Charles Martin-Shields
@charlesmartinshields.com
Senior researcher, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS). Working on forced displacement, digitalization, and conflict.
My book: https://bit.ly/4gjNQ09
Open access: https://bit.ly/3AXzbI2
My book: https://bit.ly/4gjNQ09
Open access: https://bit.ly/3AXzbI2
Reposted by Charles Martin-Shields
There is absolutely nothing old or consolidated about *multiracial, pluralistic democracy* in America. It only started 60 years ago.
And the conflict over whether or not it should be allowed to endure and prosper has been the central fault line in U.S. politics ever since.
And the conflict over whether or not it should be allowed to endure and prosper has been the central fault line in U.S. politics ever since.
From 2022:
November 15, 2025 at 3:59 PM
There is absolutely nothing old or consolidated about *multiracial, pluralistic democracy* in America. It only started 60 years ago.
And the conflict over whether or not it should be allowed to endure and prosper has been the central fault line in U.S. politics ever since.
And the conflict over whether or not it should be allowed to endure and prosper has been the central fault line in U.S. politics ever since.
Reposted by Charles Martin-Shields
Yes and bear in mind if they have come from a place that was so unstable/threatening they had to flee, sometimes these places may improve in the short term but then be subject to future decline. Are they expected to move to and fro?
Their policies are more far right than Tories & Reform. Just to capture the Alt Right vote. Once people make a life here, building businesses, working, paying taxes, contributing to society, building families, all to be chucked out at a moment’s notice if something changes in their birth country. 😡
November 15, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Yes and bear in mind if they have come from a place that was so unstable/threatening they had to flee, sometimes these places may improve in the short term but then be subject to future decline. Are they expected to move to and fro?
This is a bang on analysis of the current state of politics. Our politicians and elite media are fundamentally incompetent. Not bad people necessarily (though there are plenty of evil ones), but not competent at the jobs they’ve got themselves into.
chrisdillow.substack.com/p/on-incompe...
chrisdillow.substack.com/p/on-incompe...
On incompetence
Much of our political culture is fundamentally incompetent.
chrisdillow.substack.com
November 15, 2025 at 3:56 PM
This is a bang on analysis of the current state of politics. Our politicians and elite media are fundamentally incompetent. Not bad people necessarily (though there are plenty of evil ones), but not competent at the jobs they’ve got themselves into.
chrisdillow.substack.com/p/on-incompe...
chrisdillow.substack.com/p/on-incompe...
Reposted by Charles Martin-Shields
November 14, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Reposted by Charles Martin-Shields
19 deutsche CEOs & Vorstandsmitglieder fordern die Merz-Regierung auf, ihren klimapolitischen Rückbau zu stoppen.
Hören Sie auf die Wirtschaft, Herr Kanzler!
via @klimawirtschaft.bsky.social: klimawirtschaft.org/ceo-appell-w...
Hören Sie auf die Wirtschaft, Herr Kanzler!
via @klimawirtschaft.bsky.social: klimawirtschaft.org/ceo-appell-w...
November 13, 2025 at 1:42 PM
19 deutsche CEOs & Vorstandsmitglieder fordern die Merz-Regierung auf, ihren klimapolitischen Rückbau zu stoppen.
Hören Sie auf die Wirtschaft, Herr Kanzler!
via @klimawirtschaft.bsky.social: klimawirtschaft.org/ceo-appell-w...
Hören Sie auf die Wirtschaft, Herr Kanzler!
via @klimawirtschaft.bsky.social: klimawirtschaft.org/ceo-appell-w...
Reposted by Charles Martin-Shields
Andreas Rödder fordert konkrete Gespräche zwischen CDU u. AfD. Jens Spahn u. die CDU/CSU verschaffen seinem Verein, Republik21, nun 1/2 Mio. € pro Jahr.
Ich habe das kritisiert u. prompt Droh-Briefe des Anwalts von Herrn Rödder bekommen.
Umso wichtiger, dass das alle wissen.
Ich habe das kritisiert u. prompt Droh-Briefe des Anwalts von Herrn Rödder bekommen.
Umso wichtiger, dass das alle wissen.
November 14, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Andreas Rödder fordert konkrete Gespräche zwischen CDU u. AfD. Jens Spahn u. die CDU/CSU verschaffen seinem Verein, Republik21, nun 1/2 Mio. € pro Jahr.
Ich habe das kritisiert u. prompt Droh-Briefe des Anwalts von Herrn Rödder bekommen.
Umso wichtiger, dass das alle wissen.
Ich habe das kritisiert u. prompt Droh-Briefe des Anwalts von Herrn Rödder bekommen.
Umso wichtiger, dass das alle wissen.
