Dan Nexon
@dhnexon.bsky.social
Professor in the Department of Government and the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.
Power Politics | Empires | International Order
dhnexon.net | https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com | duckofminerva.com
Power Politics | Empires | International Order
dhnexon.net | https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com | duckofminerva.com
Pinned
Dan Nexon
@dhnexon.bsky.social
· Oct 4
It has been suggested that i pin this piece, but I never actually posted it myself. So 👇
Reposted by Dan Nexon
When I first started developing this line of thinking, it still seemed to be a bit obscure and speculative.
Now that I'm developing it into a long-form project, it has become blindingly obvious.
Now that I'm developing it into a long-form project, it has become blindingly obvious.
Another (perhaps final) thought about the Thiel-Vance-Musk school of civilizational thinking: It may start with an impulse to reinforce barriers and expel out groups, but it ends in imperial expansion of barriers and subordination of out groups to subservient/slave status.
1/
1/
Because they are obsessed with their freshman dorm room version of civilizational thinking, they see these things as existential and infused with social Darwinism, a dangerous combination that leads to Great Replacement anxieties and natalist eugenics.
5/
5/
January 6, 2026 at 2:10 PM
When I first started developing this line of thinking, it still seemed to be a bit obscure and speculative.
Now that I'm developing it into a long-form project, it has become blindingly obvious.
Now that I'm developing it into a long-form project, it has become blindingly obvious.
Congress, the civil services, and the military services took an oath to defend the Constitution, not to stand idly by while the President and SCOTUS shred it.
That they do nothing means that our institutions, in their current form, are irretrievably broken.
That they do nothing means that our institutions, in their current form, are irretrievably broken.
January 6, 2026 at 9:19 AM
Congress, the civil services, and the military services took an oath to defend the Constitution, not to stand idly by while the President and SCOTUS shred it.
That they do nothing means that our institutions, in their current form, are irretrievably broken.
That they do nothing means that our institutions, in their current form, are irretrievably broken.
Reposted by Dan Nexon
I hate this stupid timeline so much
also "so force is on the table?" what kind of a question is that. I realize miller is just saying stuff but at least try to engage with how incorrect and bad it is
also "so force is on the table?" what kind of a question is that. I realize miller is just saying stuff but at least try to engage with how incorrect and bad it is
TAPPER: Can you rule out the US is going to take Greenland by force?
MILLER: Greenland should be part of the US. By what right does Denmark assert control over Greenland? The US is the power of NATO
T: So force is on the table?
M: Nobody is gonna fight the US militarily over future of Greenland
MILLER: Greenland should be part of the US. By what right does Denmark assert control over Greenland? The US is the power of NATO
T: So force is on the table?
M: Nobody is gonna fight the US militarily over future of Greenland
January 6, 2026 at 9:03 AM
I hate this stupid timeline so much
also "so force is on the table?" what kind of a question is that. I realize miller is just saying stuff but at least try to engage with how incorrect and bad it is
also "so force is on the table?" what kind of a question is that. I realize miller is just saying stuff but at least try to engage with how incorrect and bad it is
Reposted by Dan Nexon
The Trump Administration Approved a Big Lithium Mine. A Top Official’s Husband Profited.
Karen Budd-Falen, the No. 3 at the Interior Department, didn’t disclose a $3.5 million water-rights contract between her husband and the developers of a Nevada mine, records show
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/c...
Karen Budd-Falen, the No. 3 at the Interior Department, didn’t disclose a $3.5 million water-rights contract between her husband and the developers of a Nevada mine, records show
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/c...
The Trump Administration Approved a Big Lithium Mine. A Top Official’s Husband Profited.
www.nytimes.com
January 6, 2026 at 9:06 AM
The Trump Administration Approved a Big Lithium Mine. A Top Official’s Husband Profited.
Karen Budd-Falen, the No. 3 at the Interior Department, didn’t disclose a $3.5 million water-rights contract between her husband and the developers of a Nevada mine, records show
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/c...
Karen Budd-Falen, the No. 3 at the Interior Department, didn’t disclose a $3.5 million water-rights contract between her husband and the developers of a Nevada mine, records show
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/c...
