Seán Hanley
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drseanhanley.bsky.social
Seán Hanley
@drseanhanley.bsky.social
2K followers 1.1K following 440 posts

Assoc Professor in Comparative Central and East European Politics, UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies. Personal take on politics, Eastern Europe and suburbia.

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Political science 69%
Sociology 20%
Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Seán Hanley

szabolcspanyi.bsky.social
Szabolcs Panyi @szabolcspanyi.bsky.social · 20h
💥It’s official: Hungary’s parliamentary election will be held on April 12, just three months from now. Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz is trailing the opposition by 10–18 points, yet few believe he wouldn’t do whatever it takes to cling to power.

Now he has backing from both Putin and Trump. A dangerous mix.

drseanhanley.bsky.social
Seán Hanley @drseanhanley.bsky.social · 20h
Plaid the clear go-to anti-populist party in Wales.
paulbrand.bsky.social Paul Brand @paulbrand.bsky.social · 21h
BREAKING: Explosive new poll for ITV Cymru Wales puts Plaid Cymru surging ahead of Reform UK in May’s Welsh elections.

Plaid 37%
Reform 23%
Greens 13%
Labour 10%
Tories 10%
Lib Dems 5%

Plaid could form majority with Greens on this basis, with Labour out of govt for first time since devolution.

Reposted by Steve Peers, James Harrison, Seán Hanley , and 1 more

paulbrand.bsky.social
Paul Brand @paulbrand.bsky.social · 21h
BREAKING: Explosive new poll for ITV Cymru Wales puts Plaid Cymru surging ahead of Reform UK in May’s Welsh elections.

Plaid 37%
Reform 23%
Greens 13%
Labour 10%
Tories 10%
Lib Dems 5%

Plaid could form majority with Greens on this basis, with Labour out of govt for first time since devolution.

Reposted by Seán Hanley

left-foot-forward.bsky.social
Left Foot Forward @left-foot-forward.bsky.social · 2d
Is it time for public ownership of water?
Majority of Thames Water customers want utility to be nationalised, new polling shows
Customers believe that Ofwat should reject the creditors’ deal and put Thames Water into special administration
leftfootforward.org

drseanhanley.bsky.social
Seán Hanley @drseanhanley.bsky.social · 2d
Rajchl, whose party has origins in anti-Ukrainian protest movement and anti-system anti-vax subcultures, got more individual preference votes than Okamura in last election. He also allegedly featured in leaked sex tape, but naturally didnt land w CZ voters for whom moral-cultural issues not salient.

drseanhanley.bsky.social
Seán Hanley @drseanhanley.bsky.social · 2d
Far-right Czech speaker of CZ parliament Tomio Okamura stirred controversy with virulently anti-Ukrainian New Year message. Now faces a challenge from Jindřich Rajchl, whose smaller PRO party, elected on Okamura’s ticket, seeks separate poll recognition. www.seznamzpravy.cz/clanek/domac...
Rajchlovo PRO se chce trhnout od Okamury. Alespoň v průzkumech - Seznam Zprávy
Strana PRO Jindřicha Rajchla požádala výzkumné agentury, které vytvářejí volební modely, aby preference uskupení měřily samostatně. I přestože členové strany kandidovali v posledních volbách společně ...
www.seznamzpravy.cz

Reposted by Seán Hanley

chathamhouse.org
Chatham House @chathamhouse.org · 2d
Volodymyr Zelenskyy's approval ratings suffered following a contentious move in July 2025 to curb the independence of anti-corruption bodies, triggering widespread protests in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy’s reshuffle aims to neutralize political rivals, restore trust – and account for Trump’s unpredictability
The shake-up was essential after corruption scandals. But the new appointments also aim to strengthen Ukraine amid aggressive US foreign policy and an intense Russian assault.
www.chathamhouse.org

drseanhanley.bsky.social
Seán Hanley @drseanhanley.bsky.social · 2d
Totally logical I’m afraid - any Western autocrat with a patina of nationalism and anti-imperialist rhetoic (Orban’s case de-colonising rhetoric) will get the seal of approval from some sections of the supposed left.

