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Stephen Walt

@stephenwalt.bsky.social

3.5K followers 210 following 220 posts

Harvard professor, realist, FP columnist. Tennis enthusiast, amateur musician, pBute 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, Steve Peers

The Lincoln Project @lincolnproject.us · 1d

Trump's approval rating is now -16%. If you're dissatisfied, you're not alone.
https://www.economist.com/interactive/trump-approval-tracker

Donald Trump’s approval rating

Follow our presidential approval rating poll tracker to see how favourably Americans view Mr Trump

www.economist.com

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Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Philip Nel

James Fallows @jfallows.bsky.social · 1d

It's official:

-2025 is now a more threatening year for the survival of the republic than 1968.

-John Roberts will now go down in history as a worse chief justice than Roger "Dred Scott" Taney.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/u...

Federal Judges, Warning of ‘Judicial Crisis,’ Fault Supreme Court’s Emergency Orders

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 1d

In Opinion | If President Trump wanted to help Portland, “there are many ways he could do so with the $10 million that was the estimated cost of his deployment of the Oregon National Guard,” our columnist Nicholas Kristof writes.

Opinion | Our Beautiful Portland Hellscape

With the millions being used to deploy troops to Portland, Trump could help with treatment for substance use, with emergency housing, with education.

nyti.ms

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Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Kim L. Scheppele, David C. Kimball , and 1 more Stephen M. Walt, Kim L. Scheppele, David C. Kimball, Élisabeth Vallet

James Fallows @jfallows.bsky.social · 1d

Re-upping:

Excellent assessment of John "Roger Taney" Roberts.

In @harvardmagazine.bsky.social , by Lincoln Caplan.

As careful, legally informed, judicious-minded writer as you're going to find. With an unsparing judgment.

www.harvardmagazine.com/legal/suprem...

What Trump Means for John Roberts's Legacy | Harvard Magazine

Executive power is on the docket at the Supreme Court.

www.harvardmagazine.com

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Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

Nancy Kanwisher @nancykanwisher.bsky.social · 1d

Thank you @jfallows.bsky.social for pointing out this utter garbage in the NYT. Shame on them!

James Fallows @jfallows.bsky.social · 1d

'Irresponsible both-sidesism' can become motto for US politics coverage.

'All the news that's fit to print' elsewhere.

(Reminder: Stories themselves are usually clear-eyed. But most people see only the headline and subhead—'hed and dek' in the parlance—and hed and dek are too often like this.)

David Corn @davidcorn.bsky.social · 1d

A classic case of irresponsible both-sidesism from the NYT. The story is that Trump and MAGA propagandists are lying about Portland to incite a conflict, not that there are different views of the matter.

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Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Steve Peers, Frank C. Thames , and 1 more Stephen M. Walt, Steve Peers, Frank C. Thames, Simon Lester

Albert Pinto @70sbachchan.bsky.social · 1d

Argentina edition of Libertarian bible

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Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 1d

Trump said he deserved a cut for brokering the TikTok deal, and at once there was agreement that his son Baron would have a top executive slot... though he hasn't asked for it, and has no apparent qualifications to hold it. This is how Trump 2.0 works. www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025...

Barron Trump tipped for top TikTok job

US president’s 19-year-old son could be appointed to the app’s board

www.telegraph.co.uk

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Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

Seann with two Ns @jinglespigtails.bsky.social · 2d

went out on my patio to document the hellscape

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Reposted by Timothy Snyder, Stephen M. Walt, Steven Heydemann , and 12 more Timothy Snyder, Stephen M. Walt, Steven Heydemann, Joe R. Feagin, David Feldman, David Peetz, Rosemary A. Joyce, Janet Murray, Alan Richardson, Michael D. McDonald, Henry Jones, Greg Linden, Aviel Roshwald, Nathan P. Kalmoe, David Darmofal

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

Trump: "Portland, I mean -- every time I look at that place it's burning down. There are fires all over the place. When a store -- there are very few of them left -- but when a store owner rebuilds a store they build it out of plywood. They don't put up storefronts anymore. They just put wood up."

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Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

Oliver Willis @owillis.bsky.social · 2d

Opposing a power mad despot is literally the most American thing an American can do. These guys got a lot wrong but they nailed that one. It is fundamental to the core of this country.

Signing of the Declaration of Independence

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Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò

Pavithra Suryanarayan @pavisuri.bsky.social · 2d

Lots of ways to understand the contemporary moment but one is the role of owners of immobile assets - oil, gas, coal and land- who want to ensure they can continue to extract rents (and pollute) and who prefer an authoritarian set up to do so. Their threat perception rises with every new eco tech

Josh Chafetz @joshchafetz.bsky.social · 2d

This is a hell of a contrast to news that BLM has canceled a solar project in Nevada that would have delivered 6.2 GW of power. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/b...

