Jamie Doucette

It happened! The @nytimes.com profiled Paulina!

The Writer Who Dared Criticize Silicon Valley

Paulina Borsook’s “Cyberselfish,” which offered dire predictions about the tech world’s love for libertarianism, is finding fans. It only took 25 years.

Gift Link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/27/t...

We explore the philosophy of 'exit' mentioned in the FT article, including its right-wing Deleuzian (N Land, etc...) and techno-Orientalist variants. We then look at a range of blockchain zone projects in Asia (some libertarian some not) before exploring Korea's creation of a blockchain zone.

Singapore upon the Korea Strait? Cyberlibertarian Desires and Anxious Regulation in Busan's Blockchain Regulation Free Zone This article examines the intersection of Asia's blockchain industry and special economic zones (SEZs). SEZs have been promoted to localise blockchain technology by disparate actors from cyberliberta...

And apologies for the promotion, here's a link to an article we wrote on attempts to create a cyberlibertarian 'crypto-city' in Busan, South Korea. It reviews the same actors and more but shows how such visions often fail when they seek to materialize themselves in place. Open Access

Tech elites are starting their own for-profit cities They want to escape from regulation and ‘failing’ democracy — but are they more opportunistic than libertarian?

I don't normally post FT content, but, wow, this article is excellent! Surveys a range of actors, initiatives, and critics active in this space. It can feel niche teaching about this so great to see it covered in a single article. #startupcities #blockchain #cryptobros #neoreaction #chartercities

Tech elites are starting their own for-profit cities They want to escape from regulation and ‘failing’ democracy — but are they more opportunistic than libertarian?

This article just out in today's FT is thorough exploration of these movements. Gave a lecture to my first year class about the topic of Silicon Valley fantasies and SEZs on Friday, now I need to send them this as a perfect complement to the lecture. www.ft.com/content/b127...

Good day to repost this collection

In the meantime what a year it’s been. Fast and slow at the same time. Coup averted but serious consequences remained for Korean democracy. I’m more optimistic about the Korean case than other places though, especially the US. The global far right has a playbook now and it will keep trying

South Korea’s Three-Hour Coup Earlier today, South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law. The short-lived coup was an act of desperation by a deeply unpopular right-wing leader and has only strengthened opposition to...

Last year on this day my PhD student knocked on my door 20 mins after Yoon declared martial law. I couldn’t believe it at first. Almost as quickly Jacobin asked for a rush article. For the next six hours we found every live feed and news wire we could and published our initial take.

Tai Po in flames - Lausan How Hongkongers are reviving mass action and mutual aid in the wake of the deadly fires in Tai Po.

Great to see @lausanhk.bsky.social's account of the Wang Fuk tragedy 🕯️✊

The Postdevelopmental State - Dilemmas of Economic Democratization in Contemporary South Korea - Stockholm Center for Global Asia Join us for an Author Talk featuring Jamie Doucette, Reader in Human Geography at the University of Manchester. She will talk about The Postdevelopmental State - Dilemmas of Economic Democratization i...

Giving a talk at Stockholm University tomorrow if any one is around.

I’m sure ‘seabusmemes’ (on IG) will provide some further fodder for you.

I mean, it's fine, but its no Main or Commercial. Then again, haven't lived there for a while but I'm skeptical.

If anyone is thinking about attending SASE 2026 and looking for a panel on East Asia, democracy, political economy, here's something i'm putting together. Pop me an email if your interests fit and would like to participate. Feels like SASE might be popular this year as many avoid US-based events.

YouTube video by thejuicemedia Honest Government Ad | Watch out, Canada

As a former Vancouverite, this feels like a flashback to the Idle No More movement of 2012-13.

Property rights and redevelopment: Political subjectivity and the limits of the right to the city in Seoul, South Korea While the right to the city has been widely invoked as a global slogan for more just and equitable urban futures, its applicability across different p…

Looks like a very considered, detailed, in depth case study. Nice to see urban research about Seoul like this coming out. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Lower migration is bad news for the UK economy - UK in a changing Europe Lauren Gilbert argues that migrants to the UK are net fiscal contributors, adding much more to the economy than they take out, and that the recent collapse in immigration will harm the UK's economic p...

"Home Office data suggests that recent immigrants are more likely to be working than British nationals and make higher wages than them."

✍️ Lauren Gilbert argues that migrants to the UK are net fiscal contributors, adding much more to the economy than they take out,

ukandeu.ac.uk/lower-migrat...

Oops, should have tagged you @hannes-mosler.bsky.social

[Column] The banality of Korea’s ‘democratic fascism’ Chilling new footage of Cabinet members from the night of Yoon’s martial law declaration shows them nonchalantly perpetrating an act of treason

A few years ago, we were calling this sort of thing 'postdemocracy'. Mosler raises an interesting question of how to label this kind of violence, specifically in a post-Cold War context where 'liberal democracy' has been used as a slogan for some extreme anti-liberal and anti-democratic politics.

APEC summit was ‘nail in coffin’ for Korea’s election deniers, says conservative commentator Veteran conservative commentator Cho Gab-je said that last week’s APEC summit showed that Trump has little interest in the conspiracy theories being peddled by Korea’s far right

One hopes...

Could be useful for GEOG 10101: Geographies of Globalisation.

'Blue Labour' and the Thiel Effect: How MAGA Is Making In-Roads Into British Politics The ideology of the ‘Make America Great Again’ movement, which has transformed politics in the United States, is having an impact in the UK. But how is this influence being transmitted?

Some connections here I was not aware of.

Some still embrace that fever dream, others have moved on to AI (a newer but connected one). Meanwhile, the question of what a equitable and innovative development strategy for cities like Busan could be remains open.

This raised questions about how such a libertarian vision of development through blockchain/crypto could be localized in a second tier city like Busan, and whether or not it was wise to do so?

It reminded me of how Busan had signed MOU's with Binance, FTX, and Huobi in the course of its dream to be known as Blockchain City, only to see each company fold, exit Korea, or come under SEC investigation.

Opinion | How a Fringe Movement of Gun Nuts, Backwoodsmen and Free Marketers Paved the Way for Autocracy

Enjoyed this guest essay in today's NYTimes, combing in the wake of Trump's pardon of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao.

May God Protect Korea from the Deluge: An Analysis of Protestant Support for Yoon Seok-yeol’s Martial Law (2024) On 3 December 2024, president Yoon Seok-yeol declared martial law, plunging South Korea into an unprecedented political crisis. While officially justified as a response to alleged communist infiltrati...

To read:

This looks really interesting

YouTube video by Johnathan Bi Introduction to Mimetic Theory | René Girard

For instance... newer episodes include features with Palantir's co-founder calling for aristocracy, etc... Aesthetics very neo-Gilded age.

enthusiasts, crypto communes, burning man, start up societies... To keep it focused we quickly moved on to the ideas that shape Asian blockchain zones and Korea's Busan zone. But there was also a lot about Korean crypto spaces that didn't make it into the paper.