Merike Blofield
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merikeblofield.bsky.social
Merike Blofield
@merikeblofield.bsky.social
950 followers 670 following 46 posts
Professor of Political Science | global health, social, family & gender policy, Latin America | University of Hamburg | Finnish-Canadian, spent 25 years in the US and South America. Latin Americanist at heart.
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Reposted by Merike Blofield
sarahobolt.bsky.social
🚨 LSE Assistant Professor in Political Science 🚨

We’re hiring a tenure-track assistant professor - any area of empirical political science - to join our wonderful Government Dept @lsegovernment.bsky.social

Any questions, please reach out to me

📣 Please share! 📣

jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...
November 25, 2025 at 8:38 AM
Reposted by Merike Blofield
johnpfaff.bsky.social
Paterson NJ is ~65% Hispanic,
~20% Black, ~10% white.

I’m sure that’s not at all a coincidence.

Democracy literally dies in bomb threats.
November 4, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Reposted by Merike Blofield
crampell.bsky.social
So many own goals.
Once again: higher ed is one of our most successful exports. We export more higher ed to China than soybeans. And yet Trump and the mini-Trumps are deliberately destroying the quality of our product
October 30, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Reposted by Merike Blofield
lorennacleary.bsky.social
Thank you, Chicago.
October 25, 2025 at 1:31 AM
Reposted by Merike Blofield
mrsbettybowers.bsky.social
When idiot Ron Schneider was born in 1963, the infant mortality rate was 29/1,000. It is now close to 5/1,000. So, no, children were NOT healthier when he was a kid. And he was, clearly, dropped on his head.
October 24, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Reposted by Merike Blofield
magna-inacio.bsky.social
Prêmio @alacipcp.bsky.social Melhor tese de doutorado em Ciência Politica.

Vamos divulgar???
October 5, 2025 at 2:22 AM
merikeblofield.bsky.social
In what universe is this ok?
anjalienjeti.bsky.social Anjali Enjeti @anjalienjeti.bsky.social · Oct 2
My god.

“Watson said she saw agents dragging residents, including kids, out of the building without any clothes on and into U-Haul vans. Kids were separated from their mothers…’It was heartbreaking to watch…seeing kids coming out buck naked and taken from their mothers, it was horrible.’”
Massive immigration raid on Chicago apartment building leaves residents reeling: 'I feel defeated'
The Department of Homeland Security said federal agents with Border Patrol, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested 37 people in the raid.
chicago.suntimes.com
October 3, 2025 at 11:02 AM
merikeblofield.bsky.social
I am excited for this challenge @GIGA, where our goal is to produce policy-relevant social scientific research for the benefit of society. This mission is esp. important now & I look forward to working w//colleagues in & outside GIGA @redpolitologas.bsky.social
www.giga-hamburg.de/en/press/mer...
September 15, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Reposted by Merike Blofield
strngwys.bsky.social
Important to remember that everyone involved in renaming the DoD to the Department of War is afraid to take the subway.
September 5, 2025 at 10:42 PM
merikeblofield.bsky.social
So many failures here www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
Family of French woman killed by ex-partner to go to court to find out why she was not protected
Family submitted a case last year accusing police, social services and courts of ‘serious failings’ but had no response
www.theguardian.com
August 31, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Reposted by Merike Blofield
danahoule.bsky.social
When I worked in the Michigan Senate Repubs would let us know they had a family member w a particular medical problem, bc they would vote w their caucus on nearly everything but the rare times they voted w Dems it was on amendments about a particular medical problem

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/21/o...
August 21, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Reposted by Merike Blofield
hildur.bsky.social
And every year they crown the "Tax King" and the "Tax Queen", i.e. the man and woman that paid the most taxes in Iceland that year.
August 19, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Reposted by Merike Blofield
motherjones.com
Two months after the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade, in June 2022, Idaho’s trigger ban outlawing most abortions—one of the strictest nationwide—took effect.

