Erica De Bruin
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edebruin.bsky.social
Erica De Bruin
@edebruin.bsky.social
7.1K followers 1K following 91 posts
Associate Professor, Hamilton College. Studying civil-military relations, civil war, policing. Author of HOW TO PREVENT COUPS (Cornell UP). www.ericadebruin.com.
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edebruin.bsky.social
Very cool to have the piece I wrote picked up by TPM! Hope people find it useful
January 29, 2026 at 9:22 PM
Reposted by Erica De Bruin
joshtpm.bsky.social
ICE Not Only Looks and Acts Like a Paramilitary Force—It Is One, and That Makes It Harder To Curb talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/ice-is-...
ICE Not Only Looks and Acts Like a Paramilitary Force—It Is One, and That Makes It Harder To Curb
This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and...
talkingpointsmemo.com
January 28, 2026 at 11:40 PM
Reposted by Erica De Bruin
mollyjongfast.bsky.social
Personally I think this is too much money to give to Donald trumps poorly trained but heavily armed Militia
January 28, 2026 at 11:12 PM
edebruin.bsky.social
New explainer from me, on understanding ICE as a paramilitary force, in more than one sense of the term 👇
theconversation.com/ice-not-only...
ICE not only looks and acts like a paramilitary force – it is one, and that makes it harder to curb
ICE, created in response to 9/11, meets most definitions of paramilitary forces. Critics worry it’s gone beyond its writ of immigration enforcement.
theconversation.com
January 28, 2026 at 11:16 PM
edebruin.bsky.social
Going straight onto my Intro IR syllabus 👍
January 20, 2026 at 2:38 PM
Reposted by Erica De Bruin
iojournal.bsky.social
Now on #FirstView, Calvert Jones explores whether reforms undertaken by authoritarian governments improve foreign publics' perceptions of their legitimacy.

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Authoritarian Reforms and External Legitimacy | International Organization | Cambridge Core
Authoritarian Reforms and External Legitimacy
www.cambridge.org
January 14, 2026 at 4:19 PM
Reposted by Erica De Bruin
hsulli.bsky.social
The admin is proposing indefinite control of Venezuelan oil, but evidence suggests that Venezuelan cooperation will only extend as far as it‘s coerced - and can’t extend past what the crumbing infrastructure can generate. Meanwhile ordinary Venezuelans continue to suffer.
@goodauth.bsky.social
January 8, 2026 at 3:17 PM
Reposted by Erica De Bruin
profsaunders.bsky.social
🧵Day 3 and we have a new meaning for "running Venezuela," courtesy of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the nation's top diplomat, who is in charge of Venezuela as well as the National Archives. We're going to insist they do what's in the US national interest. Time for some principal-agent theory. 1/
From State Dept transcript of Rubio appearance on This Week w/ George Stephanopolous: SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, we’re not going to judge moving forward based simply on what’s said in press conferences. We want to see action here at the end of the day. Rhetoric is one thing. You see rhetoric for a lot of different reasons. There’s a lot of different reasons why people go on TV and say certain things in these countries, especially 15 hours or 12 hours after the person who used to be in charge of the regime is now in handcuffs and on his way to New York. So what I will say is, moving forward, it’s very simple. We’re not going to be reactive here to statements at press conferences or what people say in a certain interview or what some media post – some media post somewhere. What we are going to react to is very simple: What do you do? Not what you’re saying in public – what happens? What happens next? Do the drugs stop coming? Are the changes made? Is Iran expelled? Is Hizballah no longer able and Iran no longer able to operate against our interests from Venezuela? Does the migration pattern stop? Do the drug trafficking boats end? Do you deal with the ELN and the FARC, two narcoterrorist organizations who control territory and operate with impunity from the territory of Venezuela against the interests of Colombia and the United States? These are the things we want addressed. If they are addressed, that’s how we’ll judge it. If they’re not addressed, that’s how we’ll judge it. QUESTION: And what happens if they’re not addressed?
January 5, 2026 at 1:50 PM
Reposted by Erica De Bruin
stschrader1.bsky.social
Hey folks, you can preorder my new book Blue Power: How Police Organized to Protect and Serve Themselves at a 25% discount right now from @basicbooksgroup.bsky.social: www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/stuar... (and it's also discounted at bookshop.org, if you prefer that!). Published in April!
Blue Power cover, with blue and red letters for title, and phalanx of police with backs turned to viewer, walking away
January 4, 2026 at 2:58 PM
edebruin.bsky.social
A joyous protest in Utica today! My kid repurposed his Halloween costume 🐓
October 18, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Reposted by Erica De Bruin
jeetheer.bsky.social
This is the biggest attack on free speech since the McCarthy era but it also has significantly less popular consensus behind it than the second Red Scare. It's being done on behalf of a minority faction led by the most unpopular president in modern history. Organizing against this can win.
September 18, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Reposted by Erica De Bruin
naazneenbarma.bsky.social
📣 We are searching for a tenure-line assistant or associate professor with a focus on the intersection of technology and global and public affairs @josefkorbelschool.bsky.social — please share across your networks.
#polisky #psjobs #poliscijobs Apply by September 15.
jobs.du.edu/en-us/job/49...
Details - Assistant or Associate Professor, Global and Public Affairs - Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs | University of Denver
jobs.du.edu
August 27, 2025 at 11:51 PM
edebruin.bsky.social
We are hiring in American Politics at Hamilton College this year! We're seeking a scholar of political institutions, broadly understood. Hamilton's been a wonderful place to work, & I'm happy to answer any questions about the position, department, life in upstate NY, etc. apply.interfolio.com/171832
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
August 27, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Reposted by Erica De Bruin
salahbhpolisci.bsky.social
Sharing my latest w/ the Conversation @africa.theconversation.com theconversation.com/coups-in-wes...
Coups in west Africa have five things in common: knowing what they are is key to defending democracy
Five years since the Mali coup of 2020, the key lesson is that the international community must move beyond the view of coups as isolated events.
theconversation.com
July 6, 2025 at 6:30 PM
edebruin.bsky.social
I’m currently building a dataset on police forces around the globe. No other country has a force quite like ICE (w/ broad enforcement powers, tactical gear, immigration focus); the most apt comparisons are to secret police in authoritarian regimes rather than border/immigration forces elsewhere.
chenoweth.bsky.social Erica Chenoweth @chenoweth.bsky.social · Jun 25
@adamprz.bsky.social on ICE's authorities & operating procedures: "The comparativist in me wants to think about other police forces in history which had such broad and ill-defined powers. But such comparisons are too frightening."
WEEK 19
WEEK 19
adamprzeworski.substack.com
June 25, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Reposted by Erica De Bruin
profjessblankshain.bsky.social
Thoughtful piece from @zackbeauchamp.bsky.social , who I believe is the only journalist I have spoken to (in my personal capacity as always) who had read my primer on US civ-mil www.vox.com/politics/416...
Trump’s military parade is a warning
Trump has caused a crisis in civil-military relations — one that could eventually threaten democracy’s foundations.
www.vox.com
June 14, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Reposted by Erica De Bruin
noamross.net
🚨Report your NSF grant terminations! 🚨

