Steven Heydemann
@stevenhyde.bsky.social
Ketcham Chair in Middle East Studies, Prof. of Gov, Smith College; Nonresident Senior Fellow CMEP, Brookings. Former VP, Center for Applied Research on Conflict, USIP.
https://smith.academia.edu/StevenHeydemann
https://smith.academia.edu/StevenHeydemann
Reposted by Steven Heydemann
This is really good to see: Miki Sherrill just put out a statement sharply criticizing the Senate Dems' pending cave in the government shutdown, ripping it as "malpractice" and a betrayal of the people who are "counting on us to fight for them." Sherrill knows what drove her victory. Wake up, Dems.
November 10, 2025 at 1:38 AM
This is really good to see: Miki Sherrill just put out a statement sharply criticizing the Senate Dems' pending cave in the government shutdown, ripping it as "malpractice" and a betrayal of the people who are "counting on us to fight for them." Sherrill knows what drove her victory. Wake up, Dems.
Reposted by Steven Heydemann
agreeing to make a terrible deal while your main opponent is quite literally being boo'd on live tv by an entire stadium of people is the kind of political instinct you'd normally only find in a 3 week old dead goldfish
November 10, 2025 at 12:36 AM
agreeing to make a terrible deal while your main opponent is quite literally being boo'd on live tv by an entire stadium of people is the kind of political instinct you'd normally only find in a 3 week old dead goldfish
Reposted by Steven Heydemann
initially thought that this was a shadow being projected on his face. didn’t realize he was in blackface
November 8, 2025 at 4:51 PM
initially thought that this was a shadow being projected on his face. didn’t realize he was in blackface
Shining a light on Syria's new/old crony capitalism, with Jamal al-Sharaa as a pivotal figure in new crony networks.
syrianobserver.com/who/jamal-al...
syrianobserver.com/who/jamal-al...
Jamal al-Sharaa: The Brother Who Tested the Boundaries of Power - The Syrian Observer
Jamal al-Sharaa has become a cautionary tale: a reminder that even in post-Assad Syria, the struggle against corruption begins not in the ministries—but at home.
syrianobserver.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Shining a light on Syria's new/old crony capitalism, with Jamal al-Sharaa as a pivotal figure in new crony networks.
syrianobserver.com/who/jamal-al...
syrianobserver.com/who/jamal-al...
An incredible story. Thank goodness Elizabeth survived.
‘Strung Up and Tortured’: Hostage Recounts 2 ½ Years of Captivity www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/w...
‘Strung Up and Tortured’: Hostage Recounts 2 ½ Years of Captivity www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/w...
‘Strung Up and Tortured’: Hostage Recounts 2 ½ Years of Captivity
www.nytimes.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:06 AM
An incredible story. Thank goodness Elizabeth survived.
‘Strung Up and Tortured’: Hostage Recounts 2 ½ Years of Captivity www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/w...
‘Strung Up and Tortured’: Hostage Recounts 2 ½ Years of Captivity www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/w...
www.reuters.com
November 7, 2025 at 1:58 AM
There’s only one figure in American politics today who is imposing state ownership of the means of production. It’s not Mamdani.
So Mamdani's win in NYC was so powerful Tuesday night that Trump has become a socialist too?
Trump to the Novo Nordisk CEO: "Maybe you should give us a piece of the company like I've been asking for."
November 6, 2025 at 10:08 PM
There’s only one figure in American politics today who is imposing state ownership of the means of production. It’s not Mamdani.
Reposted by Steven Heydemann
Yesterday, we were able to watch "Lyd" at the Hebrew University. A moving testimony to the Nakba and a reflection on the erasure of Palestinian identity in Israel - today, the film was again banned from being screened publicly:
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
Israel Police prevent, threaten Arab town's budget over historical documentary's screening
After Sakhnin's Mayor Halted a Screening of 'Lyd' – a Film on the Israeli Expulsion of Arabs in Lod – Its Director Petitioned the Courts. According to the Mayor, the Police Cited a Danger to Public Sa...
www.haaretz.com
November 6, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Yesterday, we were able to watch "Lyd" at the Hebrew University. A moving testimony to the Nakba and a reflection on the erasure of Palestinian identity in Israel - today, the film was again banned from being screened publicly:
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
A huge fuck you to ICE and its whole clown car of corrupt cronies.
