Azra D

Important to sit with as political scientists and think of what makes it difficult to bring about democratisation and make revolutions successful.

#authoritarianism #revolutions #CentreforSoutheastEuropeanStudies #UniGraz

At a talk by Del Panta (Univ. of Pavia) on autocratization. Key claim: not just a “third wave,” but an era & our methods obscure what’s happening.

Flags 3 blind spots: treating states as comparable islands, reading history linearly, & over-focusing on institutions while missing mass mobilization.

As someone whose family lived through a war then left for #Canada, hearing my second homeland attacked stopped being funny the first time it was said. Canada is home to many refugees, many people who fled instability and fear. Imagine being them right now.

On the left: a photograph of a military boat in the arctic. On the right: text that reads “Canada’s cowardice on Greenland will come back to haunt us. Trump’s Arctic fixation is accelerating a confrontation with a far more exposed neighbour.”

We could be in for Greenlandization.

Wesley Wark warns that Donald Trump’s focus on Arctic security weaknesses could soon turn toward Canada—and staying quiet on Greenland now could put ourselves in the firing line sooner than we think. https://thewalrus.ca/greenland-today-canada-tomorrow/

Davos 2026: Special address by Mark Carney, PM of Canada Canadian PM Mark Carney stressed the end of the rules-based international order and urged middle powers to act together to counter the great power rivalry.

Carney’s speech at #WEF made me think back to Canadian leadership during Covid. Whatever your view of Trudeau today, Canada’s crisis decision-making often leaned toward steadiness & evidence. Worth reflecting on as we debate global governance challenges & how we talk about leadership now.

Big life changes somehow always feel fast and slow at the same time. I relocated to Austria earlier this year and I only feel like I can truly say it months later. Maybe it’s also the fact that my first month in my PhD program is now done 🎓 how many to go? Many…many…

Hi 👋🏼 I’m starting a Substack soon where I’ll write about life as someone always between cities, languages, and passports. For now, this is where I’ll drop musings and early drafts. Follow along if you’re also half-rooted and half-floating.

I am seriously considering applying for a PhD when I promised myself I would not 10 years ago. Decade of professional experience and the student chair is calling out to me. Is this crazy? 😭
#phd #studentlife

Portuguese editorial cartoonist Zez Vaz reaches back to Tiananmen Square to call on American defiance.

About to embark on the third cross continental move of my life in the last 10 years. Why do I invite chaos? Also, tips to stay sane while asking yourself why you’re doing this?
#expat

I have been waiting to recommend this, not a queer rec sorry but for sure contemporary and I think would be so good for a book club: The Convenience Store Woman.

I loved this book and it took me out of this world and back to Japan.

Today I’m going to give it my almost

Me currently on the last book of the Hyperion series…reading this 🫠

Having worked on #Syria full-time since the crisis began nearly 14yrs ago, there really is no understating how remarkable the losses imposed on #Assad's regime have been over the past week.

A large reason for this lies with #HTS — a 🧵:

This was incredibly informative, thank you!

I thrive on a bit of morbid motivation. Like this line from I Am Mine by Pearl Jam…”I know I was born and I know I will die. The in between is mine.”

The global poverty line may be on its last legs. 📉

@scepticalranil.bsky.social dives into challenges facing the measurement and use of the international poverty line and considers five ways to address them. Read on ⬇
www.cgdev.org/blog/global-...

How Should Canada Spend Aid? Three weeks ago, I was in Montreal for a very interesting meeting on the future of Canadian foreign assistance, hosted by Global Canada and CanWaCH, the Canadian Partnership for Women and Children's H...

"I hope the next Canadian gov increases the ODA budget, but even if it's cut, what remains should be spent where it can make a difference."

@charlesjkenny.bsky.social provides advice on how to handle a potential aid cut ⬇️
bit.ly/3V5ycgd

Feeling a need for escapism and missing so much the pure immersion I used to get reading books as a teenager.

Seeing the cover of The Giver woke up memories I didn’t even know I had! I forgot about this book completely, I love when this happens