We are starting to collect information on NSF grant terminations to create a shared resource as we have for NIH. The more information we collect, the more we can organize, advocate, and fight back! Please share widely!

airtable.com/appGKlSVeXni...
NSF Grant Termination Information Collection Form Please use this form to submit information identifying specific NSF grants that have been cancelled for any reason after January 20, 2025. We are tracking these grants to increase transparency, organize affected PIs, and facilitate responses, including via litigation. Please share the form as widely as possible with your networks. We are actively building a pipeline to organize these terminations and will soon have a tracker akin to our NIH grant tracker at https://airtable.com/appjhyo9NTvJLocRy/shrNto1NNp9eJlgpA WE WILL NOT DISCLOSE THE IDENTITY OF ANYONE WHO USES THIS FORM TO PROVIDE INFORMATION. We will keep your identity confidential. These resources are maintained by Noam Ross of rOpenSci and Scott Delaney of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, with input and support from additional volunteers. For any questions, please contact Scott Delaney on Signal (sdelaney.84). THANK YOU FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE!
April 19, 2025 at 12:11 AM
edebruin.bsky.social
I served on NSF review panels for 2 years, with incredible, dedicated colleagues who put immense effort into ensuring a rigorous review process. To see these grants terminated, and this careful work thrown out, is devastating. What a waste of time and talent. I am so sorry to everyone affected.
April 25, 2025 at 11:30 PM
edebruin.bsky.social
Oof, in a day filled with bad news on the NSF front, this one is particularly hard to take. Journeys has done so much to support and mentor women in international relations. Our whole field is worse off without financial support for it.
jlpweeks.bsky.social Jessica Weeks @jlpweeks.bsky.social · Apr 25
It's hard to find the words. NSF just terminated the grant for Journeys, a mentoring workshop that tried to tackle underrepresentation of women in international relations. Future scholarship will be the worse for it. But this photo from our last gathering will motivate me to keep fighting.
April 25, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Reposted by Erica De Bruin
nycsouthpaw.bsky.social
The Fourth Circuit is famously succinct. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
The United States Government has no legal authority to snatch a person who is lawfully present in the United States off the street and remove him from the country without due process. The Government's contention otherwise, and its argument that the federal courts are powerless to intervene, are unconscionable.
April 7, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Reposted by Erica De Bruin
samrosenfeld.bsky.social
Elite civil society actors--universities, law firms, corporations--should take a look at the economic free-fall Trump has just caused and consider: is this someone who seems poised to consolidate further popular support? Is his power on the upswing, necessitating preemptive surrender?
April 7, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Reposted by Erica De Bruin
chenoweth.bsky.social
Join @stevelevitsky.bsky.social & me on April 3 at 4pm ET. We’ll catch up on the current state of backsliding and resistance in the US. Register below.
Backsliding and Resistance in the United States – Ash Center
In this webinar, Professors Erica Chenoweth and Steven Levitsky will discuss what can be learned from mobilization and opposition to autocracy in the United States based on historical examples, and wi...
ash.harvard.edu
March 26, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Reposted by Erica De Bruin
sjjphd.bsky.social
They are coming for every university, if you think you’re safe because it hasn’t been yours yet I don’t know what to tell you. Join AAUP, refuse to comply, organize your colleagues
Trump administration freezes $175 million in federal funding to Penn
According to a White House tweet, Wednesday's decision is a result of Penn's
www.thedp.com
March 19, 2025 at 2:36 PM