According to a new peer-reviewed paper study, Idaho lost more than a third of its OBs—94 of 268 total—afterwards.
Idaho lost one in three obstetricians after its abortion ban
New research confirms: Crackdowns on reproductive rights have harmful ripple effects across local health care.
www.motherjones.com
August 6, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Reposted by Merike Blofield
wck.org
After a five-day halt due to a lack of supplies, our team at WCK’s Deir al-Balah Field Kitchen has resumed limited hot meal service in Gaza. #ChefsForGaza (1/3)
World Central Kitchen | WCK Resumes Limited Hot Meal Service in Gaza After 5-Day Pause
After a five day pause, limited cooking operations resumed today at World Central Kitchen's Deir al-Balah Field Kitchen in Gaza.  This marks the second time in 2025 our hot meal program has been force...
wck.org
July 25, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Reposted by Merike Blofield
politikuhh.bsky.social
Die Politikwissenschaft an der Universität Hamburg droht eine Professur für Internationale Beziehungen zu verlieren. Bitte teilt und unterschreibt den Protestbrief auf uhh-ib-erhalten.de
Protest gegen die Streichung einer IB-Professur an der Universität Hamburg
July 9, 2025 at 10:59 AM
Reposted by Merike Blofield
agawande.bsky.social
STAGGERING: This new study of 133 countries is the first to estimate the impact of all USAID’s work. In 2 decades, it has saved *92M* lives. Current cuts, if not reversed, are forecast to cost up to *14M* lives thru 2030. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
July 1, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Reposted by Merike Blofield
agawande.bsky.social
This is a travesty & a nightmare. The US was a founder of @gavi.org. It lowers global vaccine costs, has vaccinated 1B children, & averted 19M deaths. This pull out will cost 100s of thousands of children's lives a year - and RFK Jr will be personally responsible.
www.politico.com/news/2025/06...
RFK Jr. says US won’t donate to global vaccine effort
Kennedy ripped into Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, in a video address at its pledging summit.
www.politico.com
June 25, 2025 at 1:59 PM
merikeblofield.bsky.social
Abortions in the US up
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Abortions in the US are on the rise three years after Roe v Wade was overturned
A growing number of abortions happen through telehealth – including for women in states with strict bans
www.theguardian.com
June 23, 2025 at 5:22 PM
merikeblofield.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
What it’s really like … to know I’m going to miss my Harvard graduation because of Trump’s travel ban
Like many other international students I have had my educational dreams suspended without reason – and learned plenty about racism and resilience
www.theguardian.com
June 20, 2025 at 1:18 PM
merikeblofield.bsky.social
The New York Times has really lost its way…
June 18, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Reposted by Merike Blofield
ericcolumbus.bsky.social
Please read and share this statement from Sophie and Colin Hortman, children of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark.

(via WCCO reporter Caroline Cummings on X)
"We are devastated and heartbroken at the loss of our parents, Melissa and Mark. They were the bright lights at the center of our lives, and we can't believe they are gone. Their love for us was boundless. We miss them so much. "We want everyone to know that we are both safe and with loved ones. We are grateful for the outpouring of love and support we have received, and we appreciate your respect for our family's privacy as we grieve. "Our family would like to thank law enforcement for their swift action that saved others and for the coordination across communities that led to the arrest of the man who murdered our parents. We especially would like to thank the officers who were first on the scene to our parents' home and their heroic attempts to rescue our mom and dad. "Our parents touched so many lives, and they leave behind an incredible legacy of dedication to their community that will live on in us, their friends, their colleagues and co-workers, and every single person who knew and loved them. "If you would like to honor the memory of Mark and Melissa, please consider the following: • Plant a tree. • Visit a local park and make use of their amenities, especially a bike trail. • Pet a dog. A golden retriever is ideal, but any will do. • Tell your loved ones a cheesy dad joke and laugh about it. • Bake something — bread for Mark or a cake for Melissa, and share it with someone. • Try a new hobby and enjoy learning something. • Stand up for what you believe in, especially if that thing is justice and peace. "Hope and resilience are the enemy of fear. Our parents lived their lives with immense dedication to their fellow humans. This tragedy must become a moment for us to come together. Hold your loved ones a little closer. Love your neighbors. Treat each other with kindness and respect. The best way to honor our parents' memory is to do something, whether big or small, to make our community just a little better for someone else."
June 17, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Reposted by Merike Blofield
edburmila.bsky.social
When a cabinet member announces "We are using the military to liberate an American city from its elected leaders," where do you go from there. What is left to say. The idea of that being anything short of a near-universal "Wait, what the fuck is going on" moment proves how far we've backslid.
June 12, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Reposted by Merike Blofield
nikkimcr.bsky.social
Padilla: If this is how DHS responds to a senator with a question you can only imagine what they're doing to farm workers, to cooks, to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California.
June 12, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Reposted by Merike Blofield
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
This story exemplifies the reason people are outraged at ICE.

This guy did nothing wrong. He broke not a single law. He was a guard at a base that housed US troops. He came here legally through humanitarian parole. He had an asylum application pending. Yet the Trump admin had ICE grab him anyway.
June 8, 2025 at 7:52 PM