Jurors Find Sandwich Hurler Not Guilty of Assault www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/u...
Jurors Find Sandwich Hurler Not Guilty of Assault www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/u...
Jurors Find Sandwich Hurler Not Guilty of Assault
www.nytimes.com
November 6, 2025 at 10:00 PM
A huge fuck you to ICE and its whole clown car of corrupt cronies.
Jurors Find Sandwich Hurler Not Guilty of Assault www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/u...
Jurors Find Sandwich Hurler Not Guilty of Assault www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/u...
Reposted by Steven Heydemann
In a demonstration of how pathetic and meaningless the Abraham Accords are, the Trump administration is going to announce tonight that Kazakhstan is joining them.
The only problem is that Kazakhstan has had full and formal relations with Israel since 1992.
The only problem is that Kazakhstan has had full and formal relations with Israel since 1992.
November 6, 2025 at 6:13 PM
In a demonstration of how pathetic and meaningless the Abraham Accords are, the Trump administration is going to announce tonight that Kazakhstan is joining them.
The only problem is that Kazakhstan has had full and formal relations with Israel since 1992.
The only problem is that Kazakhstan has had full and formal relations with Israel since 1992.
The true spirit of Republican interfaith tolerance.
TIL that Roberts has never actually read the NT.
Heritage Foundation having a normal one
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
November 6, 2025 at 4:03 PM
The true spirit of Republican interfaith tolerance.
My condolences to the family of Syrian human rights attorney Khalil Ma’touq, killed under torture by the Assad regime. The news has long been expected but that does not diminish the sense of loss. I worked very briefly with Khalil in 2012, enough to sense his decency, humanity, and courage.
November 6, 2025 at 2:12 PM
My condolences to the family of Syrian human rights attorney Khalil Ma’touq, killed under torture by the Assad regime. The news has long been expected but that does not diminish the sense of loss. I worked very briefly with Khalil in 2012, enough to sense his decency, humanity, and courage.
Reposted by Steven Heydemann
Trump declares that Republicans have lost the shutdown. Absolutely zero reason for Dems to cave at this point
November 5, 2025 at 3:21 AM
Trump declares that Republicans have lost the shutdown. Absolutely zero reason for Dems to cave at this point
Syria needs a reconstruction plan. @yezidsayigh.bsky.social @carnegiemec.bsky.social
carnegieendowment.org/middle-east/...
carnegieendowment.org/middle-east/...
Syria Needs a Reconstruction Plan
Without clarity on the country’s economic framework, Assad-era cronyism may reappear.
carnegieendowment.org
November 4, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Syria needs a reconstruction plan. @yezidsayigh.bsky.social @carnegiemec.bsky.social
carnegieendowment.org/middle-east/...
carnegieendowment.org/middle-east/...
How Ahmad al-Sharaa might consolidate authoritarian control under conditions of competitive authoritarianism - which is a plausible path for Syria. This short piece is a useful guide to how it's happened elsewhere.
ideas.repec.org/p/osf/socarx...
ideas.repec.org/p/osf/socarx...
A Para-State: How a Shadow Partisan Network Governs State Ad
This article examines how competitive authoritarian regimes reshape state administration through informal, extralegal structures that bypass formal institutional frameworks. While prior research highl
ideas.repec.org
November 4, 2025 at 1:35 PM
How Ahmad al-Sharaa might consolidate authoritarian control under conditions of competitive authoritarianism - which is a plausible path for Syria. This short piece is a useful guide to how it's happened elsewhere.
ideas.repec.org/p/osf/socarx...
ideas.repec.org/p/osf/socarx...
