Stephen Walt
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Stephen Walt
@stephenwalt.bsky.social
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Harvard professor, realist, FP columnist. Tennis enthusiast, amateur musician, proud dad, & grateful husband. Troubled by the state of the world & looking for solutions. For speaking engagements contact John Bute at [email protected] .. more

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Stephen Martin Walt is an American political scientist serving as the Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of international relations at the Harvard Kennedy School. A member of the realist school of international relations, Walt has made important contributions to the theory of neorealism and has authored the balance of threat theory. Books that he has authored or coauthored include Origins of Alliances, Revolution and War, and The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy. .. more

Political science 72%
Sociology 17%
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Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Bonnie Honig, Smith , and 7 more

golikehellmachine.com
GOLIKEHELLMACHINE @golikehellmachine.com · 4h
the primary thing that TPUSA provides to young conservatives is a blueprint for weaponizing the abject cowardice of university administrators against individual teachers and instructors, and university admins should take a long look in the mirror and think about what that says about them
kissphoria.bsky.social gwen howerton @kissphoria.bsky.social · 4h
OU has put the professor here on administrative leave:

stephenwalt.bsky.social
Stephen Walt @stephenwalt.bsky.social · 8h
A provocative take on the situation in Ukraine from novelist Barry Eisler. Worth a read even if you disagree (and maybe worth more if that’s the case): barryeisler.substack.com/p/how-it-end...
How it Ends in Ukraine--and Why
To understand the plot, you have to understand the characters.
barryeisler.substack.com

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Richard E. Lenski, Brendan Nyhan , and 12 more

mbkplus.bsky.social
Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 10h
LSU is paying its previous football coach over $50 million NOT to coach there while likely guaranteeing Kiffin something approaching double that, all while having an academic hiring freeze and budget cuts across the board. What is the purpose of a university (rhetorical)?
brucefeldmancfb.bsky.social Bruce Feldman @brucefeldmancfb.bsky.social · 11h
SOURCES: Lane Kiffin is expected to accept LSU's offer to become the Tigers next head coach. Kiffin is set to meet with his Ole Miss team this morning at 9 AM CT. As we reported yesterday morning, LSU has been very confident it was going to land Kiffin. www.nytimes.com/athletic/684...
Lane Kiffin expected to take LSU job as Ole Miss sets team meeting: Source
www.nytimes.com

stephenwalt.bsky.social
Stephen Walt @stephenwalt.bsky.social · 1d
“Framed” is the right word.

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

mattduss.bsky.social
Matt Duss @mattduss.bsky.social · 1d
If you want to know why Pete Hegseth is confident he'll face no consequences for blatant war crimes, just look at the list of people who attended Dick Cheney's funeral.

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Kori Schake, Marc Lynch , and 12 more

rgoodlaw.bsky.social
Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 1d
Former US military lawyers speak out:

"The Former JAGs Working Group unanimously considers both the giving and the execution of these orders, if true, to constitute war crimes, murder, or both."

Statement on Media Reports of Pentagon “No Quarter” Orders in Caribbean Boat Strikes

1/2
• If the U.S. military operation to interdict and destroy suspected narcotraFicking vessels is a “non-international armed conflict,” as the Trump Administration suggests, orders to “kill everybody,” which can reasonably be regarded as an order to give “no quarter,” and to “double-tap” a target in order to kill survivors, are clearly illegal under international law. In short, they are war crimes. • If the U.S. military operation is not an armed conflict of any kind, these orders to kill helpless civilians clinging to the wreckage of a vessel our military destroyed would subject everyone from SECDEF down to the individual who pulled the trigger to prosecution under U.S. law for murder. Highlighted sentence at the end of the document reads: Again, the bottom line is that, since orders to kill survivors of an attack at sea are “patently illegal,” anyone who issues or follows such orders can and should be prosecuted for war crimes, murder, or both.

