Luca Trenta
@lucatrenta.bsky.social
Associate Professor in IR at @swanseauni_ppir
Work on assassination, covert action, US foreign policy, secrecy. Host of the Out of the Shadows Project Podcast. Follow The Brush Contact Substack for more.
Work on assassination, covert action, US foreign policy, secrecy. Host of the Out of the Shadows Project Podcast. Follow The Brush Contact Substack for more.
A reminder that the @socintelhist.bsky.social roundtable with @tim-weiner.bsky.social on his latest book The Mission is happening next week. Myself, @dianabolsinger.bsky.social, and @chekistmonitor.bsky.social will discuss the book. Register here: swanseauniversity.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
November 11, 2025 at 7:28 AM
A reminder that the @socintelhist.bsky.social roundtable with @tim-weiner.bsky.social on his latest book The Mission is happening next week. Myself, @dianabolsinger.bsky.social, and @chekistmonitor.bsky.social will discuss the book. Register here: swanseauniversity.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Some time ago, I told @npr.org that the strikes on the boats were a dangerous precedent because the president could simply nominate a group he didn’t like as terrorist. Here we are.
"[T]his is not just a secret war, but a secret unauthorized war. Or, in reality, a make-believe war, because most of these groups we probably couldn’t even be in a war with,” said @bcfinucane.bsky.social about US claims it is in armed conflict with 24 cartel groups
theintercept.com/2025/11/07/t...
theintercept.com/2025/11/07/t...
Trump Has a Secret List of 24 “Designated Terrorist Organizations.” We Got Some of the Names.
The U.S. claims it is engaged in “armed conflict” with Tren de Aragua, Ejército de Liberación Nacional, and Cártel de los Soles, among others.
theintercept.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Some time ago, I told @npr.org that the strikes on the boats were a dangerous precedent because the president could simply nominate a group he didn’t like as terrorist. Here we are.
This. But as so many other things, doing something like this would require the @teamlabouruk.bsky.social government to have some backbone.
November 10, 2025 at 6:50 PM
This. But as so many other things, doing something like this would require the @teamlabouruk.bsky.social government to have some backbone.
All going great - FBI edition: 'Mr. Patel’s inexperience, his dismissals of top F.B.I. officials and his shift of bureau resources from thwarting spies and terrorism have heightened concerns among the other Five Eyes nations that the bureau is adrift.'
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/w...
F.B.I. Director Is Said to Have Made a Pledge to Head of MI5, Then Broken It
www.nytimes.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:20 PM
All going great - FBI edition: 'Mr. Patel’s inexperience, his dismissals of top F.B.I. officials and his shift of bureau resources from thwarting spies and terrorism have heightened concerns among the other Five Eyes nations that the bureau is adrift.'
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/w...
Dear military leaders, perhaps a good time to come out in force and speak up? What do you have to lose? www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
Hegseth Is Purging Military Leaders With Little Explanation
www.nytimes.com
November 7, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Dear military leaders, perhaps a good time to come out in force and speak up? What do you have to lose? www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
Reposted by Luca Trenta
Pulitzer Prize photo right here.
November 6, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Pulitzer Prize photo right here.
Reposted by Luca Trenta
lol
November 6, 2025 at 4:47 AM
lol
Still in the Orwell rabbit hole. Just listened to this. Wifedom by Anna Funder sounds very interesting although I am not a big fun of books that mix non-fiction and fiction sections. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/e...
305. Orwell: Dark Secrets, The CIA, & His Forgotten Failures (Part 4)
Podcast Episode · Empire · 06/11/2025 · 54m
podcasts.apple.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Still in the Orwell rabbit hole. Just listened to this. Wifedom by Anna Funder sounds very interesting although I am not a big fun of books that mix non-fiction and fiction sections. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/e...
Indeed. In intelligence, politics, foreign policy if you are still selling the message that there is something behind the chaos, either you have been fooled or you’ve got something (generally a book among my contacts) to sell.
I've said it before and I'll it again: there is no coherent strategy and anyone who tells you differently is selling you something. danieldrezner.substack.com/p/when-ameri...
When American Foreign Policy Devolves Into a Bunch of Stuff
My latest for World Politics Review
danieldrezner.substack.com
November 5, 2025 at 10:16 AM
Indeed. In intelligence, politics, foreign policy if you are still selling the message that there is something behind the chaos, either you have been fooled or you’ve got something (generally a book among my contacts) to sell.
God, I missed this rhetoric. Powerful, inspiring, social democratic. No hope of seeing it in this country unfortunately, despite the large electoral majority.
Mamdani: "We can respond to oligarchy and authoritarianism with the strength it fears, not the appeasement it craves. After all, if anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him."
November 5, 2025 at 7:55 AM
God, I missed this rhetoric. Powerful, inspiring, social democratic. No hope of seeing it in this country unfortunately, despite the large electoral majority.
This. Going for about 15 minutes now on tv. The “shocking” discovery that some shops are fronts for criminal activity. The gusto in putting non-white people in the crosshairs.
Yes this is awful. The BBC News has, however, become the live action version of the Daily Mail. Crime stories are guaranteed coverage if the culprit is an asylum seeker. Viewers may not realise attention to these specific offenders is disproportionate.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Crime network behind UK mini-marts is enabling migrants to work illegally
Undercover reporters were told how easy it was to make big profits selling illegal vapes and cigarettes.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 5, 2025 at 7:19 AM
This. Going for about 15 minutes now on tv. The “shocking” discovery that some shops are fronts for criminal activity. The gusto in putting non-white people in the crosshairs.
You can always bet on this @teamlabouruk.bsky.social to do both the unethical and the electorally suicidal thing at once. Tax. The. Rich.
