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Catherine Owen

@catherineowen

Associate Prof of International Relations, Uni of Exeter. Researches participation, governance, knowledge production, Eurasia. Cyclist. Junglist. Tea obsessive. Constantly restless. Green 🌱

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14.08.2024
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Latest posts by Catherine Owen @catherineowen

US House Speaker Mike Johnson: β€œWe're not at war right now.

β€œWe're four days in to a very specific, clear mission, an operation, Operation Epic Fury.”

A Special Military Operation, say, just like your pals in the Kremlin.

04.03.2026 16:08 πŸ‘ 759 πŸ” 182 πŸ’¬ 62 πŸ“Œ 20
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Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi | The dry and the wet burn together The war launched against Iran by the United States and Israel is a war of choice and of hubris. There is scarcely even...

US leadership of "th β€˜international rules-based order’[is] deformed beyond recognition by th Gaza genocide but no alternative architecture has cohered in [its]place. Instead there is a politics of gangster imperialism that has neither international nor domestic consent" www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ma...

04.03.2026 09:16 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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It’s insane this is legal. People around Trump are profiting off war and death. I’m introducing legislation ASAP to ban this.

01.03.2026 02:09 πŸ‘ 13991 πŸ” 4445 πŸ’¬ 472 πŸ“Œ 358

Today's the last day of our @komex.bsky.social course, "Doing Fieldwork in Challenging Contexts" with @xiananj.bsky.social and @surajtelange.bsky.social. What a week of thoughtful and emotional discussions we've had! Our participants are doing inspirational work - its been a privilege to teach them!

27.02.2026 10:01 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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The Cornish coast path just west of Portreath. What a way to reset the brain after a week staring at a computer screen! Awesome.

15.02.2026 16:16 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

A court has ruled that the government's authoritarian ban on Palestine Action was unlawful.

Time to stop criminalising the people protesting a genocide - and start ending the UK's complicity.

13.02.2026 10:22 πŸ‘ 7480 πŸ” 1900 πŸ’¬ 166 πŸ“Œ 80
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The UK government didn't want you to see this report on ecosystem collapse. I'm not surprised | George Monbiot It took an FOI request to bring this national security assessment to light. For β€˜doomsayers’ like us, it is the ultimate vindication, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

Please spread this far and wide, as stories don't get much bigger than this. When the government blocks even the intelligence services from telling us we're heading for environmental catastrophe, you know we have a problem. A very big problem.
Thank you.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

28.01.2026 07:18 πŸ‘ 3121 πŸ” 2202 πŸ’¬ 61 πŸ“Œ 144

β€œWe conclude that a major legacy of pandemic governance in China is a more powerful system of grassroots bureaucracy capable of the microgovernance of citizens’ private lives.”

16.01.2026 17:59 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

@cais-exeter.bsky.social @hass-cornwall.bsky.social
#China #polsci

16.01.2026 17:41 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
After COVID: Between Biosecurity and Political Security in China’s Urban Governance | The China Journal Abstract This article traces the lasting transformations in China’s urban grassroots governance system wrought by three years of zero-COVID policy: increased information gathering and surveillance act...

My latest article with Xuan Qin at Fudan Uni is online at The China Journal! Our research evidences the lasting transformations in China's grassroots bureaucracy wrought by 3 years of zero-COVID, in which biosecurity enhanced & deepened political security.
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...

16.01.2026 17:36 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1

Listen to my awesome colleague @xiananj.bsky.social talk about our up-coming @komex.bsky.social methods course - one week left to register for the early bird fee!!!

12.01.2026 14:26 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

We will either end fossil fuel dependency and the predatory extractivist basis of global production, or they will end us through wars and ecological collapse - all at the same time.

03.01.2026 15:34 πŸ‘ 9223 πŸ” 2278 πŸ’¬ 201 πŸ“Œ 83

Relatable. And increasingly difficult to avoid with the proliferation of photogaphers at conferences and requests from journals to make short videos of one’s recently published articles. No thanks!

27.12.2025 17:03 πŸ‘ 24 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Pre-Christian pagan traditions in West Cornwall, UK. Penzance celebrates β€œMontol”, the shortest day of the year. From tomorrow, the light starts creeping back in! The future is bright, at least in some respects..

21.12.2025 19:36 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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The great rebalancing of area studies Western cuts and China’s expansion are shifting area studies eastward, reshaping global knowledge production.

Important article by Gerhard Hoffstaedter that resonates with my own experience:
eastasiaforum.org/2025/10/11/t...
"As Western area studies decline, policy risks being driven more by domestic perceptions than regional expertise. We risk losing soft power, cultural diplomacy and mutual understanding"

20.12.2025 12:31 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Very happy to have a chapter with @beverleyloke.bsky.social in this meticulously curated volume, "Knowledge and Expertise in International Politics: A Handbook" - just out! global.oup.com/academic/pro...
Our piece provides a contextually sensitive account of IR knowledge production hierarchies.

15.12.2025 17:20 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Rethinking β€˜Regimes’: Critical Reflections on an Under-Theorised Concept European Consortium for Political Research

Two more days to apply for our @ecpr.bsky.social Joint Sessions workshop, 'Rethinking "Regimes": Critical Reflections on an Under-Theorised Concept', co-organised with Gianni Del Panta (Pavia) & Licia Cianetti (Birmingham)
ecpr.eu/Events/Event...
Come spend 5 days deliberating with us in Innsbruck!

