Dr. Ian Garner

Pleased to announce my latest grant rejection

Former Brexit Party MEP denies taking payment from pro-Russian campaign A prominent former MEP for Nigel Farage's old party denies taking bribes in a pro-Russian campaign.

Soooo were any of Farage’s pals not taking bribes from Russia?

Looking forward to reading it!

Our special section of the Transactions of the @royalhistsoc.org on 'Parliamentary Culture and Indigenous Traditions of Assembly in the Americas and South and East Asia, c.1500–1700', co-ed with @pseaward.bsky.social & Jim van der Meulen is out!

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

My trick is to bombard academic reviewers with complete gibberish and hope they blink first

This is particularly irksome. Olusoga was so, so clear to complicate the picture by pointing out that such people volunteered for the empire’s war. That sort of nuance around identity and military service is fascinating.

You have no idea how much I wish this were true

Not even 10am and I just dropped the word "liminality" into a paper. Still not really sure what it means, but I'm feeling pretty good.

Britain:

American taxes and Scandinavian public services for the old.

Scandinavian taxes and American public services for the young.

As Ukraine battles for key city, pro-Russian accounts wage AI war Fighting for control of Pokrovsk in Ukraine's east is raging on, but in pro-Russian social media circles, Moscow has already won: viral, AI-generated videos depict a Ukrainian army in retreat, complet...

As battles continue on Ukraine's frontline and missiles and drones keep raining down on civilians, pro-Russian propaganda is using AI tools to try and impose the narrative of an already defeated Ukraine. My piece for @en.afp.com with @irgarner.bsky.social
www.france24.com/en/live-news...

La propagande prorusse recourt à de fausses vidéos créées par l'IA pour renforcer son discours sur une Ukraine déjà vaincue. Pour @irgarner.bsky.social l'IA rend la désinformation plus efficace en permettant de "l'humaniser". Mon papier pour @afp.com information.tv5monde.com/economie/bat...

What is the US but a collection of 50 "second-tier" (and fifth-tier...) powers?

The 28-point plan and its implications - Sceeus SCEEUS Commentary | The 28-point plan and its implications | By Martin Kragh

Martin Kragh: Throughout 2025, the Kremlin has used the prospect of peace negotiations as a tool to subvert the threat of new sanctions, or otherwise hinder a development considered contrary to Russian interests.

sceeus.se/publikatione...

Good morning, I look forward to another day with no White House scandals or lea…oh.

Trump’s Fury at BBC Gets Unnerving Results with Pro-MAGA Edit Stunner First, British Broadcasting Corporation execs resigned after Trump complained about a segment. Now the BBC edited out a line from a historian that was critical of Trump. Where does this end?

NEWS --> BBC confirms to me that they did edit a line out of historian @rutgerbregman.com's speech. It called Trump "the most openly corrupt president in US history."

BBC also confirms this was done on the advice of lawyers. So Trump's threats worked.

New piece:
newrepublic.com/article/2036...

Just got PDF of this snappy looking book for a Foreign Policy review. Can't wait to get stuck in.

The "peace" charade is not worth spending time on. It will all fall apart very soon. Russia has no interest in peace. The Russian regime needs war to motivate its own existence. What is clear, as it has been since the break-up of the USSR, is that The West is impotent in dealing with Russia.

The Kremlin is preparing a 20-22 per cent VAT rise and is instructing loyal media to blame the West for the hike in order to shield Putin from domestic backlash over the growing costs of his war economy. 1/2

The amount of wordcount some colleagues expend in trying to project strategic rationality into Trump's incompetent flailing is absurd
bsky.app/profile/aphc...

Difficult to overstate how profound a failure DOGE was. Spending in FY2025 was not only than in FY2024 – but higher than it was projected to be when Trump first took office.*

The little bit of spending DOGE cut has already killed hundreds of thousands and will eventually lead to millions of deaths.

As a phrase, not an actual practice, at least

I like “delusional gurgling” very much

The war is Ukraine’s fault because they haven’t shown enough “gratitude” to Donald Trump. This is like watching a Godfather sequel where the Don has advanced dementia.

First trickle of snow in Warsaw makes me nostalgic for the brutal winter storms of 🇨🇦

The Trump admin is like a hapless student who can't decide whether to say they plagiarized or wrote the terrible essay they submitted. It's a lose-lose situation, really.

The last few hours have proven 2 terrible things. First, the US and Russian governments are so close that the US government takes large parts of Russian proposals and passes them off as their own, and second that some people are so desperate to exonerate Trump that they act like this a good thing.

Trump Has a Recipe for War and Corruption, Not Peace Who would benefit from the White House’s 28-point proposal for Ukraine?

This is not a peace plan. It is a proposal that weakens Ukraine and divides America from Europe, preparing the way for a larger war in the future. In the meantime, it benefits unnamed Russian and American investors, at the expense of everyone else.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

Stop gaslighting voters about immigration, says current gaslighter-in-chief

Whatever is happening behind closed doors, it is fascinating to observe the furious media about-turns as Trump goes from hero (Zelensky booted out of Oval Office) to zero (weapons!) to hero (Alaska) to zero (weapons again) to hero (here's everything Moscow has ever wanted).

If the Russians are so satisfied with the situation right now, I wonder whether anyone in the White House is asking what might happen if they are actually asked to make any concessions.