Reposted by Charles Martin-Shields
Fêting nazis in the capital. There's no liberal government these fascists recognize and no far-right party or leader they won't lavish with gifts and billions of dollars of your money. Not great!
"The restrictions were intended to prevent a repeat of the Nazi rise to power, when anti-democratic forces were able to subvert democracy from within..."
www.politico.eu/article/larg...
www.politico.eu/article/larg...
Large far-right German delegation to visit Washington, Trump ally says
The invitation to the capital comes as Alternative for Germany politicians seek to build closer ties to the U.S. government.
www.politico.eu
November 15, 2025 at 6:43 AM
Fêting nazis in the capital. There's no liberal government these fascists recognize and no far-right party or leader they won't lavish with gifts and billions of dollars of your money. Not great!
Reposted by Charles Martin-Shields
And this makes it as clear as anything that “conservatives” must never be trusted. Those who fight for democracy cannot side with conservatives anymore.
🚨🚨Breaking and bad #EU news: Lawmakers in @europarl.europa.eu agreed today to exempt more companies from green reporting rules after the center-right, right-wing and far-right groups allied to pass the EU’s first omnibus simplification package. #omnibus 🧵
www.politico.eu/article/epp-...
www.politico.eu/article/epp-...
EU conservatives vote with far right to approve cuts to green rules
The outcome highlights the EPP’s willingness to abandon its traditional centrist coalition allies.
www.politico.eu
November 13, 2025 at 9:15 PM
And this makes it as clear as anything that “conservatives” must never be trusted. Those who fight for democracy cannot side with conservatives anymore.
Reposted by Charles Martin-Shields
Die AfD gibt sich als Partei der kleinen Leute – plant aber gigantische Steuersenkungen für die Reichen. Das oberste Prozent (ab 180k brutto) soll 45 Mrd € weniger zahlen, die Top 10% sogar 86 Mrd € weniger. Kaum Entlastung für Geringverdiener.
Berechnung @sbachtax.bsky.social exklusiv für @zeit.de
Berechnung @sbachtax.bsky.social exklusiv für @zeit.de
November 14, 2025 at 6:15 AM
Die AfD gibt sich als Partei der kleinen Leute – plant aber gigantische Steuersenkungen für die Reichen. Das oberste Prozent (ab 180k brutto) soll 45 Mrd € weniger zahlen, die Top 10% sogar 86 Mrd € weniger. Kaum Entlastung für Geringverdiener.
Berechnung @sbachtax.bsky.social exklusiv für @zeit.de
Berechnung @sbachtax.bsky.social exklusiv für @zeit.de
Reposted by Charles Martin-Shields
crazy
IG em_clarkson
IG em_clarkson
November 14, 2025 at 2:54 AM
crazy
IG em_clarkson
IG em_clarkson
Reposted by Charles Martin-Shields
This is extremely dangerous.
If you’re a journalist, politician, artist, or public figure, or anyone with a platform, you need to stop using X.
You’re not helping by remaining on the platform. You can say you’re fighting where the people are, but you won’t beat the algorithm.
Lead people off X.
If you’re a journalist, politician, artist, or public figure, or anyone with a platform, you need to stop using X.
You’re not helping by remaining on the platform. You can say you’re fighting where the people are, but you won’t beat the algorithm.
Lead people off X.
NEW on @indicator.media: A first *full-scale* comparison of Grokipedia v Wikipedia.
Last week the awesome @harold.bsky.social rocked up to my desk bearing gifts.
Hal had collected almost all 900K Grokipedia entries and compared them to their Wikipedia equivalents for text and citation similarity.
Last week the awesome @harold.bsky.social rocked up to my desk bearing gifts.
Hal had collected almost all 900K Grokipedia entries and compared them to their Wikipedia equivalents for text and citation similarity.
Grokipedia cites a Nazi forum and fringe conspiracy websites
A site-wide comparison with Wikipedia sheds light on what Elon Musk is trying to do
indicator.media
November 14, 2025 at 4:32 AM
This is extremely dangerous.
If you’re a journalist, politician, artist, or public figure, or anyone with a platform, you need to stop using X.
You’re not helping by remaining on the platform. You can say you’re fighting where the people are, but you won’t beat the algorithm.
Lead people off X.
If you’re a journalist, politician, artist, or public figure, or anyone with a platform, you need to stop using X.
You’re not helping by remaining on the platform. You can say you’re fighting where the people are, but you won’t beat the algorithm.
Lead people off X.
