Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Nicolas Bouchet

Yan Matusevich @ymatusik.bsky.social · 1h

A Tajik citizen married to a German gets denied asylum in Germany and is forced by immigration authorities to return to Tajikistan to apply for a family reunification visa. A few months after his return, he was abducted, tortured and killed by Tajik security services

freedomforeurasia.org/2729-2/

Return from Germany Ends in Tajik Man's Torture and Death - Freedom For Eurasia

Freedom For Eurasia condemns the decision of German authorities to force the 29-year-old Tajik citizen Rahmonov Saidazam to return to Tajikistan whiсh resulted in his violent death at the hands of the...

freedomforeurasia.org

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Dr. Ian Garner @irgarner.bsky.social · 1h

Is anyone going to BASEES next year?

I have a panel on shaping and responding to perceptions of Russia across Central & Eastern Europe. We need a moderator!

(We also have space for 1 more paper if anyone is keen)

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Nate Schenkkan @nateschenkkan.bsky.social · 13h

One thing we know from that example is this will buttress the justification of extraterritorial killings as a practice by other states

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Nahal Toosi @nahaltoosi.bsky.social · 13h

NEW: I'm told that Trump is close to releasing his National Security Strategy, and the drafts right now have a heavy focus on the Western Hemisphere. www.politico.com/newsletters/...

Trump’s NatSec Strategy is almost ready

Signs point to quite a lot of focus on the Western hemisphere in the Trump administration's first National Security Strategy.

www.politico.com

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Reposted by Nicolas Bouchet

jondkatz.bsky.social @jondkatz.bsky.social · 1d

Democracies worldwide face unprecedented challenges, but a malfunctioning democracy does not mean it is doomed to autocracy, especially if pro-democracy actors act quickly to reverse course.

Read my latest @brookings.edu with @normeisen.bsky.social

www.brookings.edu/articles/glo...

Global democracy is more resilient than you may think | Brookings

Despite global backsliding, recent research shows that democracy remains resilient. Learn how pro-democracy movements are shaping its future.

www.brookings.edu

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Journal of Democracy @jodemocracy.bsky.social · 14h

Even if an activist flees their repressive nation, they aren't guaranteed freedom from authoritarian influence. We're living in "The Golden Age of Transnational Repression," writes Nate Schenkkan.

muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...

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ICNL @icnl.bsky.social · 15h

🚨 Essential Reading for 501(c)(3) Organizations

Non-profits are facing new challenges. Our guide outlines the top 10 compliance issues impacting 501(c)(3) entities in the #US today.

🔗 Learn more: www.icnl.org/post/news/10...

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Helene von Bismarck @helenebismarck.bsky.social · 19h

Deep breath. My publisher @johnmurrays.bsky.social informs me that my book about 🇬🇧,
"Fantastic Kingdom“
which will come out in June 2026,
is now available to pre-order, and that @waterstones.bsky.social is offering a 25% preorder discount this week.
www.waterstones.com/book/fantast...

Fantastic Kingdom by Helene von Bismarck | Waterstones

Buy Fantastic Kingdom by Helene von Bismarck from Waterstones today! Click and Collect from your local Waterstones or get FREE UK delivery on orders over £25.

www.waterstones.com

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Nicolas Bouchet @nickbouchet.bsky.social · 17h

Have faith!

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Nicolas Bouchet @nickbouchet.bsky.social · 17h

"The most effective approach to the current U.S. administration, however, is talk of money."

Very good analysis.

If Trump does to go Central Asia at some point, I really hope he includes Turkmenistan. I'd be willing to pay to watch Berdymukhamedov hosting him.

Temur Umarov @tumarov.bsky.social · 3d

The current US administration is the easiest one so far for Central Asia to work with. Business interests can be used to attract attention & there's no need for demonstrative distancing from Russia or commitment to democratic reforms. @ceip-politika.bsky.social carnegieendowment.org/russia-euras...

Why Is Central Asia Buying Trump’s Attention?

The current U.S. administration is the easiest one so far for Central Asia to work with. Business interests can be used to attract Washington’s attention, and there is no longer any need for demonstra...

carnegieendowment.org

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Reposted by Nicolas Bouchet

OC Media @ocmedia.bsky.social · 23h

Georgian Dream is seeking to extend its proposed party ban to individual politicians. Under the new amendments, politicians linked to parties banned by the Constitutional Court would also be barred from political activity.

oc-media.org/georgian-dre...

Georgian Dream seeks to extend proposed ban of political parties to individual politicians

Previous proposed amendments called for essentially banning all major opposition parties, as well as future parties with a shared ideology.

oc-media.org

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Reposted by Nicolas Bouchet

Natasha Kuhrt @natashakuhrt.bsky.social · 1d

Blue sky hive mind: #Russian political economy/trade-best books/articles on the opening up of the economy after the collapse of the USSR please!

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Christy Quirk @cequirk.bsky.social · 1d

Insightful piece about the challenges of Belrus‘ unlikely, awkward power couple, www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...

