Ihsan Yilmaz

It Begins With a Joke. Comics in the World’s Largest Democracy Know Where It Ends.

It Begins With a Joke. Comics in the World’s Largest Democracy Know Where It Ends. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/w...

Manchester synagogue attack latest: suspect shot after four people injured in vehicle and stabbing attack, police say Keir Starmer will fly home early from Europe to chair a Cobra meeting, while Greater Manchester mayor tells people to avoid the area

Horrible news to wake up to. My heart goes out to everyone affected. 💔

Where now for Britain’s Universities? UK higher education now faces a very bleak future, retreating in the face of little public sympathy and limited political interest.

An absolutely depressing read on the state of higher education in the UK… solidarity with my colleagues.

This is US cooperation in transnational repression www.rferl.org/a/iran-us-de...

The week in Trump absurdities: from Turkey’s ‘rigged elections’ to ‘your countries are going to hell’ The president, in five days, has claimed Tylenol causes autism, he was sabotaged at the UN and pronounced his rivals ‘guilty as hell’

The week in Trump absurdities: from Turkey’s ‘rigged elections’ to ‘your countries are going to hell’

America’s accelerating exit from itself After the Kirk murder, Trump is pulverising the country’s founding principles with astonishing ease

'It has been widely observed that the speed of America’s democratic slide surpasses that of other “elective autocracies” such as Narendra Modi’s India and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Turkey. But that understates Trump’s impatience.'

I'd describe the new push to recognize Palestine as "mostly harmless"...

were it not for the fact that these efforts are mostly a fig leaf for not taking more aggressive action to stop what virtually every international human rights organization now describes as a genocide.

Britain, Australia and Canada Recognize a Palestinian State The announcements came on the eve of the annual gathering of the U.N. General Assembly.

Breaking News: Britain, Canada and Australia formally recognized Palestinian statehood.

Quote graphic featuring the following quote from Prime Minister Carney’s statement on Canada’s recognition of Palestine: “Canada recognises the State of Palestine and offers our partnership in building the promise of a peaceful future for both the State of Palestine and the State of Israel.”

Today, Canada recognises the State of Palestine.
 
My statement: www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/stat...

The road to authoritarianism - total information control.

bsky.app/profile/scot...

'Rotten' Australian university culture lashed in long-running senate inquiry Australia's universities are blighted by a "culture of consequence-free, rotten failure", a senate inquiry has found.

Australia's universities are blighted by a "culture of consequence-free, rotten failure", according to the former chair of a senate inquiry examining governance at public universities. ... "There's no other sector in the country where failure is rewarded so handsomely and with so little scrutiny."

After the far-right mass rally in London, Britain must learn lessons from abroad – and fast | Cas Mudde This is no time for complacent exceptionalism. The UK is part of the fourth phase of the far right in the postwar era, and its politicians must respond, says political scientist Cas Mudde

I wrote for @theguardian.com about the “Unite the Kingdom” rally.

High time to pull head out of the sand and learn from other countries — if only on what NOT to do!

Trump's emotional targeting of comedy figures is so telling. Hypermasculine strongmen DESPISE being made fun of.

Again, look to Turkey. Experts literally testified on whether comparing Erdoğan to Gollum was an insult. A guy sharing a meme was jailed.

And then there's the satire magazine closures.

Erdogan’s Irredentism Just Can’t Keep Up As international norms crumble, Turkey’s revisionist policies appear less provocative in comparison.

My latest from @foreignpolicy.com

"Just recently, Turkey stood out for its repeated assaults on international norms. Now, those norms have been shattered by a host of bigger and more aggressive actors, and Turkey looks almost calm in comparison.

foreignpolicy.com/2025/09/17/t...

Opinion | What Democrats Can Learn From Charlie Kirk

What Democrats Can Learn From Charlie Kirk www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/o...

Is this the end of Atatürk’s party? [FREE TO READ] A campaign threatens to give President Erdoğan control of Turkey’s largest opposition force, started by the nation’s founder

My comments in FT

“What the government seems to want to do is not destroy the CHP but to take it over; not to eradicate it, but to neuter it..." Turkey could then become like the joke about the Shah’s Iran “where there is a ‘Yes’ party and a ‘Yes, Sir’ party.”

www.ft.com/content/423f...

Author Screenshot (T.C. İletişim Başkanlığı 2020)

My article "Film-Making the Nation Great Again" with
@liselhintz.bsky.social is out now in @poppublicsphere.bsky.social!

doi.org/10.1017/S153...

