Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social · 1d

Fun game: you can watch the new Running Man trailer, except instead of being thrust into a dystopic blood sport, imagine he has been named French PM against his will

youtu.be/KD18ddeFuyM?...

The Running Man | Official Trailer (2025 Movie) - Edgar Wright, Glen Powell

YouTube video by Paramount Pictures

youtu.be

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Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social · 1d

But who is this mysterious new French PM and what do we know about him? Oh.... I see

a man in a white coat is standing next to a woman in a white robe .

ALT: a man in a white coat is standing next to a woman in a white robe .

media.tenor.com

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Reposted by Andrew WM Smith

Ria Kapoor @riakapoor.bsky.social · 3d

I have a new article out.

TLDR: Actively courting deportation by air is a way to claim rights as a stateless person and even as a refugee.

academic.oup.com/past/advance...

Air Travel, Statelessness, and the Rights Claims of Ugandan Asians, c.1973*

Abstract. In the aftermath of Idi Amin’s expulsion of Uganda’s South Asians in 1972, some of those made technically stateless arrived in India unsupported

academic.oup.com

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Reposted by Andrew WM Smith

Lawrence Freedman @ldfreedman.bsky.social · 2d

It was an honour to give the Hennessy Lecture at the @mileendinstitute.bsky.social on Wednesday. I assessed the commitments Western countries have made to Ukraine’s security and what might happen after a ceasefire. This is the text (and this post is free). samf.substack.com/p/as-long-as...

‘As Long as it Takes': What does it mean to commit to Ukraine’s security?

This post was originally a lecture given in honour of Peter Hennessy at the Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London.

samf.substack.com

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Reposted by Andrew WM Smith

Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 2d

We'll be exploring the Thatcher legacy & her impact on British politics today at the @mileendinstitute.bsky.social on 20 Oct.

With former Thatcher minister, Gillian Shephard; Conservative peer Simone Finn; legendary politics guru @philipjcowley.bsky.social & me.
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/still-that...

Still “Thatcher’s Britain”? The Thatcher Legacy, 1925-2025

Join the Mile End Institute to explore why Margaret Thatcher continues to cast such a shadow across British politics!

www.eventbrite.co.uk

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Reposted by Andrew WM Smith

Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.bsky.social · 2d

In France, it seems the cordon sanitaire around the far right may be about to break

@luke-shuttleworth.bsky.social, @k8ebrown.bsky.social and I argue in this article that its efficacy has been consistently damaged by the mainstreaming of far-right discourse

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

The pretence of the cordon sanitaire: non-collaboration as a distraction from discursive congruence

Much has been written about how mainstream parties respond to far-right challengers in liberal democracies. Whereas some mainstream parties have become more open to forming coalitions with far-righ...

www.tandfonline.com

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Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social · 3d

Here is a clip of this morning's discussion, with a round up of the current state of play for anyone keeping track of the political tumult in Paris: www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/...

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Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social · 3d

I'll be speaking on France24 perspective slot shortly (8h30 London time) about the current state of the French political scramble for a PM: www.france24.com/en/

France 24 - International breaking news, top stories and headlines

Breaking news and world news from France 24 on Business, Sports, Culture. Video news. News from the US, Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa, Middle East, America

www.france24.com

Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social · 4d

🙄

Useful to remember that one of the largest parties of opposition (who stand to gain most from dissolution) absolutely do not have the national interest at heart. As MLP's conviction for heading up systematic embezzlement for her far-right party interests suggests, this is as helpful as they get

AFP News Agency @en.afp.com · 4d

#UPDATE France's three-time far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has said she would block all action by any new government.

Reposted by Andrew WM Smith

David Klemperer @dmk1793.bsky.social · 4d

I enormously enjoyed this conversation with David Runciman about the history of compulsory voting, how it came to be adopted in countries like Belgium and Australia, and what it could for British politics today.

Past Present Future Podcast @ppfideas.bsky.social · 4d

NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!

In today’s episode David talks to political historian @dmk1793.bsky.social about whether voting should be required by law and what might change if non-participation was no longer an option. Why have some countries made voting compulsory?

Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com

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Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social · 5d

Potentially significant news from France that Macron has met the Presidents of both chambers (Assembly & Senate), which seems to give even more fuel to the fire of a potential dissolution should Lecornu's attempt to find a path forward fail

www.lemonde.fr/politique/li...

EN DIRECT, crise politique : Emmanuel Macron a reçu les présidents des deux Chambres, Yaël Braun-Pivet et Gérard Larcher

Le chef de l’Etat doit consulter les présidents des deux Chambres s’il veut dissoudre l’Assemblée nationale. Sébastien Lecornu poursuit pour sa part ses ultimes négociations et a reçu cet après-midi B...

www.lemonde.fr

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Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social · 5d

I wonder if we could speed run this whole thing by feeding the last few decades of confected French debates about communautarisme into Google translate, printing them out, and posting them to the party HQs

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Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social · 6d

If you wanted to have a listen, it is 48mins into this programme:

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

PM - France's prime minister resigns - BBC Sounds

After just 26 days, Sébastien Lecornu is gone. What's next for France?

www.bbc.co.uk

Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social · 6d

Thank you, very kind!

Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social · 6d

Just been speaking on the PM programme on BBC Radio 4 about the French political turmoil: a crisis of the Fifth Republic beset by the instability of the Fourth against the backdrop of political extremes as in the Third

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Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social · 6d

Lecornu's special mission until Wednesday seems like a desperate response to the fractures within the socle commun, trying to deny political gravity. Surely, every party smells a dissolution on the cards by now, putting the brakes on consensus building

Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social · 6d

Lecornu with a late announcement (after a pep talk with the President)

a man in a suit and tie is holding a microphone and saying `` i 'm not leavin ' '' .

ALT: a man in a suit and tie is holding a microphone and saying `` i 'm not leavin ' '' .

media.tenor.com

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Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social · 6d

Lecornu with a late announcement (after a pep talk with the President)

a man in a suit and tie is holding a microphone and saying `` i 'm not leavin ' '' .

ALT: a man in a suit and tie is holding a microphone and saying `` i 'm not leavin ' '' .

media.tenor.com

1

Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social · 6d

Here's the clip of my subsequent appearance, offering a somewhat live reaction to news of the French PM's resignation

www.threads.com/@france24_en...

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Reposted by Andrew WM Smith

Lottie @sellottie.bsky.social · 6d

It’s happened again

17 500 2.3K

Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social · 6d

I was joking with @drdiongeorgiou.bsky.social a few weeks ago that Macron is the Russell Martin of the Fifth Republic in his second term. Keeps playing it out from the back with his pals at PM while leaving things wide open so folk can play straight through

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Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social · 6d

Will be going back onto France24 to discuss shortly

Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social · 6d

Fairly amusing to go on the news and say the new government may well fall by 4pm only to be undercut by the PM resigning before 10am!

Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social · 6d

Been on France24 this morning talking about the Lecornu cabinet and the intriguing possibility of it falling before it even sits, as the centre-right react to the appointment of former Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire

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Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social · 6d

And he's resigned! Wow!

Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social · 6d

Been on France24 this morning talking about the Lecornu cabinet and the intriguing possibility of it falling before it even sits, as the centre-right react to the appointment of former Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire

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Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social · 6d

Rupture or censure, Lecornu promised. Well... nobody else seems to see the rupture...

Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social · 6d

This is not, they say, the break with the past they were promised. With 12 out of 18 ministers continuing, that seems fair. Plus, on the left, although use of the controversial 49,3 has been ruled out, there has been nothing tangible in the form of concessions

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