Steven Heydemann
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Steven Heydemann
@stevenhyde.bsky.social
3K followers 760 following 1.8K posts

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

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Political science 66%
Sociology 25%
Posts Replies Media Videos

Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 14h
Hard to think this blatantly unconstitutional move will hold
georgetakei.bsky.social George Takei @georgetakei.bsky.social · 18h
Filming them committing terrorism is now itself an act of terrorism?
Screenshot of a news article with the headline, “Justice Department Says Filming Immigration Raids Is ‘Domestic Terrorism.’” The byline reads Autumn Billings with a date and time. Below the headline is a black-and-white photo of a heavily armed federal agent pointing toward the camera, with other officers blurred in the background.

Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 15h
These guys are immune to irony.
brenttoderian.bsky.social Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 19h
“The U.S. government just banned five people from entering the country because it doesn’t like their speech. This ban, according to the State Department, is necessary to protect free speech.

If that sounds insane to you, congratulations on your reading comprehension.”

Via @mmasnick.bsky.social
Opinion | Marco Rubio is using real censorship to fight fake censorship
Mike Masnick: In the name of protecting free speech, the U.S. government just banned five Europeans from entering the country because it doesn’t like their speech.
www.ms.now

Reposted by Steven Heydemann, Olivier Mannoni

georgetakei.bsky.social
George Takei @georgetakei.bsky.social · 18h
Filming them committing terrorism is now itself an act of terrorism?
Screenshot of a news article with the headline, “Justice Department Says Filming Immigration Raids Is ‘Domestic Terrorism.’” The byline reads Autumn Billings with a date and time. Below the headline is a black-and-white photo of a heavily armed federal agent pointing toward the camera, with other officers blurred in the background.

Reposted by Steven Heydemann, Olivier Mannoni

brenttoderian.bsky.social
Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 19h
“The U.S. government just banned five people from entering the country because it doesn’t like their speech. This ban, according to the State Department, is necessary to protect free speech.

If that sounds insane to you, congratulations on your reading comprehension.”

Via @mmasnick.bsky.social
Opinion | Marco Rubio is using real censorship to fight fake censorship
Mike Masnick: In the name of protecting free speech, the U.S. government just banned five Europeans from entering the country because it doesn’t like their speech.
www.ms.now

Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 19h
"We have to show outrage to our European partners."

I gave a talk at DIIS some years back in which a Danish official described the country as "America's wingman." I confess I winced when I heard the comment. But outrage over comments from Trump, Vance, and others in this administration? Yes.
thomashansen.bsky.social Thomas Hansen @thomashansen.bsky.social · Mar 29
The former ambassador to Denmark for the United States, Rufus Gifford, posted this video on his Facebook account:

Ht: @hpsc24.bsky.social

Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 1d
Saudi-UAE tensions escalate.

www.wsj.com/world/middle...
Saudi Arabia Strikes Yemeni Militia Backed by Rival Gulf Power U.A.E.
Tensions between two U.S. allies heat up amid proxy conflicts in the region.
www.wsj.com

Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 2d
www.reuters.com/world/middle...
Syria to start currency swap on January 1, central bank governor says
Syria will start swapping old banknotes for new ones from January 1, 2026, Central Bank Governor Abdelkader Husrieh said on Thursday, under a plan to replace Assad-era notes to try to strengthen the c...
www.reuters.com

Reposted by Steven Heydemann, Martin Tomko, Alessandro Nai , and 4 more

newrepublic.com
The New Republic @newrepublic.com · 2d
President Trump’s spiteful defamation suit against the Pulitzer Prize Board may backfire, as the latter is now demanding Trump’s psychological records, prescription medication records, and tax returns in the discovery process. trib.al/LUCScTR
Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 2d
Not exactly winning hearts and minds. Who do they imagine is the audience for this? The tone deafness is stunning.
Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 2d
Congratulations! Always nice when effort and care are recognized.

Reposted by Steven Heydemann

partners4israel.bsky.social
Partners for Progressive Israel @partners4israel.bsky.social · 3d
"Conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism does a disservice to combating actual Jew-hatred." Our joint letter w/@truahrabbis.bsky.social, Israelis for Peace, @newjewishnarrative.bsky.social is at truah.org/wp-content/u...
Additional criticism of ADL below www.commondreams.org/news/adl-mam...
Progressive Jews Decry ADL 'Mamdani Monitor' for Conflating Israel Criticism With Antisemitism | Common Dreams
The head of one group decried the ADL's "disproportionate attention on left-of-center activists’ views on Israel while failing to apply the same scrutiny to the Trump administration."
www.commondreams.org

Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 3d
The message is ample evidence to the contrary. On condescension and arrogance scales, however, she's off the charts.

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Steven Heydemann, Joe R. Feagin , and 15 more

adamrothman.bsky.social
Adam Rothman enjoys a good sandwich @adamrothman.bsky.social · 3d
“Like Prime, but with human beings.”
“We need to get better at treating this like a business,” ICE acting director Todd M. Lyons said at a border security conference in April, according to the Arizona Mirror. The administration’s goal, he said, was to deport immigrants as efficiently as Amazon moves packages: “Like Prime, but with human beings.”