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

xelahart.bsky.social
Xela Hart @xelahart.bsky.social · 2d
Party of law and order

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Inderjeet Parmar

alonpinkas.bsky.social
Alon Pinkas @alonpinkas.bsky.social · 2d
Bigot. Did your Jewish ancestors who came to America, found a new home, opportunity and assimilated “import their society” or recreated “the terrors of their broken homelands?”
Would you dare say the same about Italian Americans? Irish Americans? You’d fit right in 1938 Nuremberg, on the German side

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

legal.reuters.com
Reuters Legal @legal.reuters.com · 2d
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday his administration may slash income tax completely over the next couple of years because of government revenue generated from tariffs.
Trump says he may cut income tax 'completely' because of tariff income
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday his administration may slash income tax completely over the next couple of years because of government revenue generated from tariffs.
reut.rs

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Kori Schake, Marc Lynch , and 14 more

mikeeckel.bsky.social
Mike Eckel @mikeeckel.bsky.social · 3d
CIA statement about the Afghan man identified as the gunman who shot two National Guardsmen in Washington

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

foreignpolicy.com
Foreign Policy @foreignpolicy.com · 3d
Columnist @stephenwalt.bsky.social writes that in times like these, when it sometimes seems like events are spiraling downward, it’s especially important to take solace in whatever positive signs we can discern.
The Top 10 Reasons to Be Thankful in 2025
These are trying times—but there's still plenty to be grateful for in the world.
foreignpolicy.com

stephenwalt.bsky.social
Stephen Walt @stephenwalt.bsky.social · 4d
Seems to get tougher every year, but I did find ten reasons to be thankful in 2025. Latest FP column here: foreignpolicy.com/2025/11/26/t...
The Top 10 Reasons to Be Thankful in 2025
These are trying times—but there's still plenty to be grateful for in the world.
foreignpolicy.com

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

instglobalaffairs.bsky.social
Institute for Global Affairs at Eurasia Group @instglobalaffairs.bsky.social · 4d
noneoftheaboveegfpodcast.libsyn.com/how-foreign-...
None Of The Above: How Foreign Influence Works in Washington
The United States is wealthy, powerful, and a democracy.  That means there are many avenues for foreign countries vying to influence its politics&nbsp...
noneoftheaboveegfpodcast.libsyn.com

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Ben H. Ansell, Elizabeth Saunders , and 21 more

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Jacob Montgomery

mayasen.bsky.social
Maya Sen @mayasen.bsky.social · 6d
A big trend in higher ed and I absolutely hate it
larryglickman.bsky.social Larry Glickman @larryglickman.bsky.social · 6d
Handing the keys of governance to unqualified billionaires and allowing them to far exceed the proper role of the Executive Branch in dictating to other agencies (i.e. Musk/DOGE) or institutions of civil society (as with Rowan/ Compact) sure does not seem "populist."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/u...
Wealthy People Have Always Shaped Universities. This Time Is Different.
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Dani Rodrik, Stephen M. Walt, Noelle E. Selin , and 2 more

5harad.com
Sharad Goel @5harad.com · 8d
📣 Job alert! 📣 Harvard Kennedy School is running 2 open-rank faculty searches in technology & public policy. One position is specifically for scholars using data science to address public problems. Please help us spread the word! academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/15561
Technology and Public Policy Search (open rank)
Harvard Kennedy School invites applications for two open rank appointments in technology and public policy. We seek applications from scholars whose research and/or practice focuses on the intersectio...
academicpositions.harvard.edu

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Matthew Bunn, John Palfrey , and 2 more

drodrik.bsky.social
Dani Rodrik @drodrik.bsky.social · 8d
Faculty searches at Harvard Kennedy School in applied microeconomics and in technology and public policy www.hks.harvard.edu/more/about/l...
Faculty Appointments
The Academic Deans' Office recruits new faculty members who have strong teaching and research records and are intellectual leaders in their field.
www.hks.harvard.edu

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Brian Keegan

motherjones.com
Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 8d
RFK Jr. wants you to know that he’s personally responsible for the anti-vax misinformation on the CDC's website
RFK Jr. wants you to know he’s personally responsible for anti-vax misinformation on CDC website
He told the New York Times there’s no proof that vaccines don’t cause autism, which is a lie.
www.motherjones.com

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Joe R. Feagin, Brendan Nyhan , and 4 more

johnjharwood.bsky.social
John Harwood @johnjharwood.bsky.social · 8d
detailed WashPost account of how Trump and Stephen Miller sidelined serious lawyers so they could fabricate a justification for committing murder

www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
White House blew past legal concerns in deadly strikes on drug boats
The Trump administration sidestepped skeptical lawyers across national security agencies as it pursued a military campaign against alleged narcotraffickers, officials say.
www.washingtonpost.com

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, David R. Miller, Jacob T. Levy , and 1 more

profsaunders.bsky.social
Elizabeth N. Saunders @profsaunders.bsky.social · 9d
It is good to see the pushback on Trump lead to real losses for him. But it's hard to be optimistic when he still wields the enormous power of the presidency. ICE is still rampaging, HHS is harming people, the U.S. may be about to sell out Ukraine, the boat strikes...he's still doing so much damage.

