@manfrede
Associate Professor at University of British Columbia. Researching China, social movements, labor, authoritarianism. Author of "Workers and Change in China." He/him. Website: https://manfredelfstrom.com
What’s with Carney signing off on every American intervention overseas? Venezuela, Iran… I can’t tell if it is an attempt to win favor or a reflection of his actual convictions about the world.
“Equipment operator Angel Gomez felt the power shift after the vote. A supervisor came up to ask him what he’d be able to do now. ‘The way you’re touching the machines now, you ain’t going to be able to do that,’ he told him.” labornotes.org/2026/02/majo...
Black Flag is coming to Kelowna. Hive mind: do I go see this reboot? exclaim.ca/music/articl...
An image of the cover of the book “The Life and Death of Chinese Civil Society.”
Just got my copy of Mujun Zhou’s new book, which provides a really compelling argument about why China’s various grassroots social reform movements embraced and then became disaffected with Chinese liberals’ grand “civil society” project (I provide an appreciative blurb on the back).
Opposition movements elsewhere have brought down competitive authoritarian regimes by leaning into traditional get-out-the-vote tactics despite the deck being stacked against them—-and then calling out irregularities afterward. See Bunce and Wolchik’s work: www.cambridge.org/core/books/d...
A fast, effective campaign. For context: the Jim Pattison Group is something of a grocery monopolist in BC--they own at least five grocery store chains in my city--plus they control car dealerships, radio stations, and billboards. Yet, the company obviously felt vulnerable to charges of complicity.
As a Swedish-American, I am delighted to be on the receiving end of these accusations!
I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
Stay free
This is not in fact the definition of the “working class.”
A Santa Claus who looks like a cheerful Karl Marx
This year’s batch of inflatable Santas in my neighborhood all seem ready to (cheerfully) pronounce, “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf…”
Best discussion about where the US stands right now that I’ve listened to in a while. Featuring Stephen Levitsky, @dziblatt.bsky.social, and @lucanway.bsky.social. Somehow at once sobering and hopeful. podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/t...
Another embarrassment from an MLA near me: a proposal to establish a provincial holiday in honor of the Freedom Convoy. Won a somewhat close election last year. Checked an old news report and she said then she would focus on “affordability, housing and healthcare.” www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna...
All I can say is that if the Democrats come back, they better not bail these people out this time around like Obama felt he had to do in 2009. At least not without asking for a LOT more in return. Otherwise, both bad policy & bad politics.
Will check this out. But didn’t Graeber and Wengrow’s book argue the opposite—that pre-agricultural societies could be hierarchical (sometimes / for some parts of the year) and settling down did not necessarily lead to hierarchy?
The point isn't that one thing cancels out the other. And other positive changes could also be mentioned: noticeably quieter streets due to EVs, the continued expansion of high-speed rail, etc. Just saying that, at this particular moment, China's energy transition slams you with contradictions.
Windmills in North China
Smog in North China
Traveled through N. China for a few days and was impressed by both the expansion of green power since I last spent real time there--solar panels draping terraced hills and poking up out of villages, windmills along ridges--and, at the same time, the persistence incredible levels of air pollution.
More from the scene
Recent impulse purchase
Was delighted to see that a reader on Goodreads was angry at the suggestion that hot dogs could be healthy.
Hey, now! A is for Activist is not too bad. Forever stuck in my head: “Hummus, Hot dogs, Havarti cheese. Hot dogs!?! Yes! Healthy hot dogs please! (And pizza.)”
Lucky to have gotten to hear this incredible call to action: podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/l...
Big news!
My book "Contested Taiwan: Sovereignty, Social Movements, and Party Formation" is officially available for pre-order through University of Washington Press!
Here's a brief summary of the book, contested politics, and why Taiwan matters for political science:
Congrats! Looks excellent!
Update: I declined the contract.
The anniversary of the start of the Blair Mountain uprising just passed. Here's a nice video on the incredible work done by the West Virginia Mine Wars Museum to keep that history alive. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUxq...
Have been getting requests from my book's publisher to sign / decline an AI agreement. My instinct is to say "no" for now. But, then, I would want stuff generated about my areas of interest to draw on work like mine. Thoughts about the best course of action?
Really horrible. I can imagine the setting.
