Professor Adrian Blau
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adrianblau.bsky.social
Professor Adrian Blau
@adrianblau.bsky.social
2.2K followers 2.2K following 130 posts
Professor of Politics at King's College London. I work on politics, philosophy & history. My surname rhymes with "flaw". BlauBlog: http://adrianblau.wordpress.com (He/him)
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Reposted by Professor Adrian Blau
louisearchaeology.bsky.social
The British Museum posted Al slop and quietly deleted it. Here's what it was and why it matters.

#archaeology🏺#musuem #culture #heritage #history
February 1, 2026 at 3:19 PM
Reposted by Professor Adrian Blau
rhib.bsky.social
Some jawdropping CBP crime statistics here...
Criminality is so rampant inside CBP that it has seen one of its own agents or officers arrested every 24 to 36 hours since 2005. CBP’s misconduct scandal is so long-running that today it would be old enough to drink. In total, according to CBP’s own discipline reports, over the 20 years from 2005 to 2024 — the last year numbers are available — at least 4,913 CBP officers and Border Patrol agents have been arrested themselves, some multiple times. (In 2018 alone, a single CBP employee was arrested five times.) To put that number in perspective: • The population of CBP agents and officers who have been arrested would make it roughly the nation’s fourth largest police department — equal to the size of the entire Philadelphia police. • Indeed, for much of the 2010s and likely before and since, it appears the crime rate of CBP agents and offices was higher PER CAPITA than the crime rate of undocumented immigrants in the United States.
February 1, 2026 at 5:37 PM
Reposted by Professor Adrian Blau
theskyisnotblue.bsky.social
#GeorgiaProtests Day 431!
February 1, 2026 at 5:47 PM
Reposted by Professor Adrian Blau
meibauir.bsky.social
A huge win for Dutch higher education and the Netherlands as a whole - the new coalition cabinet has announced it wants to reverse all cuts to higher education planned by the previous government.

What targeted activism, electoral politics, and a bit of luck can do...🎉🇳🇱
January 30, 2026 at 1:44 PM
adrianblau.bsky.social
Sounds excellent - should be a valuable addition to my second-year course.
January 30, 2026 at 7:22 AM
Reposted by Professor Adrian Blau
english.nv.ua
A notable and telling trend has emerged inside the Russian military: rare, highly trained specialists are being reassigned en masse to frontline infantry roles, Viktor Kevliuk, Ukrainian Colonel and expert in Defense Strategies, wrote
When even the navy goes infantry: a telling trend inside Russia’s army
A notable and telling trend has emerged inside the Russian military: rare, highly trained specialists are being reassigned en masse to frontline infantry roles, Viktor Kevliuk, Ukrainian Colonel and e...
english.nv.ua
January 30, 2026 at 7:06 AM
Reposted by Professor Adrian Blau
walkerbragman.bsky.social
“What is happening here in Minnesota as a result is that basically the entire non-white population is afraid to go outside. It’s awful. Our schools are about 50 percent absenteeism. Sometimes it’s 70 percent.” — @whstancil.bsky.social

www.importantcontext.news/p/the-entire...
“The Entire City's in This Sort of State of Siege:” A Conversation With A Minneapolis ICE Tracker
Important Context spoke with attorney Will Stancil, who has been tracking ICE in his city.
www.importantcontext.news
January 29, 2026 at 4:10 AM
Reposted by Professor Adrian Blau
jkonle.bsky.social
📢 Call for Papers
KCL Political Theory Graduate Conference | 22 May 2026 (in person, London)

We invite submissions in political theory & related fields from Graduate students.

🎤Keynote: Prof. Bernardo Zacka (MIT)
⏰ Deadline: 2 Feb 2026 (11:59pm GMT)

🔗 For more info: philevents.org/event/show/1...
2026 KCL Political Theory Conference
We invite submissions from graduate students in political theory and adjacent disciplines, including but not limited to political philosophy, social and critical theory, history of political thought, ...
philevents.org
January 26, 2026 at 3:57 PM
Reposted by Professor Adrian Blau
lsepoltheory.bsky.social
CFA for the LSE Graduate conference, 28-29 May 2026. Submit your abstracts by 22 February here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
January 26, 2026 at 10:34 AM
Reposted by Professor Adrian Blau
johnholbein1.bsky.social
Even in the AI era, learning to quickly "read" an academic article is an essential skill.