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, David R. Miller, David Darmofal

alicemiranda.bsky.social
Alice Miranda Ollstein @alicemiranda.bsky.social · 10d
Secretary Kennedy, speaking to a bipartisan group of governors, has mixed up Medicare and Medicaid, and implied the people who will lose the latter are either unauthorized immigrants, dual eligible, or people who “don’t want to get a job.”

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Rebecca Solnit, Robert C. Richards , and 1 more

markhertling.bsky.social
Mark Hertling @markhertling.bsky.social · 10d
For what it’s worth, as a commander and officer it was my duty, moral obligation, and legal requirement to first question and then to not obey any illegal order I was given.

The same is true for everyone who swear their oath.

Hope that clears things up.

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

georgetakei.bsky.social
George Takei @georgetakei.bsky.social · 10d
He’s never set food in a grocery store as a customer, has he.
A tweet from “chris evans @notcapnamerica” includes an edited image of Trump pointing toward stacked food items with text reading: “So when I win, I will immediately bring prices down, starting on day one. —President Trump, August 2024.” Below it is a tweet from “Newswire_US” reading: “U.S. grocery prices hit record high as monthly cost for a family of four reaches $1,030.”

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Carl Henrik Knutsen, David R. Miller

brendannyhan.bsky.social
Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 10d
This is what competitive authoritarianism looks like - regime ally trying to purchase media and remove critical voices

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

thedsrnetwork.bsky.social
The DSR Network @thedsrnetwork.bsky.social · 10d
Trump shrugged off the murder of Jamal Khashoggi this week by saying "things happen," an attitude towards violence that has huge implications for our country. @rosabrooks.bsky.social and @djrothkopf.bsky.social discuss and look for answers in our history:

ow.ly/urX550Xut82

youtu.be/FJFgW2c5m8o

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Jonathan A. Eisen, Steve Peers , and 6 more

erinmayequade.bsky.social
Erin Maye Quade @erinmayequade.bsky.social · 10d
A Trump supporter started murdering his way through an assassination list of Democratic law makers FIVE MONTHS AGO. He murdered my colleague Melissa Hortman, and her husband Mark — and attempted to assassinate my dear friend John Hoffman and his wife Yvette. I was also on the hit list. WTF
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 10d
Insanity
SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

maxboot.bsky.social
Max Boot @maxboot.bsky.social · 10d
The revisions show that the “CDC cannot currently be trusted as a scientific voice,” said Demetre Daskalakis, who formerly led the agency’s center responsible for respiratory viruses and immunizations. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
Under RFK Jr., CDC promotes false vaccines-autism link it once discredited
The CDC’s website now says health authorities ignored evidence of a potential connection between vaccines and autism, despite dozens of studies showing no link.
www.washingtonpost.com

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, David R. Miller

brendannyhan.bsky.social
Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 10d
Strangling the world-beating export industry which cross-subsidizes higher education for Americans. The White House says that's good news!
mattpeterson.bsky.social Matt Peterson @mattpeterson.bsky.social · 11d
The White House just blasted this out under the headline "Good News You May Have Missed"
🧑‍🎓 New foreign student enrollment at U.S. colleges and universities is down by 17% over last year: “American universities have suffered one of the sharpest ever declines in foreign enrollments in the face of tough policies from President Donald Trump, with the number of new international students falling 17 percent this year.”

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

nilsgilman.bsky.social
Nils Gilman @nilsgilman.bsky.social · 11d
In related news, the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk killings shows that rightwingers don't actually mind cancel culture—so long as it's done against their ideological adversaries. www.reuters.com/investigatio...
www.reuters.com

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

ryanenos.bsky.social
Ryan Enos @ryanenos.bsky.social · 11d
There is something darkly poetic, in an Orwellian sense, about the aspiring dictator saying to the press, "Quiet, quiet, piggy".