Reposted by Seán Hanley

translatinghistory.bsky.social
Translating History @translatinghistory.bsky.social · 2d
A Russian historian's take on what prompted Stalin to leave his son in a German concentration camp, based on the recently declassified interrogation of Yakov Dzhugashvili, Stalin's eldest son.
Stalin’s Son Revisited: Why Stalin Refused to Save Him
As discussed in an August TranslatingHistory post, Yakov Dzhugashvili, the oldest child of Josef Stalin, was captured by Germans in 1941 near Vitebsk and used as a propaganda piece by Hitler and Go…
translatinghistory.org

Reposted by Seán Hanley

eugenemcparland.bsky.social
Eugene McParland 🇺🇦 @eugenemcparland.bsky.social · 3d
‘russian world’ in occupied Luhansk oblast: no heating and deliberately cut off from mobile telephones and Internet

khpg.org/en/1608815413
‘Russian world’ in occupied Luhansk oblast: no heating and deliberately cut off from mobile telephones and Internet
Cities that Russia relentlessly bombed in 2022 remain in a dire state, with Russia having even stopped making the propaganda videos where they’d claim credit for renovations carried before the invasi...
khpg.org

drseanhanley.bsky.social
Seán Hanley @drseanhanley.bsky.social · 3d
Telling. Expect no change.
szabolcspanyi.bsky.social Szabolcs Panyi @szabolcspanyi.bsky.social · 3d
🚨 Despite expulsions, Belarus still has a honorary consul in Czechia who quietly keeps business flowing to Russia, exploiting diplomatic status to dodge sanctions — exposing how influence, trade, and loopholes still power the Kremlin’s networks.
Diplomat in the Shadows: Belarus’s Honorary Consul in Czechia Trades with Russia Despite Sanctions - VSquare.org
He is invisible — and, at the same time, a successful businessman who has managed to evade the sanctions imposed on Russia.
vsquare.org

Reposted by Seán Hanley

szabolcspanyi.bsky.social
Szabolcs Panyi @szabolcspanyi.bsky.social · 3d
🚨 Despite expulsions, Belarus still has a honorary consul in Czechia who quietly keeps business flowing to Russia, exploiting diplomatic status to dodge sanctions — exposing how influence, trade, and loopholes still power the Kremlin’s networks.
Diplomat in the Shadows: Belarus’s Honorary Consul in Czechia Trades with Russia Despite Sanctions - VSquare.org
He is invisible — and, at the same time, a successful businessman who has managed to evade the sanctions imposed on Russia.
vsquare.org

Reposted by Seán Hanley

lawfaremedia.org
Lawfare @lawfaremedia.org · 4d
"With so much written on disinformation and misinformation over the past decade, original research on these topics has become rare. But Daniel Silverman’s 'Seeing Is Disbelieving: Why People Believe Misinformation in War, and When They Know Better' is genuinely novel," reviews Thomas Colley.
When Misinformation Means the Difference Between Life and Death
A Review of Daniel Silverman, “Seeing Is Disbelieving: Why People Believe Misinformation in War, and When They Know Better” (Cambridge University Press, 2024).
www.lawfaremedia.org

drseanhanley.bsky.social
Seán Hanley @drseanhanley.bsky.social · 5d
It’s all getting a bit Man in the High Castle.

One day in the not too far future, I guess, we may be wondering what the US would like if it was a democracy…
willbunch.bsky.social Will Bunch @willbunch.bsky.social · 5d
Something I always wondered is how it would be covered if America became a dictatorship

This is it

Reposted by Seán Hanley

fulelo.bsky.social
Kriszta Satori @fulelo.bsky.social · 5d
#BBCNews - What Trump's vision of the new world order means for Europe
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
By Allan Little
What Trump's vision of the new world order means for Europe
The turbocharged events in Venezuela through to discussions about Greenland all nods to the US’s shifting vision of the world order. And it leaves the EU with a pressing decision about whose influence...
www.bbc.co.uk

Reposted by Jason Mittell, Colin F. Camerer, Will Jennings , and 8 more

willbunch.bsky.social
Will Bunch @willbunch.bsky.social · 5d
Something I always wondered is how it would be covered if America became a dictatorship

This is it

Reposted by Seán Hanley

politico.eu
POLITICO Europe @politico.eu · 6d
Earlier this week, we set out the steps Donald Trump could take to seize Greenland.

Now here’s the flip side: What Europe can do to stop him 👇

#[politi.co/4qMglbx

Reposted by Seán Hanley

economist.com
The Economist @economist.com · 6d
They started rebuilding in 2025, before Donald Trump’s most recent bid for hemispheric dominance
Canada’s armed forces are now planning for threats from America
They started rebuilding in 2025, before Donald Trump’s most recent bid for hemispheric dominance
econ.st

drseanhanley.bsky.social
Seán Hanley @drseanhanley.bsky.social · 7d
Yes, that rings true / in Russia and parts of Eastern Europe these networks basically are the state. State “patronalised”.

drseanhanley.bsky.social
Seán Hanley @drseanhanley.bsky.social · 7d
Incoming Czech populist coalition government reportedly plans to scrap civil service law. denikreferendum.cz/clanek/23836...
Vláda chce zrušit služební zákon. Návrat o třicet let zpět, varují experti
Vláda plánuje zrušení služebního zákona, který zajišťuje nezávislost a kontinuitu státní správy. Experti varují, že krok umožní snadnější propouštění úředníků. Ve hře je podle odborníků stabilita celé...
denikreferendum.cz

drseanhanley.bsky.social
Seán Hanley @drseanhanley.bsky.social · 8d
Czech PM Andrej Babiš rules out another presidential run. Who you wonder will his candidate be? The search for a Czech Pelligrini begins.