Reposted by Dan Nexon
Yet another huge contract, awarded without any competitive bidding process, to Wes Streeting's favourite NHS supplier, the Hard Right US surveillance tech specialists Palantir, for military decision making capability.
Palantir lands biggest ever UK defense deal
The £240 million contract with the Ministry of Defence has renewed a debate about Britain’s dependence on American technology.
www.politico.eu
January 6, 2026 at 7:16 AM
Yet another huge contract, awarded without any competitive bidding process, to Wes Streeting's favourite NHS supplier, the Hard Right US surveillance tech specialists Palantir, for military decision making capability.
Reposted by Dan Nexon
Can state-building disrupt rather than stabilize society? Thrilled to have a new article in @apsrjournal.bsky.social w/ @mikealbertus.bsky.social showing that the expansion of state communication networks spurred rebellion for decades in France before the Revolution.
👉 doi.org/10.1017/S000...
🧵1/7
👉 doi.org/10.1017/S000...
🧵1/7
January 6, 2026 at 8:38 AM
Can state-building disrupt rather than stabilize society? Thrilled to have a new article in @apsrjournal.bsky.social w/ @mikealbertus.bsky.social showing that the expansion of state communication networks spurred rebellion for decades in France before the Revolution.
👉 doi.org/10.1017/S000...
🧵1/7
👉 doi.org/10.1017/S000...
🧵1/7
Reposted by Dan Nexon
January 6, 2026 at 6:03 AM
Reposted by Dan Nexon
I have a hunch that if you or I were running a website doing this the "urgent contact" would involve door rams and handcuffs so I struggle to see why it can't be slightly more pugnacious than this.
Ofcom, which enforces the UK's Online Safety Act, says it is aware of "serious concerns" about Grok undressing people including children on X
“We have made urgent contact with X and xAI to understand what steps they have taken to comply with their legal duties to protect users in the UK," it says
“We have made urgent contact with X and xAI to understand what steps they have taken to comply with their legal duties to protect users in the UK," it says
January 5, 2026 at 2:57 PM
I have a hunch that if you or I were running a website doing this the "urgent contact" would involve door rams and handcuffs so I struggle to see why it can't be slightly more pugnacious than this.
Reposted by Dan Nexon
The thing I don't get is that the politics of banning X or Grok should be quite favourable. If there is one thing lots of the public really hate, it is noncery, so saying "we are banning the Nonce Porn machine" and then attacking e.g. Farage as pro-nonce when he criticises it should land quite well.
Just saw this in LinkedIn for anyone interested in looking into Grok's production of CSAM and non-consensual sexualised imagery.
www.linkedin.com/posts/mtechl...
www.linkedin.com/posts/mtechl...
January 6, 2026 at 8:19 AM
The thing I don't get is that the politics of banning X or Grok should be quite favourable. If there is one thing lots of the public really hate, it is noncery, so saying "we are banning the Nonce Porn machine" and then attacking e.g. Farage as pro-nonce when he criticises it should land quite well.
Reposted by Dan Nexon
This is just so embarrassing for everyone involved.
Hannity: Did you at any point offered to give him the Nobel peace prize?
Machado: It hasn’t happened yet. We want to give it to him. Share it with him.
Machado: It hasn’t happened yet. We want to give it to him. Share it with him.
January 6, 2026 at 8:36 AM
This is just so embarrassing for everyone involved.
So yeah if you want more evidence that Trump’s followers are happy to get fleeced, so long as they can derive vicarious status through his displays of social dominance…
January 6, 2026 at 8:37 AM
So yeah if you want more evidence that Trump’s followers are happy to get fleeced, so long as they can derive vicarious status through his displays of social dominance…
Reposted by Dan Nexon
And a reminder that they actually killed hundreds of thousands of people by illegally dismantling USAID.
Same day they are trying to kill kids by removing vaccine recommendations, a reminder that they also wanted to kill people by destroying medical and scientific research
Federal Appeals judge affirms prohibition of arbitrary cuts of research infrastructure rates (i.e., the IDC rate slash announcement of early Feb. 2025).
