Basti Zieg

Crisis communication is not just about performance but also policy substance. It does not seem to occur to them, that this kind of confrontation was not just a coincidence but a consequence of a situation they created. Talking less hostile won't change that. 2/2

This is an interesting account of how crisis communication by the Trump administration fails even by the standards of their own supporters. The issue, though, is that even if the rhetoric would tune down, bad pressure and community resistance would still be there and probably increase. /1

I remember from former security forces in the last days of GDR that it was underappreciated how little desire there was among (para-)military personnel to seek confrontation even if there was an order to do engage. It may or may not happen, but receiving and following order are two separate things.

That doesn't even take into account that protests somewhere else may turn violent far more quickly. I also wonder whether other Dem governors would feel compelled to activate national guards (to protect local residents). That said, I do wonder whether it's a forgone conclusion that GOP goes along.

The "two pizza teams" originate from Amazon and are not really used anymore, if I am not mistaken. I know, that isn't the point of your critique but I think it's even problematic on its own (misguided) terms.

Well, I guess that solves the question of how likely a coalition or even agreements to stand down in specific constituencies between Tories and Reform would be. I also wonder whether the high profile defections are really all that helpful for Reform.

From my research, I am not surprised. There's usually very little reflection on the actual reach of communication 'broadcasted' on social media. It's already an exception if people look at views or likes - more sophisticated analysis is really rare. Besides, often it's their assistants, not them.

If you account for prices, Glasgow is probably one of the best choices for live and work.

You can see it even in some media portrayals of Glasgow. There are areas (outside West End) which are clearly quite prosperous or even rich (there are even pockets of it in areas which are rather deprived).

I suspect the USA is not the only one with this issue (looking at the UK). I think, at heart it's the inability to manage relative decline that made things much worse - US and UK politics seem to have very similar drivers.

For all the chatter, I also wonder what an electoral defeat in the mid term will do to the Trump administration (and declining support in general). The idea that a coherent (and successful) foreign policy is possible under those circumstances seems fanciful.

Solo, Group, or Team Effort? Work Dynamics of Parliamentary Offices for Parliamentarians' Political Communications | Article | Politics and Governance Sebastian Ludwicki-Ziegler

Really happy to see it finally in (pre-)print. My first solo-authored article: www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandg...

The article is open access, focusing on work dynamics in parliamentarians' offices that cover political communication tasks.

US military carried out second strike killing survivors on a suspected drug boat that had already been attacked, sources say | CNN Politics The US military carried out a follow-up strike on a suspected drug vessel operating in the Caribbean on September 2 after an initial attack did not kill everyone on board, sources familiar with the ma...

PS: Here is the linked to the incident

www.cnn.com/2025/11/28/p...

If you even consider that the descriptions provided of the order and the circumstances, servicemen should be expected to be able to understand it was criminal. But there does not seem to be any concerns about that. 3/3

The thing is, none of the writers to point towards criminal behaviour of this order seems to care over the criminality of following it by servicemen. If the situation was indeed as described and it constitutes a war crime - servicemen should be expected to not follow orders. /2

Some debates are odd to me. E.g., it seems that Hegseth's order (what it exactly details and circumstances given is unclear) lead that to survivors of an attack were killed in one of those raids in the Caribbean sea. Thing is, if that was a war crime, then following order is a crime too. /1

I wonder who would replace Starmer and if it makes a difference. It's fairly clear that Labour is unlikely to win any popularity contest: the newest raid on Universities after going wild on migration is just one step of many to alienate their urban core vote. (SNP, Greens and Lib Dem say thank you!)

PR + strong two chamber system + constitution that can't be changed or ignored with a simple majority could help, but also creates other issues and is unlikely to overcome fragmentation. I would argue that it is somewhat more able to moderate the output, though. 5/5

In a way, that's what you are getting in a fragmented society and a FPTP system with very few veto players. Either radical unsustainable swings in one or the other directions or meaningless nothing for everyone leading to disappointment as a shared experience for everyone. /4

So whoever comes next will probably be to weak within the party to do something which pleases some of the factions because the disgruntled opposing factions will destabilise and oppose. /3

Whoever succeeds Starmer will probably face the same difficulties as Starmer (or the Conservatives for that matter): fragmentation of their party and their electorate who seem to have at times incompatible demands and priorities (e.g., on taxation, welfare and migration). /2

What I find most intriguing about the debate is that people seem to assume that by replacing Starmer something would improve (more competent etc). I would assume the most likely outcome is instability. /1

That's a pretty similar story on taxes. There are cases where you need to A (higher taxes) to get B (better social infrastructure). The problem is that the public may have a distorted view on how much is needed of them. And there is little electoral incentive for politicians to be open about it.

On a side note: That people love extensive public services and welfare while not wanting to pay the actual costs (because they believe those are massively inflated by inefficiencies or changes that frighten them) is not UK-specific (e.g., looks at the debates around migration and economics in GER).

Just comparing what would hit my bank account if I have an average salary in my job in Germany compared with UK looks pretty striking (i.e. it would be closer to 50-55% while in the UK you are more around 30%).

I do wonder what counts as tax in this context. For instance, it doesn't seem to take into account the compulsory medical insurance (de facto a tax) in Germany. If this kind of stuff is left out, then it distorts the difference between UK and other European countries (i.e. I agree, UK is low tax).

This reminds me a bit of the references to the German apprenticeship system which was quite popular a few years ago. Obviously without understanding the context of the educational, cultural and economic context it is embedded in.

Without training in the subject area most academic articles are, at best, very difficult to understand and prone to cause major misunderstandings (even when they read thoroughly). Adding to this, I seriously doubt that journalists have the (paid) time to do the required reading.

I think the same point is for the debate on AI in Higher Education contexts. It's not that AI can't produce an okay essay for students who want a short cut - it can - it's that it seems that most people who use it that way genuinely don't know whether the piece of text is good or not.

👇 genuinely don’t understand why people are unable to comprehend “don’t get AI to do something for you if you can’t understand whether it has produced the wrong answer”.