Mathias Hong
@hongmathias.bsky.social
Human Rights & Constitutional Law • Prof. of Public Law (Kehl) (private account; reposts ≤ endorsement) • 2005-2008: law clerk @BVerfG (Federal Constitutional Court of Germany) • https://verfassungsblog.de/author/mathias-hong/ • (Foto (c) U. Völkner)
Reposted by Mathias Hong
"From the River to the Sea" ist eine strafbare Hamas-Parole, hat nun erstmals ein Oberlandesgericht entschieden. Klarheit kann aber nur Karlsruhe schaffen, wo neben dem BGH nun auch das BVerfG ins Spiel kommt. @mkolter.bsky.social mit dem Stand der Dinge:
‘From the River to the Sea’: Erstes OLG bejaht Strafbarkeit
Ist der Palästina-Spruch eine strafbare Hamas-Parole? Zu der Streitfrage haben sich erstmals zwei OLG geäußert. Neben dem BGH kommt nun auch das BVerfG ins Spiel.
www.lto.de
February 10, 2026 at 2:54 PM
"From the River to the Sea" ist eine strafbare Hamas-Parole, hat nun erstmals ein Oberlandesgericht entschieden. Klarheit kann aber nur Karlsruhe schaffen, wo neben dem BGH nun auch das BVerfG ins Spiel kommt. @mkolter.bsky.social mit dem Stand der Dinge:
Reposted by Mathias Hong
Im DFG-Graduiertenkolleg „Collective Decision-Making“ an der Universität Hamburg sollen zum 01.11.2026 gleich 12 Promotionsstellen im Umfang von je 75% besetzt werden. Die Ausschreibung richtet sich vorrangig an Kandidat:innen aus der Ökonomie, der... https://www.theorieblog.de/?p=30451
February 10, 2026 at 7:30 AM
Im DFG-Graduiertenkolleg „Collective Decision-Making“ an der Universität Hamburg sollen zum 01.11.2026 gleich 12 Promotionsstellen im Umfang von je 75% besetzt werden. Die Ausschreibung richtet sich vorrangig an Kandidat:innen aus der Ökonomie, der... https://www.theorieblog.de/?p=30451
Reposted by Mathias Hong
Habeas cases filed by immigrants claiming their detention is illegal have taken off to levels we have never seen before. Just look at that chart.
www.propublica.org/article/habe...
www.propublica.org/article/habe...
February 10, 2026 at 12:15 PM
Habeas cases filed by immigrants claiming their detention is illegal have taken off to levels we have never seen before. Just look at that chart.
www.propublica.org/article/habe...
www.propublica.org/article/habe...
(As much as I agree that an "historically unsettled concept of epistemology" is needed: Are not justice, freedom and equality similar aspirations as truth?) 24/24
February 10, 2026 at 1:07 PM
(As much as I agree that an "historically unsettled concept of epistemology" is needed: Are not justice, freedom and equality similar aspirations as truth?) 24/24
"Exploring what Joel Modiri, among the first cohort of fellows at our newly founded Centre for Advanced Studies RefLex, during his stay with us in Berlin once aptly referred to as “the éros of research”, the sheer joy of scholarly curiosity, is a worthwhile undertaking in and of itself." 23/
February 10, 2026 at 1:07 PM
"Exploring what Joel Modiri, among the first cohort of fellows at our newly founded Centre for Advanced Studies RefLex, during his stay with us in Berlin once aptly referred to as “the éros of research”, the sheer joy of scholarly curiosity, is a worthwhile undertaking in and of itself." 23/
"If we succeed in continually reformulating our striving for knowledge in ways that mean something to people at particular times and in particular places, would that not be enough?" 22/
February 10, 2026 at 1:07 PM
"If we succeed in continually reformulating our striving for knowledge in ways that mean something to people at particular times and in particular places, would that not be enough?" 22/
"... Where does this lead us? Where does your thinking come from? What does it bring with it, and what does it exclude? Do we like that? Why? Does it allow us to see something anew, or more sharply?" 21/
February 10, 2026 at 1:07 PM
"... Where does this lead us? Where does your thinking come from? What does it bring with it, and what does it exclude? Do we like that? Why? Does it allow us to see something anew, or more sharply?" 21/
"We might “substitute Freedom for Truth as the goal of thinking,” to put it with Richard Rorty. Thus, in a Nietzschean manner, we can ask other questions of those who call themselves scholars: ..."
