in Libya, Europe’s soft underbelly, offers profound lessons on how it exploits geopolitical instability—and how Europeans can push back…

My long read for @ecfr.eu and probably the publication im most proud of in all my years doing this.

A deep dive into how Russia retrenched in Libya, uses it to project power from Ukraine to the Sahel, and the many lessons Europe or other frontline states can learn from it

ecfr.eu/publication/...

Toxic Narratives on TikTok and X in Malmö — Revontulet From June 2023, leading up to the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö in May 2024, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of toxic narratives, their spread, and the tactics used to lend credibility to suc...

From June 2023, leading up to the Eurovision Song Contest in May 2024, we conducted an analysis of toxic narratives, their spread, and the tactics used to lend them credibility in Arabic and Swedish on TikTok and X in Malmö.

Read more about our findings here:

revontulet.co/insights/tox...

Intersectional Antifeminism, or: What is a White Feminist, Anyway? Regarding the most famous social theory no one has actually read.

truly phenomenal article by @taliabhatt.itch.io , which everyone should read (and then should go read crenshaw's DAMN PAPER!)
taliabhattwrites.substack.com/p/intersecti...

Postcolonial Temporalities Visit the post for more.

Call for Papers
Postcolonial Temporalities: Space, Time, and Identity in the Maghreb
19-20 June 2025 – IASH, University of Edinburgh – Hybrid
Please send a 250 word abstract and a brief bio (100 words) to maghreb.temporalities@outlook.com by 15th April.
maghrebtemporalities.wordpress.com

Neglected Conflicts in Libya, Sudan, and Yemen Experts examine neglected conflicts in Libya, Sudan, and Yemen, as well as their key drivers and pathways toward potential resolutions.

EVENT: Join LFJL's Elham Saudi and an expert panel for this exclusive webinar discussion examining the neglected conflicts in #Libya, #Sudan and #Yemen, their drivers and pathways toward resolution.

Thursday 10 April
9:30 - 11:00 AM ET

arabcenterdc.org/event/neglec... @arab-center-dc.bsky.social

In my latest paper for @arabreforminit.bsky.social I discuss moral policing, social control and other strategies in the face of governance failure by the government of GNU in Libya. www.arab-reform.net/publication/...

Turkey is in Turmoil as Millions Protest the Arrest of Istanbul’s Mayor The jailing of the popular politician on what are widely perceived as trumped up, politicized charges sparked mass demonstrations across the country

NEW: The arrest of Istanbul's mayor has sparked a mass protest movement against the Erdogan government. Police have responded violently, beating demonstrators and arresting journalists. @nimetkirac.bsky.social reports for @newlinesmag.bsky.social

newlinesmag.com/spotlight/tu...

Libya Is the Forgotten Wasteland of the International Order Each year, the state that Libyans dreamed of gets farther away, and the Pandora’s box that Libya has become gets harder to keep shut.

“International actors are sabotaging the prospects for change in Libya and the chance Libyans might finally realize the hopes of their revolution,” @tmegrisi.bsky.social writes. “It is a tale of the myopia and short-term imperatives of outside powers.” dawnmena.org/libya-is-the...

This #IWD2025, we’re sharing the full 2025 Annual Justice Lecture with Fawzia Koofi, exploring #Afghanistan’s past + present, the rise of radicalism, and the global fight for women’s rights along the way.

Find the full lecture on our YouTube channel www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHoR...

My Grandpa, the Fascist? - Longreads "An old family album sent me on a journey through Italy’s dark past in Libya."

"I will never know if my grandfather and his father realized the magnitude of their complicity in Italy’s colonial dreams."

@stefaniadignoti.bsky.social for @newlinesmag.bsky.social:

For Syria, Lessons from Our Past Failures Syria’s post-Assad transition hinges on avoiding the failures of past revolutions by dismantling entrenched tyranny and building an inclusive, lasting political order. Can it learn the lessons of Liby...

Was a great reflective experience to write this blogpost for @mecouncil.bsky.social on lessons for Syria from the other Arab Spring countries.

This focused more on socio-political issues, stay tuned for a part 2 on economy/international relations!

mecouncil.org/blog_posts/f...

The recent #AidFreeze from the U.S. isn’t just numbers – it reflects a dangerous global shift trading #humanrights for securitisation and violent hostility. LFJL is committed to justice, but we need your help to continue our work.

Support our work: www.launchgood.com/v4/campaign/...