Reposted by Charles Martin-Shields
Embrapa is a large public R&D effort to create agricultural innovation suited to Brazil’s ecology. It shifted research toward local needs and raised agricultural productivity by 110%, far outweighing its costs voxdev.org/topic/agricu... @rainerkattel.bsky.social @mazzucatom.bsky.social
Public R&D and Brazil’s agricultural revolution
It is often argued that returns to R&D are low in developing countries, making imported technologies a better path to growth. Yet technologies designed for frontier nations may not fit local condition...
voxdev.org
November 14, 2025 at 4:53 AM
Embrapa is a large public R&D effort to create agricultural innovation suited to Brazil’s ecology. It shifted research toward local needs and raised agricultural productivity by 110%, far outweighing its costs voxdev.org/topic/agricu... @rainerkattel.bsky.social @mazzucatom.bsky.social
Reposted by Charles Martin-Shields
This has gotten lost: Abigail Spanberger won big after vowing to RESCIND Glenn Youngkin's executive order directing local cooperation with ICE and voting AGAINST the anti-immigrant Laken Riley Act. Yet she gained bigly with working class.
New piece laying this out:
newrepublic.com/article/2030...
New piece laying this out:
newrepublic.com/article/2030...
November 12, 2025 at 6:49 PM
This has gotten lost: Abigail Spanberger won big after vowing to RESCIND Glenn Youngkin's executive order directing local cooperation with ICE and voting AGAINST the anti-immigrant Laken Riley Act. Yet she gained bigly with working class.
New piece laying this out:
newrepublic.com/article/2030...
New piece laying this out:
newrepublic.com/article/2030...
Reposted by Charles Martin-Shields
This sounds reasonable but is 100% wrong. Whether you or agree or disagree with a study is completely immaterial. What matters is whether the study was conducted properly and generates valid results. And it's impolitic to say but it's true: you have to have some level of expertise to judge that.
JD Vance: "Science as practiced in its best form is that if you disagree with it, then you ought to criticize it and you ought to argue against it."
November 12, 2025 at 5:57 PM
This sounds reasonable but is 100% wrong. Whether you or agree or disagree with a study is completely immaterial. What matters is whether the study was conducted properly and generates valid results. And it's impolitic to say but it's true: you have to have some level of expertise to judge that.
Reposted by Charles Martin-Shields
Honestly a great deal of what ails us as a society in the US is the persistent unwillingness of so many to even acknowledge the *existence* of Black thinkers, much less a recognition of their contributions to what might be called genuine democracy.
I have to say if not for black authors I'd not have an honest image of the America I inhabit.
Unlike my friends and family, I sensed there was a piece missing that white authors didn't broach.
Unlike my friends and family, I sensed there was a piece missing that white authors didn't broach.
November 12, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Honestly a great deal of what ails us as a society in the US is the persistent unwillingness of so many to even acknowledge the *existence* of Black thinkers, much less a recognition of their contributions to what might be called genuine democracy.
Reposted by Charles Martin-Shields
Republicans constantly attack their Congressional leadership, and they remove leaders who fail to achieve the objectives desired by the base.
This 'infighting' hasn't been a 'distraction' or 'weakness' for them, it has produced victory after victory, including control of all three branches.
This 'infighting' hasn't been a 'distraction' or 'weakness' for them, it has produced victory after victory, including control of all three branches.
Oh yeah - never a convenient time to have some real talk about the dynamic that the Democrats in the Senate are led by bunch of chumps. Certainly not after they created the conditions for yet another base demoralizing surrender.
This kind of activity is just what you should want to see, if your are a Republican, eager to see the opposition distracted by self-destructive infighting.
November 11, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Republicans constantly attack their Congressional leadership, and they remove leaders who fail to achieve the objectives desired by the base.
This 'infighting' hasn't been a 'distraction' or 'weakness' for them, it has produced victory after victory, including control of all three branches.
This 'infighting' hasn't been a 'distraction' or 'weakness' for them, it has produced victory after victory, including control of all three branches.
Reposted by Charles Martin-Shields
Really wish I had gotten a better shot of this but holding a phone that says “who else was just ‘following orders’?” up to a riot cop is hard as hell
November 11, 2025 at 6:18 AM
Really wish I had gotten a better shot of this but holding a phone that says “who else was just ‘following orders’?” up to a riot cop is hard as hell
Reposted by Charles Martin-Shields
The idea *suppliers* of fossil fuels are neutral meeters-of-demand remains one of the worst lies
Their job is not just digging up fossil fuels: their job is bullying, pushing, fighting, lying and lobbying to ensure fossil fuels get burned as much as possible
www.rigzone.com/news/wire/ch...
Their job is not just digging up fossil fuels: their job is bullying, pushing, fighting, lying and lobbying to ensure fossil fuels get burned as much as possible
www.rigzone.com/news/wire/ch...
November 11, 2025 at 9:29 AM
The idea *suppliers* of fossil fuels are neutral meeters-of-demand remains one of the worst lies
Their job is not just digging up fossil fuels: their job is bullying, pushing, fighting, lying and lobbying to ensure fossil fuels get burned as much as possible
www.rigzone.com/news/wire/ch...