(Well, being highly sceptical about Rorty, I'm not quite convinced ...) 20/
(Well, being highly sceptical about Rorty, I'm not quite convinced ...) 20/
February 10, 2026 at 1:07 PM
"We might “substitute Freedom for Truth as the goal of thinking,” to put it with Richard Rorty. Thus, in a Nietzschean manner, we can ask other questions of those who call themselves scholars: ..."
(Well, being highly sceptical about Rorty, I'm not quite convinced ...) 20/
(Well, being highly sceptical about Rorty, I'm not quite convinced ...) 20/
"An epistemology thus conceived is less a path to self-assurance than to self-unsettlement. But this should make us optimistic. We no longer need to argue about whether this or that attempt to think about something counts as “scholarly” in the strict sense." 19/
February 10, 2026 at 1:07 PM
"An epistemology thus conceived is less a path to self-assurance than to self-unsettlement. But this should make us optimistic. We no longer need to argue about whether this or that attempt to think about something counts as “scholarly” in the strict sense." 19/
"... nor one that sets standards for their construction or demolition. Rather, it explores the conditions of thought as comprehensively as possible and works out how particular people, at particular times, thought about particular questions. Even the “why” must be handled with care." 18/
February 10, 2026 at 1:07 PM
"... nor one that sets standards for their construction or demolition. Rather, it explores the conditions of thought as comprehensively as possible and works out how particular people, at particular times, thought about particular questions. Even the “why” must be handled with care." 18/
"Apparently, epistemic systems encode blindnesses that prevent even brilliant thinkers from seeing certain forms of harm."
"This leads to a different kind of epistemology – one that asks not about the correctness of grand theoretical edifices in the narrow sense..." 17/
"This leads to a different kind of epistemology – one that asks not about the correctness of grand theoretical edifices in the narrow sense..." 17/
February 10, 2026 at 1:07 PM
"Apparently, epistemic systems encode blindnesses that prevent even brilliant thinkers from seeing certain forms of harm."
"This leads to a different kind of epistemology – one that asks not about the correctness of grand theoretical edifices in the narrow sense..." 17/
"This leads to a different kind of epistemology – one that asks not about the correctness of grand theoretical edifices in the narrow sense..." 17/
"One can presumably condemn slavery, racism, antisemitism, the demand to extend sexual maturity to children, and femicide – yet still read all of the authors mentioned. Intellectual history may then ask how biographical facts and patterns of thought relate to one another ..." 16/
February 10, 2026 at 1:07 PM
"One can presumably condemn slavery, racism, antisemitism, the demand to extend sexual maturity to children, and femicide – yet still read all of the authors mentioned. Intellectual history may then ask how biographical facts and patterns of thought relate to one another ..." 16/
"A number of French intellectuals, including Foucault, Deleuze, Derrida (all personal heroes of mine), de Beauvoir, and Sartre, signed a 1977 petition to Parliament calling for the abolition of laws on sexual majority, particularly age-of-consent protections." 15/
February 10, 2026 at 1:07 PM
"A number of French intellectuals, including Foucault, Deleuze, Derrida (all personal heroes of mine), de Beauvoir, and Sartre, signed a 1977 petition to Parliament calling for the abolition of laws on sexual majority, particularly age-of-consent protections." 15/
"Hannah Arendt disparaged non-Ashkenazi Jews as oriental and inferior, repeatedly referred to Black Africans as “savages”, and criticised the civil rights movement as excessive and prone to violence." 14/
February 10, 2026 at 1:07 PM
"Hannah Arendt disparaged non-Ashkenazi Jews as oriental and inferior, repeatedly referred to Black Africans as “savages”, and criticised the civil rights movement as excessive and prone to violence." 14/
"John Locke owned shares in the slave-trading Royal Africa Company and helped draft the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina, which granted every American slaveholder in the province of Carolina “absolute power and authority over his negro slaves”." 13/
February 10, 2026 at 1:07 PM
"John Locke owned shares in the slave-trading Royal Africa Company and helped draft the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina, which granted every American slaveholder in the province of Carolina “absolute power and authority over his negro slaves”." 13/
The faves are flawed: "The scholars of the Western canon sometimes erred not only in matters of scholarship itself but also in morals – at times closely connected to their intellectual work." 12/
February 10, 2026 at 1:07 PM
The faves are flawed: "The scholars of the Western canon sometimes erred not only in matters of scholarship itself but also in morals – at times closely connected to their intellectual work." 12/
The "“decidedly artificial” character of legal enclosures should not be concealed but, on the contrary, displayed, continually demonstrating that in the world of law everything could remain as it is – or be entirely different". 11/
February 10, 2026 at 1:07 PM
The "“decidedly artificial” character of legal enclosures should not be concealed but, on the contrary, displayed, continually demonstrating that in the world of law everything could remain as it is – or be entirely different". 11/
"Jurisprudence occupies an ambivalent position here. On the one hand, law is the instrument through which freedom and equality can be realised. On the other hand, it justifies and stabilises an often manifestly unjust status quo."