Reeves is considering slowing down electrification to have immediate 💸results, but electrification done right (eg w/ more renewables, reform of electricity market prices) is the midterm solution to high energy bills. There must be more sensible ways to help ppl in short run w/o killing midterm goals
Reeves considers cut to green levies in effort to reduce cost of energy bills
Exclusive: Chancellor hopes to save up to £170 from average bill but industry insiders say move would be ‘disastrous’
www.theguardian.com
November 5, 2025 at 7:08 AM
You can always bet on this @teamlabouruk.bsky.social to do both the unethical and the electorally suicidal thing at once. Tax. The. Rich.
Waiting for @ezrakleinbot.bsky.social to tell us that Dick Cheney did politics and foreign policy the right way.
November 4, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Waiting for @ezrakleinbot.bsky.social to tell us that Dick Cheney did politics and foreign policy the right way.
Early reports claim Satan is scared and has provisionally left Hell.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney has died, his family said in a statement. He was 84 abcnews.go.com/Politics/for...
November 4, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Early reports claim Satan is scared and has provisionally left Hell.
Brilliant. Can’t wait for this. @socintelhist.bsky.social roundtable on @tim-weiner.bsky.social’s latest.
Can't wait for our Wednesday, Nov 19, discussion with @tim-weiner.bsky.social about his super new book, "The Mission." This is going to be good! @lucatrenta.bsky.social @chekistmonitor.bsky.social @socintelhist.bsky.social .
November 3, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Brilliant. Can’t wait for this. @socintelhist.bsky.social roundtable on @tim-weiner.bsky.social’s latest.
Of interest to me and many colleagues @swanseaunippir.bsky.social
Dictating the Agenda: The Authoritarian Resurgence in World Politics
by me & @cooleyoneurasia.bsky.social is now published by OUP in the USA (rest of world soon)
If you are interested in why you see so many dictatorships & illiberal leaders influencing world politics then this is the book for you.
by me & @cooleyoneurasia.bsky.social is now published by OUP in the USA (rest of world soon)
If you are interested in why you see so many dictatorships & illiberal leaders influencing world politics then this is the book for you.
November 3, 2025 at 7:04 AM
Of interest to me and many colleagues @swanseaunippir.bsky.social
As the government refuses to support universities in dire financial situations, many will look to foreign markets and opportunities with severe implications like the ones below.
This is a remarkable case of Chinese authorities threatening a UK university into halting research on human rights violations, and the university acquiescing.
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.com
November 3, 2025 at 7:01 AM
As the government refuses to support universities in dire financial situations, many will look to foreign markets and opportunities with severe implications like the ones below.
Started reading Orwell's collected essays. Quite timely reflections on the nature of facts, totalitarianism, and the nature/future of truth. Including a reflection on how the liberal tradition that evil always loses out in the end, lulls people into a sense of complacency.
November 1, 2025 at 12:28 PM
Started reading Orwell's collected essays. Quite timely reflections on the nature of facts, totalitarianism, and the nature/future of truth. Including a reflection on how the liberal tradition that evil always loses out in the end, lulls people into a sense of complacency.
Maybe, it’s time to explore more broadly Russia’s influence in UK politics, from the Tory party and Boris Johnson’s parties, to Farage, UKIP, and now Reform. It should be done as if the future of UK democracy depended on it. Because it does.
This month Nathan Gill will be sentenced at the Old Bailey after pleading guilty to taking bribes to make statements in favour of Russia during his tenure as a member of the European parliament. This fascinating article discusses his close relationship to Farage. www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...
Reform UK, the Russian spy and rolls of Kremlin cash: the inside story of Nathan Gill
How did a former Mormon bishop end up pleading guilty to taking bribes to make statements in favour of Russia in the European parliament?
www.theguardian.com
November 1, 2025 at 11:17 AM
Maybe, it’s time to explore more broadly Russia’s influence in UK politics, from the Tory party and Boris Johnson’s parties, to Farage, UKIP, and now Reform. It should be done as if the future of UK democracy depended on it. Because it does.
Regime change has worked so well in the past for the US. I’m also sure this has nothing to do with the Epstein files.
October 31, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Regime change has worked so well in the past for the US. I’m also sure this has nothing to do with the Epstein files.
Reposted by Luca Trenta
Published this last month. Trump's moved from illegal strikes on targets of unknown identity to preparing for a war against Venezuela for wholly unclear reasons seemingly on a whim. This isn't how you win a drug war but it will kill lots of people. internationalpolicy.org/publications...
October 31, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Published this last month. Trump's moved from illegal strikes on targets of unknown identity to preparing for a war against Venezuela for wholly unclear reasons seemingly on a whim. This isn't how you win a drug war but it will kill lots of people. internationalpolicy.org/publications...
The desperate attempt to get close to power, the endless betting on grift and hatred, can turn someone from a respected academic to a social media laughing stock. Times are tough. Stay sane people. www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/que...
Question Time audience unite in calling out Matt Goodwin's anti-migrant rhetoric
The Question Time audience in no uncertain terms told right-wing commentator Matt Goodwin exactly what they thought of his views.
www.thelondoneconomic.com
October 31, 2025 at 3:51 PM
The desperate attempt to get close to power, the endless betting on grift and hatred, can turn someone from a respected academic to a social media laughing stock. Times are tough. Stay sane people. www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/que...
The art of the (terrible) deal. edition.cnn.com/2025/10/31/c...
After Trump trade meeting, it’s advantage Xi | CNN
As the dust begins to clear around a less-than-two hour meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump at an airbase in South Korea on Thursday, it’s clear that China’s leaders h...
edition.cnn.com
October 31, 2025 at 1:08 PM
The art of the (terrible) deal. edition.cnn.com/2025/10/31/c...