Their job is not just digging up fossil fuels: their job is bullying, pushing, fighting, lying and lobbying to ensure fossil fuels get burned as much as possible
www.rigzone.com/news/wire/ch...
Reposted by Charles Martin-Shields
"Europe's top brass, from German Chancellor Friedrich #Merz and French President Emmanuel #Macron to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia #Meloni and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, will skip the #EU-CELAC Summit."
This is, probably, a huge mistake by the European leaders.
@ec.europa.eu
This is, probably, a huge mistake by the European leaders.
@ec.europa.eu
Europeans largely skip Latin American summit under Trump's shadow
Europeans largely skip Latin American summit under Trump's shadow
Top European leadership is set to skip the EU-CELAC summit on Sunday marked by tensions between the United States and Colombia. Donald Trump is also pursuing an aggressive policy on Venezuela, with Nicolás Maduro in focus. Europeans cite low attendance to cancel summit participation.
l.euronews.com
November 9, 2025 at 1:09 PM
"Europe's top brass, from German Chancellor Friedrich #Merz and French President Emmanuel #Macron to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia #Meloni and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, will skip the #EU-CELAC Summit."
This is, probably, a huge mistake by the European leaders.
@ec.europa.eu
This is, probably, a huge mistake by the European leaders.
@ec.europa.eu
Reposted by Charles Martin-Shields
I'm on Sunday duty at @defector.com today! First up, my newser on the airport crisis. Spoiler: Trump is fucking you. defector.com/if-youre-stu...
If You’re Stuck At An Airport Right Now, It’s Because Trump Fucked You | Defector
You picked a bad weekend to fly. Over 1,500 flights in the US were cancelled yesterday, and over 1,200 over them have already been cancelled this morning. One of those may have been yours. You’re stuc...
defector.com
November 9, 2025 at 3:38 PM
I'm on Sunday duty at @defector.com today! First up, my newser on the airport crisis. Spoiler: Trump is fucking you. defector.com/if-youre-stu...
I can’t believe how long it took me to getting around to watching Taskmaster, but better late than never
November 9, 2025 at 12:31 PM
I can’t believe how long it took me to getting around to watching Taskmaster, but better late than never
Reposted by Charles Martin-Shields
40 men Trump sent to CECOT tell the NYT they were beaten, tortured, and sexually assaulted. The details are worse than you can imagine.
We can’t let them get away with this. Miller and the other architects of this sadism need to go to prison.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/w...
We can’t let them get away with this. Miller and the other architects of this sadism need to go to prison.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/w...
‘You Are All Terrorists’: Four Months in a Salvadoran Prison
www.nytimes.com
November 9, 2025 at 2:20 AM
40 men Trump sent to CECOT tell the NYT they were beaten, tortured, and sexually assaulted. The details are worse than you can imagine.
We can’t let them get away with this. Miller and the other architects of this sadism need to go to prison.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/w...
We can’t let them get away with this. Miller and the other architects of this sadism need to go to prison.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/w...
Reposted by Charles Martin-Shields
I know this is pedantic, but Kim Davis was not "jailed for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses." She was jailed for contempt of court because she refused to follow a court order (she had stopped issuing all marriage licenses). NYT makes it sound like the Woke Police broke down her door.
November 7, 2025 at 9:35 PM
I know this is pedantic, but Kim Davis was not "jailed for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses." She was jailed for contempt of court because she refused to follow a court order (she had stopped issuing all marriage licenses). NYT makes it sound like the Woke Police broke down her door.
Reposted by Charles Martin-Shields
Not over the fact that they called their shot, followed through, and people I'm supposed to believe are "objective" and "trustworthy" still joined in the fun of attacking a Black woman
November 7, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Not over the fact that they called their shot, followed through, and people I'm supposed to believe are "objective" and "trustworthy" still joined in the fun of attacking a Black woman
Reposted by Charles Martin-Shields
Trump defeated the establishments of both parties to become president twice, break most civic and legal norms of import, end-run the Constitution's safeguards against Trump-like figures, survive numerous career-ending scandals, and now single-handedly holds a party together that would have spent
Trump has gotten huge numbers of infrequent voters to the polls, twice. He's deeply unpopular but has mobilized a large, unprecedented coalition of Americans motivated by some combination of ignorance, avarice, and cruelty. It is hard to describe what he has as something other than charisma
His charisma is fundamentally incompatible with me (and likely many of the people on Bluesky) but it’s kind of insane to say it doesn’t exist
November 7, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Trump defeated the establishments of both parties to become president twice, break most civic and legal norms of import, end-run the Constitution's safeguards against Trump-like figures, survive numerous career-ending scandals, and now single-handedly holds a party together that would have spent