This is a real video from the official White House account on a war that is currently killing people. I don’t know how the US is going to come back from this.
The post was “JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY. 🇺🇸 🔥”
📣 New #openaccess #BJPIR article out now!
'No more Mr nice guy? A leadership trait analysis of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer' by @consuelothiers.bsky.social, Benjamin Martill & Alan Convery
🔗 buff.ly/zW78fKh
@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social
📣 New #openaccess #BJPIR article out now!
'The politics of abstentionism: Comparing Sinn Féin’s Westminster abstentionism to the Basque Nationalist Left’s engagement with the Spanish Parliament, 1979–2025' by Thomas Leahy & @ikererdocia.bsky.social
🔗 buff.ly/wt4v0gk
@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social
🎉 New publication 😍 The 4th wave of the #farright is marked by #mainstreaming & #normalisation - but how can we distinguish between them? In our new article, @gefjonoff.bsky.social and I map the existing literature, introduce a conceptual framework & outline research avenues. doi.org/10.1017/S147...
excellent deep dive into all of the ways that the Trump administration has used the federal budget to keep punishing critics and trying to bend them to his will. FWIW, this is precisely how Viktor Orban crushed the opposition in Hungary 15 years ago. The national budget is a powerful weapon.
More than in any previous Nepali election, the vote on March 5 will revolve around cults of personality.
NEW
The White House has submitted its War Powers report to Congress for the attack on Iran.
The justification for military action rests on 1) Iran's supposed continued quest for nuclear weapons and 2) the threat Iran's missiles pose to US forces, vessels, civilians and those of partners. 1/n
@sophieduroy.bsky.social and I have a new piece out in @verfassungsblog.de reflecting on the moribund state of the international norm against assassination. Decades of routisination and legitimation have made assassination an available tool of foreign policy, even against heads of state.
My long-form interview with Richard Walker of Deutsche Welle on the war with Iran youtu.be/zxmP4TAwkOE?...
*Representation of the People Bill update*
Steve Reed has just announced: 'We will repeal in full the power for government to impose a strategy and policy statement on the Electoral Commission'.
A very welcome change. I set out last week why it was needed.
constitution-unit.com/2026/02/26/t...
House of Commons Library research briefing (with useful links to further reading)
'US-Israel srikes on Iran: February/March 2026'
commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-bri...
Here we go: news.un.org/en/story/202...
This is the lead sentence of my Financial Times piece today on the US-Israeli campaign against Iran:
"And so begins the latest brazen and wholly predictable gamble from America and Israel to shape the Middle East to their liking."
The rest at this link:
www.ft.com/content/1cd2...
My latest piece has just been published in @theconversation.com:
Iran has been attacked by US and Israel when peace was within reach.
“The violation of the Charter here is simply as plain as it could possibly be.”
Marko Milanovic
@ejiltalk.bsky.social
www.ejiltalk.org/the-american...
In 1789, Thomas Jefferson writing to James Madison, extolled the Constitution for instituting “one effectual check on the Dog of war by transferring the power of letting him loose from the Executive to the Legislative body.”
After Taliban attacks on Pakistani border areas, Pakistani jets hit Taliban targets across eastern and southern Afghanistan overnight. Fighting is ongoing and could escalate. Both sides should show restraint, and friendly states should move quickly. www.crisisgroup.org/rpt/asia-pac...
Delighted to be opening the debate tomorrow 26 Feb in the Lords around 1145 on the Committee’s Report on the UK-EU reset. With 37 speakers and many viewpoints it should be insightful and might be sparky! The old order is over. Whatever the shape of the new, closer UK-EU relations will be vital.
Well that’s not great news! Thank God for that company working with the Pentagon that genuinely cares about AI safety right?
Is the UK falling behind on long-term thinking?
From Spain’s ‘España 2050’ to South Korea’s flotilla model, Philip Bray explores what the UK can learn from nations that prioritise futures thinking.
heywoodquarterly.com/reclaiming-t...
#LongTerm #NationalStrategy #Policy
Big new report out from us today looking at the state of UK-EU alignment and divergence.
The key findings are that 1) the UK govt is turning to greater 'alignment' with EU rules as 'Brexit benefits' from divergence have been hard to come by.
But 2) alignment is much easier said than done.
NEW STATEMENT | The U.S. and Iran Can Still Avoid a War
Both have never been so close to a major war. Escalation risks make any conflict scenario perilous for all concerned. A narrow path to averting war exists, but time is of the essence.
www.crisisgroup.org/stm/middle-e...
Teamed up with @tessbridgeman.bsky.social and @rgoodlaw.bsky.social to consider US threats against Iran and a potential attack. Assessment? Unlawful.
World's first virtual minister in court in Albania
"Albanian actor Anila Bisha is suing the government, claiming officials unlawfully used her face and voice to create the virtual minister for artificial intelligence, 'Diella' "
p.dw.com/p/59Gbw
NEW
Land and Expand - how Palantir captured the Ministry of Defence
What a close reading of public domain documents tells us about two concerning contract awards
Detailed post by me, following-up on my FT column
emptycity.substack.com/p/land-and-e...
🚨🚨Biggest #EU news of today: #Iceland looks to fast-track vote on joining EU as referendum on EU accession could come as early as August, departing from original plan for 2027 ref. 🧵
www.politico.eu/article/icel...
What Just Happened: Tariffs Are Gone and Back Again
By Kathleen Claussen
What did SCOTUS say?
What did POTUS do next?
What is this Section 122 action/is it legal?
What is this Section 301 action/is it legal?
Should we expect new litigation?
Where’s my refund?
What happens to the deals?
The Brazilian political system is, structurally, very similar to the American one. But when they elected a Trump-style authoritarian back in 2018, their Congress and Supreme Court actually fought back.
I went to Brazil to find out why. And what I learned surprised me.
www.vox.com/politics/479...
On a bonus episode of “The Foreign Affairs Interview,” Michael Kofman discusses where the war in Ukraine stands four years in—and how it might change in the weeks and months ahead. https://fam.ag/4kWGy5u
Be careful what you wish for, power & asymmetric interdependence edition 🇷🇺