(Is the justice in this sentence not aspiring universality?)
10/
(Is the justice in this sentence not aspiring universality?)
10/
February 10, 2026 at 1:07 PM
"Jurisprudence occupies an ambivalent position here. On the one hand, law is the instrument through which freedom and equality can be realised. On the other hand, it justifies and stabilises an often manifestly unjust status quo."
(Is the justice in this sentence not aspiring universality?)
10/
(Is the justice in this sentence not aspiring universality?)
10/
This "means that we – reflexively – should sharpen our senses for ruptures, resistances, and fragmentations that ultimately unsettle our very own position". "The price to be paid for such epistemological pluralisation is polyphony and discontinuity." 9/
February 10, 2026 at 1:07 PM
This "means that we – reflexively – should sharpen our senses for ruptures, resistances, and fragmentations that ultimately unsettle our very own position". "The price to be paid for such epistemological pluralisation is polyphony and discontinuity." 9/
"Theory is ... not merely speaking about or thinking of something; it intervenes in the event of being itself. A theoretical relation to the world is always a transformed – and transforming – relation to the world." 8/
February 10, 2026 at 1:07 PM
"Theory is ... not merely speaking about or thinking of something; it intervenes in the event of being itself. A theoretical relation to the world is always a transformed – and transforming – relation to the world." 8/
"The value of a theory cannot lie in its correspondence with a rigid external standard (for example, “truth”), but only in its always provisional, culture- and time-specific fit with human needs." 7/
February 10, 2026 at 1:07 PM
"The value of a theory cannot lie in its correspondence with a rigid external standard (for example, “truth”), but only in its always provisional, culture- and time-specific fit with human needs." 7/
"By contrast, Graeber and Wengrow show that" the epistemic practices "of early human history ... were at times comparable in complexity to those of the present."
They advocate an "anti-teleological and anti-evolutionist view of history" that "“restores our ancestors to their full humanity.”" 6/
They advocate an "anti-teleological and anti-evolutionist view of history" that "“restores our ancestors to their full humanity.”" 6/
February 10, 2026 at 1:07 PM
"By contrast, Graeber and Wengrow show that" the epistemic practices "of early human history ... were at times comparable in complexity to those of the present."
They advocate an "anti-teleological and anti-evolutionist view of history" that "“restores our ancestors to their full humanity.”" 6/
They advocate an "anti-teleological and anti-evolutionist view of history" that "“restores our ancestors to their full humanity.”" 6/
Whig history: "Anglo-American discourse has a term for this view against which Graeber and Wengrow write: Whig history. It denotes, essentially, a Eurocentric perspective on history that takes the present, with all its achievements, as its telos." 5/
February 10, 2026 at 1:07 PM
Whig history: "Anglo-American discourse has a term for this view against which Graeber and Wengrow write: Whig history. It denotes, essentially, a Eurocentric perspective on history that takes the present, with all its achievements, as its telos." 5/
"In their global anthropological study of human societies in the distant past, David Graeber and David Wengrow demonstrate that a teleology according to which humanity progressively refines its social, epistemic, and cultural concepts and practices is historically untenable." 4/
February 10, 2026 at 1:07 PM
"In their global anthropological study of human societies in the distant past, David Graeber and David Wengrow demonstrate that a teleology according to which humanity progressively refines its social, epistemic, and cultural concepts and practices is historically untenable." 4/
And Keynes? According to Robert Barro “[t]here is no meaningful theoretical or empirical support for the Keynesian position”.
"Was Newton simply mistaken in his alchemical writings – was he merely dabbling? Are economists correct about Keynes half of the time and mistaken the other half?" 3/
"Was Newton simply mistaken in his alchemical writings – was he merely dabbling? Are economists correct about Keynes half of the time and mistaken the other half?" 3/
February 10, 2026 at 1:07 PM
And Keynes? According to Robert Barro “[t]here is no meaningful theoretical or empirical support for the Keynesian position”.
"Was Newton simply mistaken in his alchemical writings – was he merely dabbling? Are economists correct about Keynes half of the time and mistaken the other half?" 3/
"Was Newton simply mistaken in his alchemical writings – was he merely dabbling? Are economists correct about Keynes half of the time and mistaken the other half?" 3/