As the ruling explains, NIH's X/Twitter statements contributed to the federal government's loss in court (!!)
🧵
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/05/u...
As the ruling explains, NIH's X/Twitter statements contributed to the federal government's loss in court (!!)
🧵
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/05/u...
January 6, 2026 at 3:39 AM
And a reminder that they actually killed hundreds of thousands of people by illegally dismantling USAID.
I would love some recommendations for “state of the art” archeology articles on prehistoric and ancient state formation. Last time I just pulled random recent pieces, which was interesting but not ideal.
January 6, 2026 at 1:32 AM
I would love some recommendations for “state of the art” archeology articles on prehistoric and ancient state formation. Last time I just pulled random recent pieces, which was interesting but not ideal.
Reposted by Dan Nexon
Reports of gunfire in Caracas, Venezuela.
January 6, 2026 at 12:47 AM
Reports of gunfire in Caracas, Venezuela.
Reposted by Dan Nexon
It’s genuinely wild that the United States spent decades building an elaborate rules-based international order which de facto cemented its permanent status as the dominant global hegemon, sustained by ideology rather than might, and now is just blowing it all up for literally no reason
January 6, 2026 at 12:35 AM
It’s genuinely wild that the United States spent decades building an elaborate rules-based international order which de facto cemented its permanent status as the dominant global hegemon, sustained by ideology rather than might, and now is just blowing it all up for literally no reason
Reposted by Dan Nexon
If the DEA had killed 80 innocent Americans in the course of apprehending one drug dealer, there would be riots. But we are so ghoulishly indifferent to the lives and humanity of people abroad that it's barely even part of the conversation.
A reminder that the US killed 80 people in Venezuela, and it would be nice if the US media cared enough to think that the life of a grandmother in Caracas whose building is destroyed by a US bomb matters as much as the life of a person in the US.
January 5, 2026 at 8:57 PM
If the DEA had killed 80 innocent Americans in the course of apprehending one drug dealer, there would be riots. But we are so ghoulishly indifferent to the lives and humanity of people abroad that it's barely even part of the conversation.
Reposted by Dan Nexon
I feel a great disturbance in the force, as if millions of political scientists cried out in bafflement and then suddenly fell into silent sobbing.
Stephen Miller: "What the president said is true. The United States of America is running Venezuela ... by definition we are in charge because we have the US military stationed outside the country. We set the terms and conditions ... for them to do commerce, they need our permission."
January 6, 2026 at 12:04 AM
I feel a great disturbance in the force, as if millions of political scientists cried out in bafflement and then suddenly fell into silent sobbing.
I’m sorry. I can’t let this Miller bullshit pass.
After WWII “the West,” sometimes relatively quickly, sometimes not until the ‘70s, realized that the writing was on the wall: that they could spend vast sums in blood and treasure trying to defeat anti-colonial movements, and still lose.
After WWII “the West,” sometimes relatively quickly, sometimes not until the ‘70s, realized that the writing was on the wall: that they could spend vast sums in blood and treasure trying to defeat anti-colonial movements, and still lose.
Eyes wide open, folks. They're revealing the supervillain plot.
January 5, 2026 at 7:16 PM
I’m sorry. I can’t let this Miller bullshit pass.
After WWII “the West,” sometimes relatively quickly, sometimes not until the ‘70s, realized that the writing was on the wall: that they could spend vast sums in blood and treasure trying to defeat anti-colonial movements, and still lose.
After WWII “the West,” sometimes relatively quickly, sometimes not until the ‘70s, realized that the writing was on the wall: that they could spend vast sums in blood and treasure trying to defeat anti-colonial movements, and still lose.
Reposted by Dan Nexon
One thing that's becoming clear is that Rubio et al don't actually understand what imperialism entails. Like they could have turned USAID into the Colonial Office, but...
Honestly not sure if this is a good or a bad thing.
Honestly not sure if this is a good or a bad thing.
January 5, 2026 at 7:02 PM
One thing that's becoming clear is that Rubio et al don't actually understand what imperialism entails. Like they could have turned USAID into the Colonial Office, but...
