John Heathershaw
@jheathershaw.bsky.social
Professor @cais-exeter.bsky.social University of Exeter, UK. Author of "Security After Christendom" (2024) and "Indulging Kleptocracy" (2025). Academic freedom by/for/of academics.
Political science
73%
Sociology
20%
Pinned
It's out today! Many years in the making. Our @tenaprelec.bsky.social Tom Mayne @oxunipress.bsky.social book, Indulging Kleptocracy.
The UK’s indulgence of kleptocratic elites from Russia and Eurasia is an acute example of the phenomenon of professional enabling.
global.oup.com/academic/pro...
The UK’s indulgence of kleptocratic elites from Russia and Eurasia is an acute example of the phenomenon of professional enabling.
global.oup.com/academic/pro...
Model code of conduct: protection of academic freedom and the academic community in the context of the internationalisation of the UK HE sector
Published in The International Journal of Human Rights (Vol. 26, No. 10, 2022)
www.tandfonline.com
Instead of imagining that they can manage this market-wide problem out of existence, managers could commit to being more transparent & accountable to their own staff & students, thereby preventing disasters like what happened to Laura Murphy at Sheffield Hallam.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
China-critical UK academics describe ‘extremely heavy’ pressure from Beijing
Reliance on overseas students’ tuition fees under scrutiny as scholars describe chilling effect of being targeted
www.theguardian.com
Academic freedom is protected according to UUK when we are on “British soil”. What an extraordinarily anachronistic claim about internationalised universities that indicates that UUK has still not grasped the problem. Rules and regs of such kind are not enough. www.theguardian.com/education/20...
They will.
Their frames of reference are spreadsheets and log frames so they cannot see the unintended consequences of these so called “efficiencies”. It is a function of the increased size and centralisation of Russell group universities that they are imitating each other in their disastrous reforms.
Security after Christendom- Wipf and Stock Publishers
We live in the wealthiest and most heavily defended world in history, so why do we feel so insecure? In a secular world, what does Christian theology have to...
wipfandstock.com
My book Security after Christendom is 50% off through November 30. Yes, half price! Use code CONFSHIP at checkout. If you select Media Mail, shipping is free.
wipfandstock.com/978153261533...
wipfandstock.com/978153261533...
The Tehran-Washington Crypto Connection - Coda Story
There is a saying that the best way to make money during a gold rush is to sell picks and shovels. The worst way, presumably, would be to run a government taskforce drafting regulations for the retail...
www.codastory.com
So much for geopolitics.
“Iran sells oil for USDT; which creates demand for Tether; which buys US government debt. Cut out the middleman and essentially, thanks to the magic of the blockchain, the Iranian and US governments are in business with each other.”
www.codastory.com/oligarchy/th...
“Iran sells oil for USDT; which creates demand for Tether; which buys US government debt. Cut out the middleman and essentially, thanks to the magic of the blockchain, the Iranian and US governments are in business with each other.”
www.codastory.com/oligarchy/th...
global.oup.com
Well, if we mean kleptocracy as a transnational enterprise linking pol elites and prof enablers then we address the postimperial (Russia/UK) contexts of this in chapter 2 of the book. If we mean national corruption/patronage systems, there's long Pol/Econ tradition.
global.oup.com/academic/pro...
global.oup.com/academic/pro...
Reposted by John Heathershaw
New OA article @europe-asia.bsky.social: The Incumbency Advantage and the Enabler Effect: How Londongrad Beat the UK AML Regime
Drawing on £2bn of property data, we show that not a single incumbent kleptocrat (0/72!) lost their UK assets.
with @jheathershaw.bsky.social T. Mayne & S. Tokubayev
Drawing on £2bn of property data, we show that not a single incumbent kleptocrat (0/72!) lost their UK assets.
with @jheathershaw.bsky.social T. Mayne & S. Tokubayev
Model code of conduct: protection of academic freedom and the academic community in the context of the internationalisation of the UK HE sector
Published in The International Journal of Human Rights (Vol. 26, No. 10, 2022)
www.tandfonline.com
"The good faith of all actors in these relationships cannot be assumed, and therefore current protocols on internationalisation require revision. It is important for the UK HE Sector to openly acknowledge these challenges...." 2/2
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
China intimidated UK university to ditch human rights research, documents show
Sheffield Hallam University apologises to Professor Laura Murphy for restricting her academic freedom.
www.bbc.co.uk
heffield Hallam would have fared much better - and been better prepared for such risks - if they adopted the model code of conduct of the Academic Freedom and Internationalisation Working Group which we published several years ago. 1/2
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Totally. I had 20+ meetings with my first years last week where I emphasised that they can be confident in their own capacity as a writer and learn to be a good one via practice and more practice.
