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Tore Wig

@torewig.bsky.social

Political Science Professor at University of Oslo. Working on political violence, war, democracy and autocracy. Visiting 24-25 Nuffield College & DPIR Oxford University.

3,813 Followers  |  1,206 Following  |  154 Posts  |  Joined: 20.09.2023
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Posts by Tore Wig (@torewig.bsky.social)

The Trump admin has mostly added 3 types of groups to the Foreign Terrorist Organization list:

1. Latin American crime groups, e.g., Venezuelan
2. Iran-backed groups
3. European antifa/left groups

He's used the terrorist designations to justify

1. Maduro grab
2. Iran strike
3. ...?

28.02.2026 18:16 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

DeclareDesign used to be a kind of Turing test. Not anymore

28.02.2026 00:04 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Og sΓ₯ finnes det spennende mΓ₯ter Γ₯ vise hvor uintelligent du er pΓ₯..

28.02.2026 00:01 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

In a world where the US is turning into an authoritarian banana republic, Russia has wrecked its economy trying and failing to conquer its neighbor, and China is turning into a hyper-nationalistic totalitarian nightmare, it is surprising so many people are thinking that Europe is the failing one.

15.02.2026 09:31 β€” πŸ‘ 49    πŸ” 9    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1

I guess this makes sense. My β€˜nearest neighbor’ is @torewig.bsky.social, which is nice :) Not sure exactly who these British birders and Portuguese progressives are, but happy to be hanging out with you!

09.02.2026 12:00 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

This is very reassuring!

09.02.2026 14:46 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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β˜€οΈβ˜€οΈ Exciting news in Madrid!

We are VERY happy to officially announce the creation of the Instituto Juan Linz (aka β€œIJL”).
ijlinz.es

The IJL ("Juan Linz Institute" in English) is dedicated to cutting-edge research and teaching in political science, sociology, economic history and more.
thread 1/12

05.02.2026 11:35 β€” πŸ‘ 52    πŸ” 28    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 3

Please consider citing if you are a fixest user!

30.01.2026 20:09 β€” πŸ‘ 75    πŸ” 13    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0
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Steve Levitsky, the co-author of How Democracies Die, on the dangerous place we have reached as Trump escalates:

β€œOrbΓ‘n doesn’t arrest journalists,” he said. β€œAnd in Hungary if you walk the streets of Budapest or other Hungarian cities, you will not find heavily armed masked men abducting people."

31.01.2026 18:52 β€” πŸ‘ 735    πŸ” 341    πŸ’¬ 19    πŸ“Œ 26
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NEW PAPER ALERT! My paper, with @bjornhoyland.bsky.social , on how β€œpolicy loss” shapes support for the EU has just been published in @cpsjournal.bsky.social. Check it out!
1/

26.01.2026 15:12 β€” πŸ‘ 120    πŸ” 36    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 6
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I really think there needs to spontaneous protests against ICE happening right now in front of every federal building in the country and especially in Washington D.C. Otherwise those opposed to the Trump administration will not gain enough momentum or control the narrative.

24.01.2026 23:12 β€” πŸ‘ 11    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

One thing most people don't understand is that we in the US enjoy greater wealth funded by other countries because they assume we are a stable and relatively friendly hegemon.

20.01.2026 14:26 β€” πŸ‘ 1463    πŸ” 316    πŸ’¬ 34    πŸ“Œ 13
Three coffins wrapped in Danish flags are carried by 4-6 soldiers each; a cargo aircraft is in the background

Three coffins wrapped in Danish flags are carried by 4-6 soldiers each; a cargo aircraft is in the background

I think a good strategy for your non-leftist social media presence (ie everywhere but here) is to give this photo - the remains of Danish soldiers returning in coffins after being killed in America's war in Afghanistan - as wide an audience as possible. Remind people who we're betraying

19.01.2026 16:32 β€” πŸ‘ 2446    πŸ” 1163    πŸ’¬ 37    πŸ“Œ 51

Seeing people do "here's the savvy take on how and why the US should acquire Greenland" and just feeling so *embarrassed* for them. Have some dignity. You don't need to be an apologist for the world's dumbest autocrat, you're not somehow sophisticated for seeing The Smart Play on imperial vainglory.

11.01.2026 08:49 β€” πŸ‘ 3070    πŸ” 506    πŸ’¬ 39    πŸ“Œ 16

If I was the commander in chief of the Imperial hegemon I would simply not dismantle the network of military and diplomatic alliances, favourable trade deals, and broad cultural paramountcy that had made my nation the most wealthy and powerful the world has ever seen.

11.01.2026 09:28 β€” πŸ‘ 5075    πŸ” 786    πŸ’¬ 119    πŸ“Œ 49
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On day 8 of our Administration, @governor.ny.gov and I announced the beginning of universal childcare in NYC.β€―No longer will New Yorkers be forced to choose between starting a family and continuing to live in the city they love. This only happened because of you.