Why China Built 162 Square Miles of Solar Panels on the World’s Highest Plateau

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

Jeremy Pressman @djpressman.bsky.social · 2d

MIT to US Dept of Education:
"Therefore, with respect, we cannot support the proposed approach to addressing the issues facing higher education."

Well done. United we stand, divided we fall.

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Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

Ryan Enos @ryanenos.bsky.social · 2d

This is a lie. This "compact" punishes the criticism of conservative ideas and imposes ideological tests on faculty and students. If you can't defend your proposals on an honest basis, then your proposals are bad.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/o...

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Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Jan W. Mueller, John Quiggin , and 6 more Stephen M. Walt, Jan W. Mueller, John Quiggin, Julia Lynch, Lauren Hersch Nicholas, Jacob T. Levy, Henry Farrell, Stephen A. Meserve, Anita Gohdes

Filipe Campante @filipecampante.bsky.social · 2d

It might be hard to convey to people outside economics just how seismic this is. The Trump effect has most certainly arrived to US academia.

Florian Scheuer @florianscheuer.bsky.social · 2d

I am delighted to share that Nobel laureates Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee will join our Department of Economics @econ.uzh.ch at the University of Zurich on July 1, 2026, as Lemann Foundation Professors of Economics.

🧵 1/7

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Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

Alon Pinkas @alonpinkas.bsky.social · 2d

newrepublic.com/maz/article/...
@newrepublic.com
@mjtoma.bsky.social

“For years, Netanyahu manipulated American Presidents. He tricked Bill Clinton; he swindled Obama; he took Biden for a ride. Now he is trying to con you on Gaza, President Trump.”

newrepublic.com

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Reposted by Dani Rodrik, Stephen M. Walt, Cas Mudde , and 51 more Dani Rodrik, Stephen M. Walt, Cas Mudde, Ben H. Ansell, Jan W. Mueller, Guntram B. Wolff, Christian Odendahl, Richard S.J. Tol, Colin F. Camerer, Robbert Sanderman, David Brady, Gabriel Felbermayr, Steven Van de Walle, Tomasz Mickiewicz, Alistair Munro, Michael A. Clemens, Cyrus Samii, Lucas Leemann, Francesco Saraceno, Laia Balcells, Andrew Curry, Paul Lehmann, Guy Grossman, John Mullahy, Joshua Goodman, David Dorn, Ingo Rohlfing, Daniel W. Drezner, Iikka Korhonen, Robert C. Richards, Aaron Sojourner, Daniel Huppmann, Julia Lynch, Rita Hamad, Stephen D. Murphy, Nazita Lajevardi, Stacy D. VanDeveer, Miguel Á. Malo, Henry Farrell, Dean Eckles, Maria Abreu, Dana R. Fisher, Jason Lyall, Brian Weatherson, Brooke Harrington, Bård Harstad, Christina Pagel, Jürgen Janger, Nicolai von Ondarza, Karsten Mäuse, Dietmar Fehr, Bartosz Bartkowski, Adam Tooze, Anita Gohdes

Florian Scheuer @florianscheuer.bsky.social · 2d

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Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Melissa Johnson, Gerald Friedman , and 2 more Stephen M. Walt, Melissa Johnson, Gerald Friedman, Samantha Brennan, Richard M. Carpiano

The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 3d

🤷🏼

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Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Lisa W. Fazio, Margaret Mitchell , and 25 more Stephen M. Walt, Lisa W. Fazio, Margaret Mitchell, Richard S.J. Tol, Brian A. Nosek, Will Jennings, Brendan Nyhan, Garry Peterson, Joshua S. Weitz, Tom Clark, Steve Peers, Jamie Morgan, Elizabeth Stokoe, Henning Melber, Sanford F. Schram, Daniel W. Drezner, Trevon D. Logan, Smith, Alan Richardson, David R. Miller, Lesley Bartlett, Zen Faulkes, Kate Starbird, Henry Jones, Pauline Stafford, Jason Williams, Dana Howard, David Darmofal

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 3d

RFK Jr on Tylenol and autism: "It is not proof. We're doing the studies to make the proof."

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Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Christopher Wright, Stacy D. VanDeveer

Ryan Enos @ryanenos.bsky.social · 3d

Call me old school, but I don't think a person illegally blowing up boats and unleashing masked goons on his citizens would be a serious candidate for a peace prize.

