Excellent, thought-provoking article in Власть on dueling narratives re: #BloodyJanuary events in KZ from the talented folks Paperlab , wrestling with their more nuanced impacts on gov't, society.

Living In Fear Of The Draft, Russian Émigrés In Kazakhstan Have No Plans To Go Home rferl.org/a/kazakhstan-r…

I’d like to put together an interdisciplinary panel on Russian migration after the invasion for ASEEES — I know I’ve seen other folks working on this here but my memory is awful. Pls let me know if interested in joining or pass this to others who might be.

Excited to see this in print! And equally excited to start working on the next installment in what is a larger project on popular conceptualizations of democracy (so stay tuned).

Trending in #PoliticalScience: ooir.org/trending.php?d… 1) The Int'l Community’s White Silence on Far-Right Terrorism (Security Dialogue) 2) Allegiance of Affluent Americans & Politics of Redistribution (Perspectives on Politics) 3) What Do People Mean When They Say They Support Democracy?

"A repressive state isn’t the only obstacle to mass protest movements. Even without these conditions, mass antiwar protests can only occur if a large number of Russians oppose the war. There is no evidence that this is the case."

Let me explain what is happening in Georgia now: 1. A group of 'former' members of Georgian Dream(the ruling party) initiated a law on 'foreign influence agents'. The law copied russian repressive legislation that banned NGOs and independent media from operating in the country🧵

GD temporarily retreating to diffuse the protests but *not* ditching the law that sparked them: “But the party's initial statement…made no mention of the second, more restrictive bill…and made no commitment to vote down the first bill as procedures require.”

BREAKING: An extraordinary parliamentary session has been scheduled by Georgia's ruling party for tomorrow noon, to vote on withdrawing the foreign agent law. This follows demands by activists and opposition to formalise the party's withdrawal of the draft legislation.

1/2 It's official! Georgian parliament votes for the second time and formally withdraws the controversial law on foreign agents. This is a victory for the Georgian people. I sincerely congratulate everyone, who stood their ground on Rustaveli. You are Georgia's European future.

Great thread. TLDR: “Is Navalny anti-Putin? Yes. Was he wrongfully imprisoned by Kremlin for this? Absolutely. Is he anti-war? He says so. But does he reject the colonial approach & the idea of Russian superiority/dominance over other nations? Definitely not.”

Great advice here:

I’ve seen little to indicate change from the status quo ante apart from rebranding: more parties, but same lack of meaningful choice or competition. The low turnout in cities is notable, however; speaks to popular disillusionment w/“New Kazakhstan”.

🦋 #ScienceOfDemocracy No88 Amid concerns of declining support for democracy worldwide, recent research points to a way forward. Dr. Hannah Chapman 大熊 Valery Dzutsati & @poliscipaul show that how people define democracy influences their support for it bit.ly/3UaBD3z

Whether people support democracy is highly reliant on democracy measurements, Dr. Hannah Chapman and team show. Their analysis emphasizes the relevance of meaing-making on democracy and democratic norms for resilience against authoritarian tendencies. tinyurl.com/v47ukupp

Kazakhstan is a huge country. Here’s some starters pack to understand what’s happening. Zhanaozen is a town in Western Kazakhstan known for its oil and gas industry. Astana is the capital city where most power institutions are located.

A nuanced take by AkromAvezov The Diplomat on Uzbekistan's constitutional referendum that showcases the dilemma dictators face in using law to legitimate continued control -- worth a read. thediplomat.com/2023/04/old-tr…

🧵I’ve been looking as the relative analytical contributions made by universities, think tanks and research institutes to our understanding of the drivers of the Russian invasion of #Ukraine, including pre-invasion assessments, projected outcomes and how the war would unfold. 1/5

‼️Kyrgyz authorities have filed suit to shut down Kloop, one of the most important investigative journalism outfits in #Kyrgyzstan & Central Asia. Reasons: Criticizing the authorities, "manipulating public opinion" and...causing "sexual anomalies"? 🫢x.com/kloopnews/stat…