10.01.2026 00:59 β€” πŸ‘ 11654    πŸ” 1932    πŸ’¬ 156    πŸ“Œ 305

Nobelkomiteen burde Γ₯penbart ikke bestΓ₯ av politisk utnevnte medlemmer, men av fageksperter. Slik det er nΓ₯ blir komiteen tilsynelatende litt for opptatt av Γ₯ vΓ¦re Β«smarteΒ» og taktiske, pΓ₯ en mΓ₯te som nΓ₯ har mislyktes spektakulΓ¦rt.

09.01.2026 08:12 β€” πŸ‘ 123    πŸ” 7    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 2

NΓ₯ er de for alvor i ferd med Γ₯ vΓ₯kne de anstendige folka i media, politikken og samfunnsdebatten som for fΓ₯ Γ₯r siden mente advarslene om fascismen var alarmisme. Fremover vil det komme et rush av kommentarer om at Β«den gamle verden stΓ₯r i fareΒ». Til det vil jeg si:

Den gamle verden er dΓΈd.

08.01.2026 08:37 β€” πŸ‘ 117    πŸ” 21    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0

Greenland is happening. Not a joke, not trolling, not a distraction. He has already made up his mind and nobody who matters in the inner circle will try to talk him out of it. Some of them want it precisely because it will destroy NATO. There are no adults in the room. They really mean to do it.

06.01.2026 20:56 β€” πŸ‘ 2820    πŸ” 801    πŸ’¬ 129    πŸ“Œ 116
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I was losing track of what the Peace President was up to, so I made a map

05.01.2026 21:50 β€” πŸ‘ 32    πŸ” 8    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0
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Denmark Says US Attack on Greenland Would Mean End of NATO Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that if Donald Trump were to attack the Danish island of Greenland that would mean the end of the NATO alliance.

More astonishing public comments from Danish PM on Greenland: β€œI believe one should take the American president seriously when he says that he wants Greenland. But I will also make it clear that if the US chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops, including NATO..."

05.01.2026 17:16 β€” πŸ‘ 534    πŸ” 178    πŸ’¬ 41    πŸ“Œ 26
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As I've long argued, the Greenland risk is underpriced

A possible US intervention in Greenland is the biggest source of risk to the transatlantic alliance and intra-NATO and intra-EU cohesion, arguably far greater than those presented by
Russia's invasion of Ukraine

04.01.2026 16:04 β€” πŸ‘ 140    πŸ” 51    πŸ’¬ 13    πŸ“Œ 14

Turns out defending international law in a world of predators is impossible if you don't have sufficient force to defend yourself.

03.01.2026 20:02 β€” πŸ‘ 52    πŸ” 17    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 2
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Trump tar oss tilbake til kolonitiden Det lar seg hevde at Donald Trump ble president i USA fordi han lovte fred. Velgerne hans kan dessverre bli svært skuffet.

www.dagsavisen.no/kommentar/tr...

03.01.2026 20:20 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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By way of preparing for teaching and making sense of current events, I spent today trying to synthesise the demand-side literature on democratic backsliding (see figure below). The starting point of most of this literature is simple: Do voters punish politicians who violate democratic norms, or do

02.01.2026 21:21 β€” πŸ‘ 50    πŸ” 15    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 2
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(+) Asle Tojes dommedagsΒ­profeti har ingen stΓΈtte i forskningen pΓ₯ samfunnskollaps Det er grunnleggende menneskelig Γ₯ bekymre seg for at ens barndomskultur er i endring, men Γ₯ omtale slike endringer som Β«sivilisasjonskollapsΒ» er ikke seriΓΈs samfunnsanalyse.

Β«Hvis det finnes et historisk mΓΈnster som sier noe om sammenhengen mellom multikultur, liberalisme og sosialt, ΓΈkonomisk og politisk fremskritt, er det det helt motsatte av den nasjonalkonservative dommedagsprofetien.Β» www.morgenbladet.no/ideer/asle-t...

31.12.2025 10:48 β€” πŸ‘ 89    πŸ” 19    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
BJPolS abstract of an academic article discussing how democratic institutions prioritize citizen preferences regarding economic and physical security, with a focus on varied democratic features across thirty countries.

BJPolS abstract of an academic article discussing how democratic institutions prioritize citizen preferences regarding economic and physical security, with a focus on varied democratic features across thirty countries.

NEW -

Elections Without Constraints? The Appeal of Electoral Autocracy Across the World - https://cup.org/49auQPf

- @anjaneundorf.bsky.social, @sirianned.bsky.social, Kristian Vrede Skaaning Frederiksen & @aykutozturk.bsky.social

#OpenAccess

22.12.2025 11:10 β€” πŸ‘ 37    πŸ” 17    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 8
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Newly released evidence from Portugal shows that taking exams on a computer reduces kids' scores A LOT.

Old fashioned paper and pencil exams FTW!

19.12.2025 16:25 β€” πŸ‘ 27    πŸ” 10    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 2

Thanks Carl!

15.12.2025 17:59 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

It has become received wisdom in Brussels and Washington that there is a new β€œeuro-sclerosis”: that the EU economy is lagging the US

This view is wrong

A little primer on the measurement of productivity – and why reports of the economic death of Europe are greatly exaggerated🧡

12.12.2025 12:32 β€” πŸ‘ 1165    πŸ” 604    πŸ’¬ 25    πŸ“Œ 90