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Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Matthew P. McAllister, Sheila R. Foster , and 1 more Stephen M. Walt, Matthew P. McAllister, Sheila R. Foster, David Darmofal

NPR @npr.org · 3d

For the first time on record, renewable energy generated more electricity for the planet than coal, a new report says. n.pr/47hcegr

Renewable energy outpaces coal for electricity generation in historic first, report says

For the first time on record, renewable energy generated more electricity for the planet than coal, a new report says.

n.pr

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Reposted by Dani Rodrik, Stephen M. Walt, Scott L. Greer , and 3 more Dani Rodrik, Stephen M. Walt, Scott L. Greer, Efrén O. Pérez, Jacob Montgomery, Nathan P. Kalmoe

Ryan Enos @ryanenos.bsky.social · 3d

Harvard (and all universities) must take a stand against Trump's extorionary "compact". Enos and Levitsky.
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

Harvard Must Take a Stand Against Trump’s Compact | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson

Harvard, rather than quietly pursuing its own appeasement strategy, should lead the way to preserve academic freedom and democracy.

www.thecrimson.com

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Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Bessma Momani

Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 4d

Siva Vaidhyanathan on the Trump admin’s proposed “compact” for universities (to give up academic freedom in exchange for favorable treatment by the Trump government): “This ‘compact’ is more like an invitation to borrow money from the mob, with substantial control and future penalties assured.”

Siva @sivav.bsky.social · 4d

And from me:

newrepublic.com/article/2013...

Why This Essay Could Cause the University of Virginia to Shut Down

How Linda McMahon’s latest “compact” would do deep and permanent harm to American higher education

newrepublic.com

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Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

NY Times Pitchbot @nytpitchbot.bsky.social · 4d

Since taking office, President Trump has used his cryptocurrency to accept billions of dollars from foreign entities. Here's our bombshell exposé of a land deal that Hunter Biden pursued in Romania in 2017.

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Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

George Takei @georgetakei.bsky.social · 4d

This you, Kristi?

A screenshot of a post from X (formerly Twitter). The top tweet is from user @covie_93 with the caption: “This tweet aged like Stephen Miller…..”. Below it is a tweet from Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) that reads:
“If Joe Biden federalizes the National Guard, that would be a direct attack on states' rights.
Over the last several years, we've seen Democrats try to take away our Freedoms of religion, assembly, and speech. We can't let them take away our right to defend ourselves, too.
South Dakota defends the Constitution.”

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Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Bonnie Honig, Henry Farrell , and 1 more Stephen M. Walt, Bonnie Honig, Henry Farrell, Elizabeth Stevenson

Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 4d

Henry Farrell on the Trump admin’s proposed “compact” for universities, arguing that the rollout signals weakness, and that academics need to band together to reject this authoritarian attack on university independence and academic freedom.

Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/o...

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Laura Helmuth @laurahelmuth.bsky.social · 4d

Six of the nine Nobel Prize winners this year work in the U.S.
Three of the six were born outside the U.S., which is the pattern most years. No country has benefited more from welcoming immigrants from around the world.
www.nobelprize.org

The official website of the Nobel Prize - NobelPrize.org

The Nobel Prize rewards science, humanism and peace efforts. This is one of the central concepts in the will of Alfred Nobel, and it also permeates the outreach activities that have been developed for...

www.nobelprize.org

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Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

Jason Davidson @profjwdavidson.bsky.social · 4d

@edwardluce.bsky.social

"The movie Wag the Dog depicted a US administration concocting a fake war to distract from domestic woes. Trump’s twist on that plot is to stage the fake war at home while lining up a foreign country for a co-starring role."

on.ft.com/4nzLdKY

Venezuela is Trump’s useful enemy

Despite the president’s claims, the South American country is nowhere close to being the US’s biggest drug supplier

on.ft.com

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Stephen Walt @stephenwalt.bsky.social · 5d

FP editor-in-chief Ravi Agrawal and I had a chance last week to talk at length about how the world has changed since October 7, 2023. You can watch the conversation here: foreignpolicy.com/live/#past

FP Live

foreignpolicy.com

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Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Will Jennings, Thomas Masterson , and 1 more Stephen M. Walt, Will Jennings, Thomas Masterson, Matthew P. McAllister

Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 6d

Sounds like Republicans ought to get all the Republicans who form the Republican majorities in the Republican-led House and the Republican-led Senate together to pass the budget that Republicans wrote with the Republican White House and that Republicans now insist absolutely must be passed.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 6d

Sean Duffy says the safety of the air traffic control system will start being impacted next Sunday if the shutdown continues

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Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Elizabeth Saunders, Will Jennings , and 5 more Stephen M. Walt, Elizabeth Saunders, Will Jennings, Jason Reifler, David R. Miller, Michael D. McDonald, Nathan P. Kalmoe, Stuart Shapiro

Mary Dudziak @marydudziak.bsky.social · 6d

Has Trump’s second term posed a greater or lesser threat to the rule of law than you expected? @nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/m...

Has Trump’s second term posed a greater or lesser threat to the rule of law than you expected?
Circular graph showing over half answered: much more than I expected, about a quarter: more than I expected, about an eighth: similar threat to what I expected, small sliver: much less threat than I expected.

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