When I started grad school, I thought I had to read every word, in order, for every article I "read".

I don’t do that anymore.

Here’s how I "read" most academic articles:
January 25, 2026 at 9:36 PM
Reposted by Professor Adrian Blau
edithcharles.bsky.social
As a transsexual I can't tell you how thrilled I am that fascists are feeling unsafe in bathrooms.
DHS post: Today, Border Patrol agents who were in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area as part of a targeted enforcement operation were repeatedly harassed and blocked by hostile crowds while simply trying to take bathroom breaks. At each gas station where the agents stopped to use the restroom, groups of agitators appeared, yelled at them, stalked them, and even tried to prevent law enforcement vehicles from leaving, creating unsafe conditions. At one stop, individuals in the crowd threw food at the agents. At their final gas station stop, someone spit on an agent. When an agent moved to detain the person who spit on him, the crowed tackled and attacked the agents while surrounding them.
January 23, 2026 at 4:04 PM
Reposted by Professor Adrian Blau
broadwaybabyto.bsky.social
In October, ICE grabbed Maher Tarabishi.

He was a 24/7 caregiver for his disabled son Wael.

At the time of Maher’s detention, disability advocates warned that taking away Wael’s caregiver put his life at risk.

Wael died on Friday at age 30.

ICE caused his death.

They didn’t get to say goodbye.
Disabled son of ICE detainee dies after 30 days of hospitalization
It had been months since Wael Tarabishi seen his father. The family is calling on ICE to release Maher Tarabishi so he may attend his son's funeral.
www.wfaa.com
January 24, 2026 at 3:01 AM
Reposted by Professor Adrian Blau
hdrochon.bsky.social
2 Postdoc positions in Intellectual History at Aarhus!
www.au.dk/om/stillinge...
2 Postdoctoral positions in Intellectual History at the Department of History - Ledig stilling på Aarhus Universitet
Ledig stilling ved Institut for Kultur og Samfund - Historie, fag, Aarhus Universitet
www.au.dk
January 22, 2026 at 1:43 PM
Reposted by Professor Adrian Blau
barrymaguire.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/mind/advance...
Rescuing Socialism from Equality
Abstract. Karl Marx rejected the ideal of equality as bourgeois. And yet the most significant attempt in recent years to distinguish socialist theory from
academic.oup.com
January 23, 2026 at 6:41 AM
Reposted by Professor Adrian Blau
scotnational.bsky.social
NEW: A lost portrait of Robert Burns has been found after more than 200 years 🖌️

The painting, by Sir Henry Raeburn, was found during a house clearance and was consigned to auction with a starting price of £300-£500

It is now on display at the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh
January 22, 2026 at 2:36 PM
Reposted by Professor Adrian Blau
atlathewriter.bsky.social
In the 2010s, the Icelandic tv station Channel 2 accidentally added subtitles from a gritty crime drama to an episode of Teletubbies.

