Seva
@seva.bsky.social
Seva Gunitsky, associate professor of political science, University of Toronto. http://individual.utoronto.ca/seva/. book: http://amzn.to/2oRD2yG
Pinned
Seva
@seva.bsky.social
· Oct 28
Prosecuting the Powerful
Historical data shows putting leaders on trial is a healthy democratic practice.
foreignpolicy.com
Sarkozy is going to jail but he’s not the first one. In our new dataset we track modern leaders who have been prosecuted by their own states. There are 215 of them. Turns out leader prosecution is a common & healthy practice in democracies. Full access link: foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/28/d...
just realized truman capote, oliver sacks, david cedaris and jonah lehrer were all New Yorker writers. maybe time to put its “vaunted” fact-checking reputation to rest
December 12, 2025 at 8:31 PM
just realized truman capote, oliver sacks, david cedaris and jonah lehrer were all New Yorker writers. maybe time to put its “vaunted” fact-checking reputation to rest
a big mistake liberals make is assuming their opponents are capable of shame. erase that thought and proceed accordingly
December 12, 2025 at 2:22 AM
a big mistake liberals make is assuming their opponents are capable of shame. erase that thought and proceed accordingly
Reposted by Seva
Hugely important though because we thought this era was about geo-political competition, but these guys do not care about national self-interest so this neo-royalism or emergent network of personalist authoritarians may be as if not more important than US v China or US v Russia.
December 11, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Hugely important though because we thought this era was about geo-political competition, but these guys do not care about national self-interest so this neo-royalism or emergent network of personalist authoritarians may be as if not more important than US v China or US v Russia.
Reposted by Seva
This is why many consider Nazarbayev one of the statesmen of the era
learning about how Nazarbaev prepared for his famous drinking bouts with yeltsin. he would line his stomach with olive oil and step away occasionally to throw up. rinse repeat. this is the president of Kazakhstan btw
yeltsin would just slam the vodka and pass out like a simple soul
yeltsin would just slam the vodka and pass out like a simple soul
December 11, 2025 at 8:59 PM
This is why many consider Nazarbayev one of the statesmen of the era
learning about how Nazarbaev prepared for his famous drinking bouts with yeltsin. he would line his stomach with olive oil and step away occasionally to throw up. rinse repeat. this is the president of Kazakhstan btw
yeltsin would just slam the vodka and pass out like a simple soul
yeltsin would just slam the vodka and pass out like a simple soul
December 11, 2025 at 8:56 PM
learning about how Nazarbaev prepared for his famous drinking bouts with yeltsin. he would line his stomach with olive oil and step away occasionally to throw up. rinse repeat. this is the president of Kazakhstan btw
yeltsin would just slam the vodka and pass out like a simple soul
yeltsin would just slam the vodka and pass out like a simple soul
why the fuck does every coffee shop feel like an airport lounge. metal on white on blonde wood. I want the maximalist old couches vibe of the '90s. I am becoming a coffee shop reactionary
December 11, 2025 at 6:32 PM
why the fuck does every coffee shop feel like an airport lounge. metal on white on blonde wood. I want the maximalist old couches vibe of the '90s. I am becoming a coffee shop reactionary
a friend complained that professors are too anti AI. There’s a good reason! We’ve been swimming in AI slop before most people knew what it was. oh you were upset the Boston Review or whatever had an AI book list? we’ve been reading slop essays by the hundreds, let us complain a bit while we adjust
December 11, 2025 at 5:38 PM
a friend complained that professors are too anti AI. There’s a good reason! We’ve been swimming in AI slop before most people knew what it was. oh you were upset the Boston Review or whatever had an AI book list? we’ve been reading slop essays by the hundreds, let us complain a bit while we adjust
Reposted by Seva
i asked chat gpt to fact check an article for me
December 8, 2025 at 9:33 PM
i asked chat gpt to fact check an article for me
it is now more important than ever to become an enormous snob
December 9, 2025 at 2:50 PM
it is now more important than ever to become an enormous snob
Reposted by Seva
Not only is this 100% correct, but because of the ultra-high net worth individuals we’re dealing w/what you have is a gigantic insider threat & counterintelligence problem. 1/
one reason "great power competition" is a bad description of the emerging order is that an interlinked global kleptocracy does not care about national interests or rivalries
Extraordinary WSJ reporting today that unveils the extent to which Trump, Witkoff, Kushner and US business executives are salivating over business deals with Russia while Putin’s forces kidnap Ukranian children and bomb civilians in their apartments.
🎁 www.wsj.com/world/russia...
🎁 www.wsj.com/world/russia...