As yet unclear if current independent president Petr Pavel will run again.
pepakopecky.bsky.social pepakopecky.bsky.social @pepakopecky.bsky.social · 8d
Premiér a předseda ANO Andrej Babiš škrtá možnost, že by se mohl opakovat souboj o Hrad mezi ním a současným prezidentem Petrem Pavlem, který ho před třemi lety porazil. „Já už kandidovat nebudu,“ řekl Babiš ve videu, které zveřejnil na Instagramu.
www.idnes.cz/zpravy/domac...

drseanhanley.bsky.social
Seán Hanley @drseanhanley.bsky.social · 8d
Guardian picks up on the academically well-rehearsed topic of big city mayors as force for democratic resilience - the issue of an emerging metropolitan / provincial cleavage lies unaddressed

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
‘We have a new role’: mayors across the world increasingly taking on society’s biggest challenges
From Budapest to Barcelona, New York to Paris, mayors are increasingly being thrust on to the political frontlines as they face down the rise of the far right
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Seán Hanley

pepakopecky.bsky.social
pepakopecky.bsky.social @pepakopecky.bsky.social · 8d
Premiér a předseda ANO Andrej Babiš škrtá možnost, že by se mohl opakovat souboj o Hrad mezi ním a současným prezidentem Petrem Pavlem, který ho před třemi lety porazil. „Já už kandidovat nebudu,“ řekl Babiš ve videu, které zveřejnil na Instagramu.
www.idnes.cz/zpravy/domac...

drseanhanley.bsky.social
Seán Hanley @drseanhanley.bsky.social · 8d
Universities also take note. Pragmatic arguments about reaching people increasingly unconvincing - and morally and politically unsustainable.
sundersays.bsky.social Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 8d
More from @markpackuk.bsky.social on his question about the government use of X: government will carry on prioritising X for government comms, despite the evidence about X's promotion + protection of unlawful activity. It no longer pays to advertise there
lordseyeview.substack.com/p/will-the-g...
Will the government reduce its reliance on Elon Musk's X?
Welcome
lordseyeview.substack.com

Reposted by Seán Hanley

jodemocracy.bsky.social
Journal of Democracy @jodemocracy.bsky.social · 8d
It's not a myth: leaders sometimes intentionally undermine their governments’ ability to govern. How and why do these leaders seek to dismantle the states they lead? Read "Why Populists Hollow Out Their States":

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

Reposted by Seán Hanley, Maria Sobolewska

sundersays.bsky.social
Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 8d
More from @markpackuk.bsky.social on his question about the government use of X: government will carry on prioritising X for government comms, despite the evidence about X's promotion + protection of unlawful activity. It no longer pays to advertise there
lordseyeview.substack.com/p/will-the-g...
Will the government reduce its reliance on Elon Musk's X?
Welcome
lordseyeview.substack.com

drseanhanley.bsky.social
Seán Hanley @drseanhanley.bsky.social · 9d
Sometimes the British tabloids just tell it like is.
“Peace loving Trump attacks Venezuela”

Reposted by Seán Hanley, Nicolai von Ondarza

szabolcspanyi.bsky.social
Szabolcs Panyi @szabolcspanyi.bsky.social · 9d
🪧Hundreds protested at Slovakia’s embassy in Budapest against a new Slovak law penalizing denial or questioning of the Beneš Decrees—post-WWII rules used to strip Hungarians and Germans of their rights and properties. Opposition leader Péter Magyar even vowed to expel the Slovak ambassador.

drseanhanley.bsky.social
Seán Hanley @drseanhanley.bsky.social · 10d
Shame so many the audience questions come from the usual thinktank, civil society and business worthies….

drseanhanley.bsky.social
Seán Hanley @drseanhanley.bsky.social · 10d
Interesting talk. There is a populist or even subtext (decadent elites, eclipse of European West, but hey elites can be problematic. Call for a “moral revolution” has a vaguely Havelian vibe. @kieranwilliams67.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
The Reith Lectures - Rutger Bregman - Moral Revolution - 1. A Time of Monsters - BBC Sounds
Dutch historian Rutger Bregman delivers his first BBC Reith Lecture: Moral Revolution.
www.bbc.co.uk