We show how Turkey’s ruling party instrumentalizes history through emotionally evocative videos to legitimize the authoritarian incumbent

🧵

Warsaw opens metro station ‘express’ library to get commuters off their phones Metroteka aims to encourage people to read more in country that lost majority of libraries in second world war

Warsaw opens metro station ‘express’ library to get commuters off their phones

How to report on neo-Nazis without giving them what they want Media coverage of the anti-immigration marches was a 'propaganda triumph' for Australian neo-Nazis, who use media-baiting tactics to spread their message.

The golden rule of reporting on neo-Nazis? Don’t interview them.

Daniel Andrews’ photo with dictators is a glaring reminder of Australia’s hypocrisy on human rights | Daniela Gavshon A government can’t half care about human rights. And Australia’s ‘disagree where we must’ approach with China enables abuse and undermines our national interest * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast A photo of former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews alongside the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, during a military parade in Beijing raised troubling questions. Earlier, former New South Wales premier Bob Carr sought to pre-emptively justify his possible attendance at the event (although he didn’t in the end) in an opinion piece. While it is difficult for the Australian government to control the actions of former officials, the photo still raises the question how the two former premiers found themselves in a situation where they were either in a photo or contemplated attending an event with all these known grave violators of human rights. Perhaps it is because the Australian government sends mixed messages about responding to human rights abuses when committed by some governments. Continue reading...

Daniel Andrews’ photo with dictators is a glaring reminder of Australia’s hypocrisy on human rights | Daniela Gavshon

Diffusion of digital authoritarian practices in China’s neighbourhood: the cases of Iran and Pakistan This article examines mechanisms for the diffusion of digital authoritarian practices, focusing on China and two of its regional partners in South and West Asia: Iran and Pakistan. We investigate t...

“Diffusion of Digital Authoritarian Practices in China’s Neighbourhood: The Cases of Iran and Pakistan.”

by Galib Bashirov, Shahram Akbarzadeh, @ihsanylmz.bsky.social and Zahid Shahab Ahmed

in @democratization.bsky.social (2025)

#AutumnReading

Modi Shores Up Ties With China, Russia in Defiance of Trump Good morning. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Vladimir Putin today after he reset relations with China. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz sees the war in Ukraine dragging on with no clear end in sight. And the UK wins a £10 billion deal from Norway’s navy. Listen to the day’s top stories.

Here’s what you need to know to start your day

Warnings From Weimar Why bargaining with authoritarians fails.

A new piece I wrote appearing in FOREIGN AFFAIRS today

www.foreignaffairs.com/germany/warn...

Foreign interference can be hidden in plain sight. Here’s how countries use ‘sharp power’ in Australia Authoritarian nations are using new tactics, from emotional manipulation to digital surveillance, to sway diaspora attitudes in their favour.

Foreign interference can be hidden in plain sight. Here’s how countries use ‘sharp power’ in Australia

theconversation.com/foreign-inte...

Foreign interference can be hidden in plain sight. Here’s how countries use ‘sharp power’ in Australia Authoritarian nations are using new tactics, from emotional manipulation to digital surveillance, to sway diaspora attitudes in their favour.

Foreign interference can be hidden in plain sight. Here’s how countries use ‘sharp power’ in Australia

theconversation.com/foreign-inte...

The Dam of Gaza Genocide Denial Has Broken Several prominent media outlets are coming off the fence over Israel’s actions, but a conspiracy of helplessness still prevails

The dam of Gaza genocide denial has well and truly broken. While Israel’s supporters in the West still reject the charge, many media outlets are coming off the fence. Genocide scholar Martin Shaw reflects on the shift for @newlinesmag.bsky.social

Episode 31: Conspiracy Nation Book Launch with Ariel Bogle and Cameron Wilson Read Them Sideways · Episode

Happy publication week! 🎉

I had the genuine pleasure of chatting with @arielbogle.bsky.social and @cameronwilson.bsky.social last week about their new book, CONSPIRACY NATION.

Can confirm, it’s an excellent read.

You can hear their thoughts on the link below: open.spotify.com/episode/00Go...

👇

The mathematics of starvation: how Israel caused a famine in Gaza Israel controls the flow of food into Gaza. It has calculated how many calories Palestinians need to stay alive. Its data shows only a fraction has been allowed in

The mathematics of starvation: how Israel caused a famine in Gaza www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

How India Became One of the Biggest Buyers of Russian Oil

How India Became One of the Biggest Buyers of Russian Oil www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/b...