Elspeth O’Riordan

My take on the US-Iran talks, in case you slept through the Today programme this morning! Why talks now? There is an urgency. After Trump pulled out of the JCPOA, Iran has amassed enough 60% enriched uranium that it has drastically shortened the timeline if it decided to go for a nuclear weapon. 1/7

Dear Members and Friends of the Wilson Center, As you probably know, the Wilson Center is complying with a March 14th Executive Order to reduce to its minimum statutory functions. As a result, we are no longer continuing with planned Wilson Center programming and activities. The Wilson Center will maintain a few fellowships to continue our statutory mandate to produce scholarship-driven analysis to inform and support public policy. Thank you for your support.

AHA–OAH Joint Statement on Federal Censorship of American History The American Historical Association (AHA) and the Organization of American Historians (OAH) have released a joint statement condemning federal censorship of American history.

The AHA and the OAH have released a joint statement condemning recent efforts to censor historical content on federal government websites, at many public museums, and across a wide swath of government resources that include essential data. 🗃️

Off the charts level of institutional vandalism this past week. Kennan Institute long gathered superb Russian military expertise at a time when the subfield was not terribly fashionable. DOGE & co actively destroying DoD intellectual capacity in their mindless rampage through the bureaucracy.

This is devastating. The Wilson Center is a vital and valued resource for scholars around the world.

For those of us who have worked in the DC think tank sector, the idea that the Wilson Center and USIP could disappear overnight is just unfathomable. A terrible loss of knowledge and collaboration and understanding.

The Great Crisis Europe's military and diplomatic challenge

As ever, an excellent piece by Lawrence Freedman. Well worth a read…
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...

Two Weeks In The Death Spiral Of Cardiff University - Reading Time: 4 minutesBy an anonymous academic. Cover image by Adwitiya Pal On the second day of classes…

Two Weeks In The Death Spiral Of Cardiff University, by an anonymous academic.
This is truly shocking read.
The Cardiff executive board should hang their heads in shame.
voice.cymru/two-weeks-in...

Could you do an explainer sometime on the unfolding crisis in UK universities/higher education?

Given this week’s events Assad's regime is finished & it’s a race to Damascus. The Russian position in Syria, and MENA region writ large is consequently in deep trouble, because of Syria’s importance as a logistics hub for Russian operations. Short thread. 1/

Generous review by Gavin Daly of Wandering Army in English Historical Review. “Engagingly written, well organised, rich in detail & source material, vast in geographical sweep, & long in its time frame, this book offers a major new interpretation of the development of British military leadership…”

Cold War Historians...not at all thorough or complete so pleae make suggestions or ask to be added!

go.bsky.app/NAWTQUp

War and Peace in the Age of Artificial Intelligence What it will mean for the world when machines shape strategy and statecraft.

In an essay adapted from their new book, Henry Kissinger, Eric Schmidt, and Craig Mundie consider how artificial intelligence will change how wars are fought in the years ahead:

Understanding the Cold War This book provides an advanced introduction to the Cold War, enabling students to navigate the field in terms of the relevant scholarly debates

Any #ColdWar enthusiasts looking for a bargain?
‘Understanding the Cold War’ is currently available at a great discount…
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...

🧵 A few ideas about my forthcoming book: It will be organised around four overlapping themes: knowledge networks; technological transformation; indigenous influences and counter-influences; and the emergence of political ideological influences such as liberal imperialism, and imperial federation. 🗃️

Delighted by the write up of my new book, Uncivil War: the British Army and the Troubles, in this weekend’s Belfast Telegraph

William Hague made point related to this on radio last week - that key difference in ME today compared with earlier periods is potential role powerful regional Arab states could play in finding a path forward.

New to Bluesky after becoming increasingly disillusioned with the Other(now broken) Place. Hoping to reconnect with similar #ColdWar enthusiasts and history nerds.