November 30, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Not only is this 100% correct, but because of the ultra-high net worth individuals we’re dealing w/what you have is a gigantic insider threat & counterintelligence problem. 1/
very stupid for any democrat to be performatively blasé about dearborn. at the same time, it would be nice for the left to display an iota of self reflection and occasionally admit they were wrong
December 1, 2025 at 4:33 AM
very stupid for any democrat to be performatively blasé about dearborn. at the same time, it would be nice for the left to display an iota of self reflection and occasionally admit they were wrong
Reposted by Seva
Computer, please summarize everything PG Wodehouse ever wrote in ten seconds
rich dudes got freakier after butlers fell out of fashion, like say what you will about having domestic servants but clearly it was some sort of moderating force on old rich dudes having a fancy man follow you around saying shit like "oh dear sir, that wouldn't be very becoming"
November 29, 2025 at 9:34 PM
Computer, please summarize everything PG Wodehouse ever wrote in ten seconds
one reason "great power competition" is a bad description of the emerging order is that an interlinked global kleptocracy does not care about national interests or rivalries
Extraordinary WSJ reporting today that unveils the extent to which Trump, Witkoff, Kushner and US business executives are salivating over business deals with Russia while Putin’s forces kidnap Ukranian children and bomb civilians in their apartments.
🎁 www.wsj.com/world/russia...
🎁 www.wsj.com/world/russia...
November 29, 2025 at 2:42 PM
one reason "great power competition" is a bad description of the emerging order is that an interlinked global kleptocracy does not care about national interests or rivalries
who would win in a drinking contest between hegseth and medvedev
November 29, 2025 at 4:13 AM
who would win in a drinking contest between hegseth and medvedev
Reposted by Seva
A chapter in Hegseth’s book is literally titled “More Lethality, Less Lawyers.”
It’s almost as if there were signs!
It’s almost as if there were signs!
November 29, 2025 at 3:02 AM
A chapter in Hegseth’s book is literally titled “More Lethality, Less Lawyers.”
It’s almost as if there were signs!
It’s almost as if there were signs!
Reposted by Seva
Seems like a weird thing to tweet on the day when your boss said he’d pardon someone convicted of sending 400 tons of cocaine into the US.
November 29, 2025 at 2:25 AM
Seems like a weird thing to tweet on the day when your boss said he’d pardon someone convicted of sending 400 tons of cocaine into the US.
marxism for me is the ultimate "love the band hate the fans" school of thought. the Tool of ideologies
November 29, 2025 at 3:04 AM
marxism for me is the ultimate "love the band hate the fans" school of thought. the Tool of ideologies
the real question is how long russia can keep jangling keys in front of trump's people
November 27, 2025 at 4:20 PM
the real question is how long russia can keep jangling keys in front of trump's people
Reposted by Seva
My microwave sings a little song when my Hot Pocket is done. Should it have the right to vote?
November 25, 2025 at 8:44 PM
My microwave sings a little song when my Hot Pocket is done. Should it have the right to vote?
in the course of musk's pronatalist crusade he implemented one of the largest single policy inflicted child death events of the 21st century so this is par for the course
November 24, 2025 at 3:38 AM
in the course of musk's pronatalist crusade he implemented one of the largest single policy inflicted child death events of the 21st century so this is par for the course
Reposted by Seva
Political scientists don’t really think about threats of violence as a constraint on elected officials but we really need to be thinking about it this way
#NEW: Gov. Mike Braun said he and his family are among the Republicans targeted in a wave of threats against state officeholders over Indiana redistricting. www.cnn.com/2025/11/21/…
Indiana’s governor and at least 8 lawmakers have been swatted or threatened as state Republicans...
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun said he and his family are among the Republicans targeted in a wave of threats against state officeholders this week as President Donald Trump pressures Hoosier State lawmak...
www.cnn.com
November 23, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Political scientists don’t really think about threats of violence as a constraint on elected officials but we really need to be thinking about it this way
Reposted by Seva
If I’m understanding this correctly, X is owned by a white nationalist who pays poor people of color in developing countries to pretend to be working class white Americans to scare other white Americans into being afraid poor people of color from developing countries are going to ruin America?
November 23, 2025 at 7:30 PM
If I’m understanding this correctly, X is owned by a white nationalist who pays poor people of color in developing countries to pretend to be working class white Americans to scare other white Americans into being afraid poor people of color from developing countries are going to ruin America?
cultural chauvinism can work in subtle ways. for example someone will be talking about ukraine and say "this should not be happening in the middle of europe"
November 23, 2025 at 7:53 PM
cultural chauvinism can work in subtle ways. for example someone will be talking about ukraine and say "this should not be happening in the middle of europe"
i’ve been making fun of realism a lot so I’ll say one nice thing about it: for all the accusations of amorality, the realist position that human needs & fears are basically the same everywhere is in some ways more humanist and cosmopolitan than liberal assumptions of institutionally-shaped cultures
November 21, 2025 at 3:18 AM
i’ve been making fun of realism a lot so I’ll say one nice thing about it: for all the accusations of amorality, the realist position that human needs & fears are basically the same everywhere is in some ways more humanist and cosmopolitan than liberal assumptions of institutionally-shaped cultures
you can always judge a country by the quality of its trash. my next door neighbor put out a flat screen tv with a sign that says “works!” and it’s been untouched for three days. I can only imagine the kind of gang warfare it would have caused in early 90s russia
November 20, 2025 at 5:28 PM
you can always judge a country by the quality of its trash. my next door neighbor put out a flat screen tv with a sign that says “works!” and it’s been untouched for three days. I can only imagine the kind of gang warfare it would have caused in early 90s russia