Reposted by Steven Heydemann

dmsilverman.bsky.social
Dan Silverman @dmsilverman.bsky.social · 4d
Good piece on Israel’s meddling and arming of the Druze in Syria
How Israeli covert activities in Syria seek to thwart its new government
Israel is suspicious of President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a longtime Islamist militant, and has provided weapons, intelligence and cash to militiamen at odds with his rule.
wapo.st

Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 4d
Detention practices of the al-Sharaa govt are troubling. But this is deeply distorted propaganda from a deeply biased source. 892 people have been detained over the past year (!) and Assad regime prisons are “filling up”? Filling up?

www.timesofisrael.com/a-year-post-...
A year post-Assad, Syrian jails are again filling up, with widespread accounts of abuse
Though the Sharaa regime vowed to shutter Assad's notorious jails, tallies show they are locking hundreds of people up without charges, overcrowding the same prisons they emptied
www.timesofisrael.com

Reposted by Steven Heydemann

indivisible.org
Indivisible ❌👑 @indivisible.org · 4d
The regime has announced two proposed rules intended to make it extremely difficult (if not impossible) for trans youth to receive the healthcare they need.

We expect robust legal challenges to these hate-filled proposals and are actively engaged with organizations on the frontlines of this fight.

Reposted by Steven Heydemann, Tom Clark, Robert C. Richards , and 2 more

walterolson.bsky.social
Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 4d
Restoring Bivens rights: one bill "would allow citizens to sue for damages resulting from constitutional violations committed by federal officers," while the other "would create a cause of action against federal law enforcement agencies and police depts for constitutional violations."
These congressmen want to give you the right to sue federal law enforcement for violating your rights
The proposed bills aim to codify a 1971 Supreme Court ruling that allowed individuals to sue the feds for Fourth Amendment violations.
reason.com

Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 5d
Subscription link on the website doesn't work. Just me?

maghrebi.org

Reposted by Timothy Snyder, Steven Heydemann, Brendan Nyhan , and 8 more

atrupar.com
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 6d
JD Vance gets the biggest applause of his speech so far when he says "by the grace of God we always will be a Christian nation"

Reposted by Steven Heydemann, Richard S.J. Tol, Brendan Nyhan , and 38 more

atrupar.com
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 6d
JD Vance: "In the United States of America you don't have to apologize for being white anymore"

Reposted by Steven Heydemann, Kent Johnson, Henry Jones

realjakebroe.bsky.social
Jake Broe @realjakebroe.bsky.social · 7d
Trump has begun lifting American sanctions on companies that sell weapons to the Russian military. The Russians have finally offered enough money to the Trump family and Trump is 100% on Russia's side now.
Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 8d
Quite an admission.

Who Can Solve Iran’s Many Problems? Not I, Says the President. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/w...
Who Can Solve Iran’s Many Problems? Not I, Says the President.
www.nytimes.com

Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 8d
In his first term Trump recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan, an act with no bearing on the illegal status of Israeli annexation.

syrianobserver.com/foreign-acto...
“Worth Trillions”: Trump Boasts of Granting the Syrian Golan to Israel - The Syrian Observer
The convergence of these American statements and Israeli military actions has heightened Syrian concerns that a new, entrenched occupation reality is taking shape in southern Syria.
syrianobserver.com

Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 9d
Utterly dishonest.

Reposted by Steven Heydemann, Antje Wiener, Robert Wolfe

carlawinston.bsky.social
Carla Winston @carlawinston.bsky.social · 9d
Link: academic.oup.com/edited-volum...
The Oxford Handbook of Norms Research in International Relations
Abstract. Norms research in International Relations (IR) has developed sufficiently over the past 35 years to become its own subdiscipline within the field
academic.oup.com

Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 9d
The usual hollow bluster and dishonesty we've come to expect from Trump. This is from Defense One's daily email this morning.

Reposted by Steven Heydemann

stelhami.bsky.social
Shibley Telhami @stelhami.bsky.social · 9d
As our national debate about antisemitism and Islamophobia intensifies, we have released our latest UMDCIP 39-page report on "Trends in Prejudice Toward Jews and Muslims: Comparison to Other Racial, Ethnic, and Religious Groups." Full demographic analysis:
sadat.umd.edu/sites/sadat....
Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 10d
of anything resembling a coherent policy, or policy process, in this shambolic mess of a White House.
Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 10d
So targeting Syria, and other countries on the list, is little more than a thin cover for the Trump administration's blatantly racist and Islamophobic policies.

And that it would apply this ban to Syria, a country that Trump is purportedly supporting, underscores the total absence
Steven Heydemann @stevenhyde.bsky.social · 10d
The US doesn't rely on local authorities, or just issue visas carte blanche to those who hold passports. This is especially the case in poorly governed countries, where consular officials may be instructed to treat every document they see as a forgery until proven otherwise.