The accidental power couple that is now taking on a dictator and Putin

After five years in prison, Sergei Tikhanovsky leaves to find his wife leading the resistance to Alexander Lukashenko, who is more entrenched than ever.

www.washingtonpost.com

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The Kyiv Independent @kyivindependent.com · 1d

⚡️Kremlin issues veiled threats towards Moldova, cites Ukraine as warning.

Kremlin issues veiled threats towards Moldova, cites Ukraine as warning

Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov issued a new round of veiled threats towards Moldova on Oct. 12, warning Chisinau not to suffer from the same fate as Ukraine just weeks after an election that saw M...

kyivindependent.com

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Reposted by Nicolas Bouchet

Katie Shoshiashvili @kshoshiashvili.bsky.social · 1d

2. Possessing tear gas, nerve agents, or other toxic substances;
3. Intentionally obstructing the movement of people or vehicles;
4. Erecting temporary structures that impede police efforts to maintain public order and safety;
5. Partially or fully blocking roads when demos could occur without it.

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Reposted by Nicolas Bouchet

Anton Barbashin @abarbashin.bsky.social · 1d

One might imagine that, with many regime critics, expelled from Russia—amid the proclaimed "support for the regime"—the Kremlin wouldn't need to manipulate the election results much. On the contrary, it has to rig them like never before.
ridl.io/political-fi...

Political Fixers: How Russia’s Election Results Get Cooked – Riddle Russia

Ksenia Smolakova on the art of rigging outcomes—even in elections that were never free to begin with

ridl.io

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Tony Tassell @tonytassell.bsky.social · 1d

Remarkable words here from David Webb, who has done so much for corporate governance in HK and Asia. Due to serious illness, he is shutting down his website and transferring to a substack. Have huge respect for what he has done over the years webb-site.com/articles/shu...

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The Insider @theins.press · 1d

Pro-Kremlin Matryoshka bot network publishes AI-generated images mocking Armenia’s PM Nikol Pashinyan

Matryoshka began its pre-election activities in Armenia with a record lead time of eight months, the Bot Blocker Project @antibot4navalny.bsky.social reports.

Pro-Kremlin Matryoshka bot network publishes AI-generated images mocking Armenia’s PM Nikol Pashinyan

The pro-Kremlin Matryoshka disinformation network has launched a new campaign against Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan ahead of the country’s June 2026 parliamentary elections, according to ins...

theins.press

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will neal @willneal.bsky.social · 2d

It’s been more than four months since I was expelled from Georgia with no word on a hearing date for my appeal. Here’s my latest for Index on Censorship about the ban, and what it says more broadly about the dire situation the country now finds itself in.
papyrus.exacteditions.com/issues/14183...

papyrus.exacteditions.com

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Nicolas Bouchet @nickbouchet.bsky.social · 2d

“The Trump administration’s calculation could be that doing regime change on the cheap will help them avoid the penalties of the ‘Pottery Barn rule,’” said Peter Feaver, a former national security hand in the George W. Bush administration."

If Feaver is right, and he may well be ... oh boy.

Trump Has a Different Plan to Oust Maduro This Time Around

Venezuela’s leader has survived the US president’s wrath before.

www.politico.com

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Reposted by Nicolas Bouchet

VSquare.org @vsquare.bsky.social · 2d

⚡️Across Central Europe, politicians used paid social media ads to attack journalists, activists, NGOs. From Hungary to Slovakia, these campaigns spread disinformation and hate, reaching tens of thousands while Meta and Google profit from #SponsoredHate.

Sponsored Hate: How Politicians Paid for Meta Ads to Attack Journalists - VSquare.org

Across the Visegrád countries, politicians have increasingly used paid social media ads to attack journalists, human rights activists, and civil society organizations.

vsquare.org

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Nicolas Bouchet @nickbouchet.bsky.social · 2d

She sure hit that one not so much out of the park as out of the country (also speaking as a Liverpool fan)

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Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · 2d

Shared courtesy of my Penn History colleague, Ben Nathans

Image: A variation on Benjamin Franklin’s “Join, or Die” engraving, originally published in the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1754. Each segment of the snake has the name of a university sent Trump’s “compact”: Texas, AZ, Vanderbilt, USC, Dartmouth, UVA, Brown, Penn, MIT.

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Avishay BSG (Ben-Sasson-Gordis) @avishaybsg.bsky.social · 2d

🧵 I'm excited to share that my article "Democratic Backsliding and the Limits of Civilian Control of the Military" has been accepted @thejop.bsky.social.

It answers the question "how ought militaries act when civilian leaders turn on democratic institutions?"

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#CivMilSky #PolTheory

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Daniel Hegedus @danielhegedus.bsky.social · 2d

I had the pleasure to discuss the alleged case of Hungarian espionage against the European Commission with TVP World @tvpworld.bsky.social.
Find the link and my main points in THREAD.

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