United States of Oligarchy 9781250430113 - Macmillan
A staggering examination of how America’s wealthiest infiltrated the government and allied with dictators, transforming the U.S. from democracy t...
read.macmillan.com
The irrepressible @cjcmichel.bsky.social has another book!
"A mix of 1984 and The Jungle, with a bit of The Great Gatsby tossed in for good measure".
As the Trump family and cronies instrumentalise political power for private gain, this will be on my Xmas list!
read.macmillan.com/lp/united-st...
"A mix of 1984 and The Jungle, with a bit of The Great Gatsby tossed in for good measure".
As the Trump family and cronies instrumentalise political power for private gain, this will be on my Xmas list!
read.macmillan.com/lp/united-st...
After showing openness to supplying Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles, Trump – following his phone call with Putin on Thursday – played down the chances of the weapons for Kyiv.
“We need Tomahawks for the United States of America too... “I mean we can’t deplete our country.”
on.ft.com/3J4jDqo
“We need Tomahawks for the United States of America too... “I mean we can’t deplete our country.”
on.ft.com/3J4jDqo
The Tomahawk missiles Trump is considering for Ukraine
[FREE TO READ] The US president has floated selling Kyiv a long-range weapon capable of striking Moscow
on.ft.com
Played by Putin again.
Reposted by John Heathershaw
The Tomahawk missiles Trump is considering for Ukraine
[FREE TO READ] The US president has floated selling Kyiv a long-range weapon capable of striking Moscow
on.ft.com
After showing openness to supplying Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles, Trump – following his phone call with Putin on Thursday – played down the chances of the weapons for Kyiv.
“We need Tomahawks for the United States of America too... “I mean we can’t deplete our country.”
on.ft.com/3J4jDqo
“We need Tomahawks for the United States of America too... “I mean we can’t deplete our country.”
on.ft.com/3J4jDqo
Our latest Westminster voting intention (12-13 Oct) has the Greens on their highest figure ever recorded by YouGov
Reform UK: 27% (no change from 5-6 Oct)
Labour: 20% (=)
Conservatives: 17% (=)
Lib Dems: 16% (-1)
Greens: 13% (+1)
SNP: 3% (-1)
yougov.co.uk/topics/polit...
Reform UK: 27% (no change from 5-6 Oct)
Labour: 20% (=)
Conservatives: 17% (=)
Lib Dems: 16% (-1)
Greens: 13% (+1)
SNP: 3% (-1)
yougov.co.uk/topics/polit...
Maybe Lab should worry less about the 27% Reform and more about the 29% of combined Green and Lib Dem. More broadly, this shows the same old divided country with slightly more on the Left than the Right.
Reposted by Will Jennings, John Heathershaw, Stuart White
YouGov
@yougov.co.uk
· 28d
Our latest Westminster voting intention (12-13 Oct) has the Greens on their highest figure ever recorded by YouGov
Reform UK: 27% (no change from 5-6 Oct)
Labour: 20% (=)
Conservatives: 17% (=)
Lib Dems: 16% (-1)
Greens: 13% (+1)
SNP: 3% (-1)
yougov.co.uk/topics/polit...
Reform UK: 27% (no change from 5-6 Oct)
Labour: 20% (=)
Conservatives: 17% (=)
Lib Dems: 16% (-1)
Greens: 13% (+1)
SNP: 3% (-1)
yougov.co.uk/topics/polit...
Did Qatari Money Drive Trump’s Push for Gaza Ceasefire?