When arrogance, ignorance, insularity, delusion, and entitlement meet reality.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Katie Miller is threatening the citizenship of a critic | Arwa Mahdawi
Threatening to deport your critics, even those with US citizenship, seems to have become Maga policy
www.theguardian.com
November 1, 2025 at 2:19 PM
When arrogance, ignorance, insularity, delusion, and entitlement meet reality.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Steven Heydemann
A classified report by a U.S. gov’t watchdog found that Israeli military units committed “many hundreds” of potential violations of U.S. human rights law in the Gaza Strip that would take the State Department “multiple years” to review. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec... @johnphudson.bsky.social
Classified U.S. report finds backlog of hundreds of possible Israeli human rights violations
The report found “hundreds” of possible Israeli human rights violations, further complicating a process to review credible allegations against IDF military units in Gaza.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 30, 2025 at 11:45 PM
A classified report by a U.S. gov’t watchdog found that Israeli military units committed “many hundreds” of potential violations of U.S. human rights law in the Gaza Strip that would take the State Department “multiple years” to review. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec... @johnphudson.bsky.social
Vance pushing white nationalist racism into a sphere of organizing that is highly diverse and inclusive, in which Black and Brown people, women especially, play especially important leadership roles. Attempting to use race to suppress class as a basis for inclusive collective action.
JD Vance claims that diversity weakens unions, as people end up distrusting each other and not organizing.
Let me tell you two menswear stories related to this claim. 🧵
Let me tell you two menswear stories related to this claim. 🧵
October 30, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Vance pushing white nationalist racism into a sphere of organizing that is highly diverse and inclusive, in which Black and Brown people, women especially, play especially important leadership roles. Attempting to use race to suppress class as a basis for inclusive collective action.
Reposted by Steven Heydemann
Mamdani is attacked for not embracing Israel's Jewishness. But as I noted in 2021 what's unique is the US stance: "There is no case except Israel’s where the US actively advocates for a form of ethno-nationalist state that discounts large portion of its population"
www.brookings.edu/articles/ame...
www.brookings.edu/articles/ame...
America must rethink its unique and contradictory advocacy of Israel’s Jewishness | Brookings
Shibley Telhami argues that the United States' unique advocacy for Israel specifically as a Jewish state conflicts with the notion that states should represent and treat all their citizens equally, wh...
www.brookings.edu
October 29, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Mamdani is attacked for not embracing Israel's Jewishness. But as I noted in 2021 what's unique is the US stance: "There is no case except Israel’s where the US actively advocates for a form of ethno-nationalist state that discounts large portion of its population"
www.brookings.edu/articles/ame...
www.brookings.edu/articles/ame...
Worthwhile report by a stellar group of authors criticizing militarized conceptions of sovereignty in Lebanon and calling for a process of restoring "sovereignty from below."
www.thepolicyinitiative.org/article/deta...
www.thepolicyinitiative.org/article/deta...
The Policy Initiative - Security Without Legitimacy: The limits of sovereignty from above
Can a state with an under-resourced army and broken social contract ever secure its sovereignty? A case for rebuilding Lebanon from the bottom up. Read our latest report by TPI’s authors Jo...
www.thepolicyinitiative.org
October 29, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Worthwhile report by a stellar group of authors criticizing militarized conceptions of sovereignty in Lebanon and calling for a process of restoring "sovereignty from below."
www.thepolicyinitiative.org/article/deta...
www.thepolicyinitiative.org/article/deta...
Reposted by Steven Heydemann
If the current administration ever ends, many people in (and around) it will need to be prosecuted. From influence peddling to flat-out murder, their crimes seem to accumulate each and every day.
October 28, 2025 at 4:05 PM
If the current administration ever ends, many people in (and around) it will need to be prosecuted. From influence peddling to flat-out murder, their crimes seem to accumulate each and every day.
Reposted by Steven Heydemann
very important thread on the absolute nazi shit happening at ICE 👇
🚨BIG changes happening -- ICE leadership is being purged tonight. The old guard, which prioritized targeted enforcement operations aimed at people with criminal records, is being replaced with Border Patrol and Gregory Bovino's "Midway Blitz" style.
Think things are bad now? It'll get worse.
Think things are bad now? It'll get worse.
October 28, 2025 at 2:53 AM
very important thread on the absolute nazi shit happening at ICE 👇