Honestly not sure if this is a good or a bad thing.
Honestly not sure if this is a good or a bad thing.
Reposted by Dan Nexon
BREAKING: Federal health officials on Monday announced dramatic revisions to the slate of vaccines recommended for American children, reducing the number of diseases prevented by routine shots to 11 from 17.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/05/h...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/05/h...
Kennedy Scales Back the Number of Vaccines Recommended for Children
www.nytimes.com
January 5, 2026 at 7:01 PM
BREAKING: Federal health officials on Monday announced dramatic revisions to the slate of vaccines recommended for American children, reducing the number of diseases prevented by routine shots to 11 from 17.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/05/h...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/05/h...
Reposted by Dan Nexon
A reminder that this WH is staffed by people who very sincerely believe that liberal govts in Europe have caused a realtime civilizational collapse on the continent and existential crisis for the US that justifies overt interference in their affairs
January 3, 2026 at 4:27 PM
A reminder that this WH is staffed by people who very sincerely believe that liberal govts in Europe have caused a realtime civilizational collapse on the continent and existential crisis for the US that justifies overt interference in their affairs
Reposted by Dan Nexon
Fucking Christ.
January 5, 2026 at 6:46 PM
Fucking Christ.
Schumer Derangement Syndrome is an actual thing on BlueSky, and it’s gonna eventually lead to anti-anti-Schumerism.
So can we all agree to take a deep breath? Agree that Schumer should spend a lot less time on TV — and step down after the 2026 elections — and stop the cycle before it’s too late?
So can we all agree to take a deep breath? Agree that Schumer should spend a lot less time on TV — and step down after the 2026 elections — and stop the cycle before it’s too late?
if you want the Senate to do something, Senate Republicans must do something.
People are dunking on this but I'm not really sure what plays Schumer has other than to try to peel off Rs.
People are dunking on this but I'm not really sure what plays Schumer has other than to try to peel off Rs.
Schumer: "Republicans must -- if there was ever a time, they must step up to the plate. This is the time. And if they don't, they're gonna feel the heat from their constituents."
January 5, 2026 at 6:46 PM
Schumer Derangement Syndrome is an actual thing on BlueSky, and it’s gonna eventually lead to anti-anti-Schumerism.
So can we all agree to take a deep breath? Agree that Schumer should spend a lot less time on TV — and step down after the 2026 elections — and stop the cycle before it’s too late?
So can we all agree to take a deep breath? Agree that Schumer should spend a lot less time on TV — and step down after the 2026 elections — and stop the cycle before it’s too late?
Reposted by Dan Nexon
In competitive authoritarian regimes, the government deters and undermines opposition by using its powers to inflict costs on those who challenge it rather than recognizing their legitimacy as democratic opponents
The Pentagon will cut the military retirement pay of Sen. Mark Kelly for what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the Arizona Democrat’s “seditious” statements on a video telling service members they have the right to refuse to execute illegal orders.
Read more: cnb.cx/495FHLo
Read more: cnb.cx/495FHLo
January 5, 2026 at 5:02 PM
In competitive authoritarian regimes, the government deters and undermines opposition by using its powers to inflict costs on those who challenge it rather than recognizing their legitimacy as democratic opponents
Reposted by Dan Nexon
yep. i can identify any number of structural issues but at the end of the day the basic problem is the republican party. this has been apparent for at least 20 years. it is also an incredibly unpopular observation to make among “serious” people.
Right.
If you want a good explanation of why the American system of government worked well enough for 200 years and then suddenly stopped, it's because Republicans in Congress suddenly started letting their partisan interests COMPLETELY override their institutional interests
If you want a good explanation of why the American system of government worked well enough for 200 years and then suddenly stopped, it's because Republicans in Congress suddenly started letting their partisan interests COMPLETELY override their institutional interests
a lot of problems wouldn't exist if we had a congress with even an ounce of self interest
January 4, 2026 at 11:52 PM
yep. i can identify any number of structural issues but at the end of the day the basic problem is the republican party. this has been apparent for at least 20 years. it is also an incredibly unpopular observation to make among “serious” people.