Trump’s stance on Gaza shifted after Israel’s attack on Qatar — a close ally where he and his family have key business deals.
theintercept.com
The timing of the Gaza deal is not explained by Trump's genius or Netanyahu's domestic politics. There were doubtless many factors but we must note Kushner's extensive business interests.
Did Qatari Money Drive Trump’s Push for Gaza Ceasefire?
theintercept.com/2025/10/11/q...
Did Qatari Money Drive Trump’s Push for Gaza Ceasefire?
theintercept.com/2025/10/11/q...
“This is his moment..”. It’s almost as if all those people had to die in an armed conflict so one man gets the acclaim his ego desperately demands.
"People who attend church or identify with a Christian tradition are not systematically more (or less) nativist, authoritarian or populist than their secular counterparts. Conversely, people who hold nativist and authoritarian views are often also Islamophobes, and vice versa." 👏 @kai-arzheimer.com
Islamophobia in Western Europe is not driven by religiosity
Are Christians more likely to be Islamophobic than other citizens in Europe? New research finds European Islamophobia has no link to a person’s religiosity.
blogs.lse.ac.uk
This is helpful and identifies core political causes rather than "religious" ones. But I suspect that there may be some interesting variations by denomination and that certain theologies of "Christendom" feed into Christian nationalism.
Reposted by John Heathershaw, Vaughan S. Roberts
Tim Bale
@timbale.bsky.social
· Oct 10
Islamophobia in Western Europe is not driven by religiosity
Are Christians more likely to be Islamophobic than other citizens in Europe? New research finds European Islamophobia has no link to a person’s religiosity.
blogs.lse.ac.uk
"People who attend church or identify with a Christian tradition are not systematically more (or less) nativist, authoritarian or populist than their secular counterparts. Conversely, people who hold nativist and authoritarian views are often also Islamophobes, and vice versa." 👏 @kai-arzheimer.com
Making a Wasteland and Calling It Peace
Genuine and lasting peace prompts lament and repentance, forgiveness and justice. The Gaza ceasefire has elicited triumph and egoism, self-righteousness and impunity.
open.substack.com
I tried to write something less triumphalist about Gaza while recognising that this is an important step for the victims of the conflict. I also wanted to look at how "peace" is understood in the Hebrew Bible (Torah) compared to what's going on Gaza.
open.substack.com/pub/johnheat...
open.substack.com/pub/johnheat...
@cais-exeter.bsky.social "public" transport for one of our former students. Check out the Trump-esque marble and gold.
Gold Taps and Towel Racks: How a Plane Used by Turkmenistan’s Ruling Family Got a Royal Makeover
In authoritarian Turkmenistan, even a single airplane trip abroad is out of reach for most citizens. But the country’s ruling Berdimuhamedov family, which has held power across two generations, recent...
occrp.org
Fantastic reporting by @occrp.org
If you scroll down you can see the Boeing 737 which flew Kerimguly Berdimuhamedov into Exeter, apparently to study for his Politics degree.
occrp.org/en/scoop/gol... via
@occrp.org
If you scroll down you can see the Boeing 737 which flew Kerimguly Berdimuhamedov into Exeter, apparently to study for his Politics degree.
occrp.org/en/scoop/gol... via
@occrp.org
The Incumbency Advantage and the Enabler Effect: How Londongrad Beat the UK Anti-Money Laundering Regime
The emergence and survival of ‘Londongrad’, despite the UK anti-money laundering regime, is an intellectual and policy conundrum. We analyse an original dataset of £2 billion of domestic real estat...
www.tandfonline.com
In @europe-asia.bsky.social we (@tenaprelec.bsky.social et al) show how Londongrad beat the UK AML regime via the incumbency advantage (political elites being in power or favour at home) & enabler effect (networks of highly-skilled legal & financial professionals)
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
I wanted to share some of the sources and inspirations for my new @jodemocracy.bsky.social essay this week on transnational repression. Like with anything, there are citations but then there's also stuff that doesn't make it into the piece
www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/the...
www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/the...
The Golden Age of Transnational Repression | Journal of Democracy
Authoritarian regimes are targeting exiles and diaspora communities in more places than ever before. Activists, journalists, and regular people living abroad must watch their backs…
www.journalofdemocracy.org
Grim reading but powerful analysis. TR has gone global.