08.12.2025 13:35 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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This is the most alarming story I’ve read today. Giving up the fight before it’s started

30.11.2025 09:57 πŸ‘ 3274 πŸ” 1225 πŸ’¬ 329 πŸ“Œ 329
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Looking forward to next week's discussion of @jheathershaw.bsky.social's excellent and important book, Indulging Kleptocracy, co-authored with Tena Prelec and Tom Mayne, at @uniofexeterhass.bsky.social!

27.11.2025 19:13 πŸ‘ 10 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

R.I.P. Mani - bassist in the two best bands in the world. Thank you for the music 🎢🎸πŸͺ¨πŸŒΉ

20.11.2025 17:44 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Rethinking β€˜Regimes’: Critical Reflections on an Under-Theorised Concept Joint Sessions of Workshops 2026, 7 – 10 April, University of Innsbruck

βš™οΈ #ecprjs26 Workshop directors 🎬 @catherineowen.bsky.social & Gianni Del Panta
πŸ’‘ Seeks Papers that move beyond the notion that political regimes are self-contained, internally homogeneous, and functionally equivalent units
βŒ› Submit by 10 Dec buff.ly/df1Bz8S

#Polisky #CallforPapers

17.11.2025 11:08 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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β€žAuthoritarian stackβ€œ zeigt Einfluss des Silicon Valley auf Politik Auf der Website β€žAuthoritarian stackβ€œ zeigen Wissenschaftler das drastische Ausmaß der Verstrickungen zwischen Tech-Unternehmen und der US-Regierung. Auch in Europa sind sie schon dabei, sich unverzic...

β€žIm Unterschied zur AbwΓ€gung bei den BΓΌrgern ist es allerdings nicht nur eine der privaten Moral, wenn sich die deutsche Polizei von der Software der Firma Palantir abhΓ€ngig macht oder Rheinmetall MarschflugkΓΆrper bei Anduril kauft."

16.11.2025 10:15 πŸ‘ 64 πŸ” 25 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 1
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Once Upon a Time in Space - Series 1: 2. The Russian Thing When the Soviet Union falls, Russia welcomes US astronauts to their space station, Mir. But co-operation between former cold war enemies is threatened by a run of disasters onboard.

An utterly incredible story! International scientific cooperation, overcoming geopolitical divides, heroic bravery and profound male friendship. It feels like this kind of intense collaboration in search of knowledge for humanity, not nations, would hardly happen today
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

13.11.2025 09:57 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Just watched this in Redruth. Such an important film. Thank you for coming to Cornwall!

11.11.2025 23:03 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Music and modern languages courses suspended at University of Nottingham In a statement the institution also says it is

Well this is awful news: tinyurl.com/yr65mjkx
'All modern language and music courses are being suspended for new students at the University of Nottingham.'

Nottingham friends: please be assured that we will join you in protesting against this decision in the strongest possible terms. Solidarity.

06.11.2025 11:36 πŸ‘ 115 πŸ” 76 πŸ’¬ 7 πŸ“Œ 32

@cais-exeter.bsky.social @hass-cornwall.bsky.social @spspa-uofexeter.bsky.social @uniofexeterhass.bsky.social

05.11.2025 11:35 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Rethinking β€˜Regimes’: Critical Reflections on an Under-Theorised Concept European Consortium for Political Research

Join me, Gianni Del Panta and Licia Cianetti for the ECPR Joint Sessions at the Uni of Innsbruck, where we'll be hosting a workshop entitled "Rethinking Regimes: Critical Reflections on an Under-theorised Concept". Details here: ecpr.eu/Events/Event...
Can't wait to get stuck into the discussions!πŸ€“

05.11.2025 11:34 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Incredible! A Great Blue (I think?) heron calmly surveys its kingdom - a small pond next to a busy London high street. Is it lost, or has to chosen to live here?

24.10.2025 16:03 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Researchers applying for the UK's Global Talent visa face high upfront costs
Upfront cost of visa to applicant and
employer
in 2025
UK
Denmark
Β£692
India
Β£602
Australia
Β£405
Israel
Β£362
US
Β£305
Italy Β£235
Netherlands
1 Β£207
Germany | Β£170
Spain
1Β£144
Sweden | Β£117
South Korea | Β£98
France Β£84
Japan Β£21
Β£5,941
Β£O
Β£2,000
Β£4
Source: Fragomen for the Royal Society β€’ Excludes ongoing costs such as mandatory healthcare premiums or fees such as language tests

Researchers applying for the UK's Global Talent visa face high upfront costs Upfront cost of visa to applicant and employer in 2025 UK Denmark Β£692 India Β£602 Australia Β£405 Israel Β£362 US Β£305 Italy Β£235 Netherlands 1 Β£207 Germany | Β£170 Spain 1Β£144 Sweden | Β£117 South Korea | Β£98 France Β£84 Japan Β£21 Β£5,941 Β£O Β£2,000 Β£4 Source: Fragomen for the Royal Society β€’ Excludes ongoing costs such as mandatory healthcare premiums or fees such as language tests

The costs of the UK’s Global Talent Visa looks a trifle high in comparison to competitor countries - largely through the Immigration Health Surcharge (which critics say is a form of double taxation as they contribute to the NHS through normal tax on their earnings)

21.10.2025 05:57 πŸ‘ 299 πŸ” 192 πŸ’¬ 18 πŸ“Œ 34
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It’s fantastic to be back in Shanghai for the 23rd Conference on International Exchange of Professionals, at the invitation of Shanghai International Studies University. Our section, organised by Prof Yang Cheng, explores global trends in the study of Eurasia.

21.10.2025 03:16 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0