I have translated some of the highlights
A screenshot of Lala and Po from the teletubbies. The screenshot is clearly taken from someone's phone, as the borders of the tv can be seen, as well as glimpses into the apartment behind them. Po is in bed wrapped up in a blanket. The text below them reads "I know you were high at my mother-in-laws funeral..." More screenshots from the Teletubbies. Lala seems to be upset with a terrified Po. the text below reads "Did you kill the dog? Why would you do that?!" A third screenshot from the Teletubbies, this time the same scene as before. Po is wearing an apron while Lala seems to still be upset at him. The text below reads "You're nothing but a failure of a man."
January 20, 2026 at 12:30 AM
Reposted by Professor Adrian Blau
joelhs.bsky.social
“ICE isn’t the Gestapo. The Gestapo was…” (proceeds to describe qualities that apply to what ICE is currently doing)
From Senator Chris McDaniel: “Lately, some folks have taken to calling ICE “the Gestapo.” It sounds fierce. It feels righteous. But it isn’t true, and it isn’t harmless. The Gestapo was a secret police force. No warrants. No courts. No lawyers. And no appeals. People vanished in the night, not because they broke the law, but because the law no longer meant anything. The knock on the door was the sentence. ICE isn’t that. Not even close. ICE is a public agency enforcing laws passed by elected officials. Its agents file reports. They seek warrants. They lose cases. Judges stop them. Lawyers challenge them. Some detainees go home. That’s not tyranny. That’s bureaucracy, for better and worse. You can hate immigration policy. You can argue enforcement is too harsh, too sloppy, or too broad. You can work to have the law changed if you wish. That’s a republic doing what it’s supposed to do. But when you call ordinary law enforcement “the Gestapo,” you cheapen real evil. You turn history into a slogan and suffering into a metaphor. And once every badge is tyranny, no tyranny is left to recognize. In Mississippi, I was raised to believe words should earn their weight. This one hasn't yet. It throws around the language of dictatorship while living under a system where courts still rule, lawyers still argue, and the government still loses. That difference matters. Because the day enforcement becomes secret, unchecked, and answerable to no one, we won’t need to borrow names from history. We’ll know exactly what we’re dealing with. And we’ll wish we’d kept our words honest.”
January 20, 2026 at 5:45 PM
Reposted by Professor Adrian Blau
normcharlatan.bsky.social
I don’t think people quite understand that the occupation by ICE in the Twin Cities has more or less erased non-white people from public life. They cannot safely exist in any space accessible to the public and moving between private places leaves folks vulnerable to kidnapping by armed masked goons.
January 16, 2026 at 10:15 PM
Reposted by Professor Adrian Blau
rubenruizrufino.bsky.social
Are you about to complete a MA/MSc in social sciences? Do you have a very good idea to write a PhD? If so, please consider applying for one of the 5 doctoral studentships that @kcl-spe.bsky.social and @kingsqpe.bsky.social are currently advertising. All details here: www.findaphd.com/phds/program...
PhD Studentships in Political Economy at King’s College London on FindAPhD.com
PhD Programme - PhD Studentships in Political Economy at King’s College London, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
January 15, 2026 at 1:58 PM
Reposted by Professor Adrian Blau
pmagana94.bsky.social
When a reviewer "invites" you to cite their papers:
January 15, 2026 at 6:59 PM
Reposted by Professor Adrian Blau
anonopin.bsky.social
Don't be fooled by the name, the Oxford Comma is American and used to hide poor writing. Just ask JFK, Stalin and the strippers.
January 15, 2026 at 12:55 PM
Reposted by Professor Adrian Blau
jsinclair.bsky.social
Politicians: don't use AI to make your maps.
January 14, 2026 at 11:13 AM
Reposted by Professor Adrian Blau
hrw.org
Amid Iran's internet blackout, there are concerning reports of large scale killings by security forces.

Hear from HRW's Executive Director Philippe Bolopion on the emergency situation in Iran:
January 12, 2026 at 10:34 PM
Reposted by Professor Adrian Blau
vapunkt.bsky.social
🔔The University of Vienna invites applications for at least 40 funded doctoral positions across the Social Sciences & Humanities to do your own research project and choose your preferred supervisor.
❗Application deadline: March 2, 2026
👇Check eligibility here:
careers.univie.ac.at/en/praedoc/p...
careers.univie.ac.at
January 14, 2026 at 10:27 AM
Reposted by Professor Adrian Blau
goodlawproject.org
A sobering thought: were Nigel Farage to become Prime Minister then the terrifying scenes from Minneapolis would become terrifying scenes here.
Farage, who had previously said mass deportations were a "political impossibility", said his party had now come up with "a credible plan, so that we can deport hundreds of thousands of people over the five years of a Reform government". During the news conference, Farage asked Reform UK chair Zia Yusuf whether it was realistic to deport 500,000-600,000 people within the lifetime of the first Parliament under a Reform UK government, to which he replied "totally, yeah".
January 13, 2026 at 5:05 PM