Ben Ansell
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benansell.bsky.social
Ben Ansell
@benansell.bsky.social

Professor of Comparative Democratic Institutions, Nuffield & University of Oxford, FBA. http://benansell.substack.com. BBC Reith Lecturer 2023. Host BBC Radio 4 Rethink. Columnist for Prospect. Director, Centre for Advanced Social Science Methods (CASSM). .. more

Ben W. Ansell is Professor of Comparative Democratic Institutions at Nuffield College, University of Oxford and, with David Samuels, editor of Comparative Political Studies.

Source: Wikipedia
Political science 47%
Economics 40%

People can ask what they want but since this is a rhetorical question over which the respondent has little control IMO this is all for show.

Broadly speaking agree.

Reposted by Ben H. Ansell

You may deride lawyers generally, and you maybe right to do so.

But sometimes, even lawyers can be pushed too far.

Well done these guys on resigning.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Federal prosecutors quit in protest over lack of investigation into ICE shooting
Six lawyers from US attorney’s office in Minnesota quit along with four leaders of DoJ’s civil rights division
www.theguardian.com
lol. lmao
Trump yells “fuck you” and flips off an auto worker in Michigan who yelled “pedophile protector” www.tmz.com/2026/01/13/t...

Reposted by Ben H. Ansell

Plaid Cymru and the Greens are surging in Wales, according to this latest poll.

Where’s the media narrative around this? Where are the stories saying Farage is failing? When will Labour try to regain ground by appealing to Plaid & Green voters, not just copy Reform?

www.itv.com/news/wales/2...
If the figures we're getting out of Iran are in the right league, this weekend was, I think, one of the bloodiest state crackdowns of all time. People are talking 12,000-20,000 dead; for comparison Hungary in 1956 was about 2,500, Tiananmen - across country, in multiple cities - probably 1000+

MBS’s greatest diplomatic victory has been getting the US to ban women from driving
Today at 34 & Park in Minneapolis, a woman tried to drive down the street where a protest had broken out in front of a home ICE was raiding, saying she had a doctor apt to get to. ICE agents busted out her windows, cut off her seatbelt, and pulled her out before arresting her.
What is happening in America right now. The arbitrary power of a tyrant deployed against his political enemies.

Senedd moving to PR so shouldn‘tmatter as much
Today at 34 & Park in Minneapolis, a woman tried to drive down the street where a protest had broken out in front of a home ICE was raiding, saying she had a doctor apt to get to. ICE agents busted out her windows, cut off her seatbelt, and pulled her out before arresting her.

Plaid plus greens at fifty percent is quite something. Ecorepublic of Wales forthcoming
media focus on Reform UK has obscured the likelihood that Plaid Cymru will lead the next Welsh government

Reposted by Ben H. Ansell

media focus on Reform UK has obscured the likelihood that Plaid Cymru will lead the next Welsh government

The horrible truth of journal editing is that gatekeepers, especially editors, have always been extremely powerful. And the eye of the beholder is very subjective.

Not the A40!!!!
I just finished a three-year term as an editor at an international relations journal. I began at the start of the LLM era but ended right in the middle of it. Our volume of submissions tripled and our desk reject rate rose to 75%. I have some thoughts.
open.substack.com/pub/hegemon/...
The Age of Academic Slop is Upon Us
what happens when AI automates "normal science"?
open.substack.com

A smart version of Labour absolutely goes after Julia Lopez’s rather unfortunate comments from yesterday.
Has there ever been any poll showing the public this united? yougov.co.uk/technology/a...

"It's an impossible situation. One could not possibly replace Keir Starmer with a better communicator or someone who has a sense of direction the Cabinet could follow" is a fascinating piece of learned helplessness.

Ok well now that sounds like a university

Intriguingly when we put someone from HS2 in charge of project management at Oxford, it did not erm… work out so brilliantly.

I think ‘Replace ICE’ is something equivalent could work

Bettany as Naylor is supreme casting

The other thing that's so great about it is its depiction of late 17C New England

About five blocks from my old house. Insane
Trump's thugs are going hog wild and tossing gas around in one of the busiest commercial districts in Minneapolis, just a mile or so from where I live. Complete insanity.

(vid via Ford Fischer on X)

Bye Rob
Trump's thugs are going hog wild and tossing gas around in one of the busiest commercial districts in Minneapolis, just a mile or so from where I live. Complete insanity.

(vid via Ford Fischer on X)

I don’t think you are helping yourself here

Interested in whether @jamesdaustin.bsky.social has any intel on this.