Manfred Elfstrom
@manfrede.bsky.social
Associate Professor at University of British Columbia. Researching China, social movements, labor, authoritarianism. Author of "Workers and Change in China." He/him. Website: https://manfredelfstrom.com
Black Flag is coming to Kelowna. Hive mind: do I go see this reboot? exclaim.ca/music/articl...
Black Flag Book Canadian Tour │ Exclaim!
Greg Ginn's fresh-faced latest reboot of the band play 11 cities across six provinces this spring
exclaim.ca
February 6, 2026 at 5:01 PM
Black Flag is coming to Kelowna. Hive mind: do I go see this reboot? exclaim.ca/music/articl...
Just got my copy of Mujun Zhou’s new book, which provides a really compelling argument about why China’s various grassroots social reform movements embraced and then became disaffected with Chinese liberals’ grand “civil society” project (I provide an appreciative blurb on the back).
February 6, 2026 at 12:23 AM
Just got my copy of Mujun Zhou’s new book, which provides a really compelling argument about why China’s various grassroots social reform movements embraced and then became disaffected with Chinese liberals’ grand “civil society” project (I provide an appreciative blurb on the back).
Opposition movements elsewhere have brought down competitive authoritarian regimes by leaning into traditional get-out-the-vote tactics despite the deck being stacked against them—-and then calling out irregularities afterward. See Bunce and Wolchik’s work: www.cambridge.org/core/books/d...
February 4, 2026 at 11:40 PM
Opposition movements elsewhere have brought down competitive authoritarian regimes by leaning into traditional get-out-the-vote tactics despite the deck being stacked against them—-and then calling out irregularities afterward. See Bunce and Wolchik’s work: www.cambridge.org/core/books/d...
A fast, effective campaign. For context: the Jim Pattison Group is something of a grocery monopolist in BC--they own at least five grocery store chains in my city--plus they control car dealerships, radio stations, and billboards. Yet, the company obviously felt vulnerable to charges of complicity.
This is a fascinating story. ICE tried to buy a warehouse in VA from a Canadian company, to turn into a detention center. One of the company’s advertising partners basically told them that if they sold, they could kiss their ads goodbye.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/01/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/01/u...
Canadian Company Cancels Sale of Virginia Warehouse to ICE
www.nytimes.com
February 4, 2026 at 10:15 PM
A fast, effective campaign. For context: the Jim Pattison Group is something of a grocery monopolist in BC--they own at least five grocery store chains in my city--plus they control car dealerships, radio stations, and billboards. Yet, the company obviously felt vulnerable to charges of complicity.
As a Swedish-American, I am delighted to be on the receiving end of these accusations!
Chris Rufo is so upset about the Minneapolis protests that he is resorting to anti-Nordic racism christopherrufo.com/p/the-curse-...
January 30, 2026 at 7:34 PM
As a Swedish-American, I am delighted to be on the receiving end of these accusations!
Reposted by Manfred Elfstrom
I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
Stay free
Stay free
Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio)
YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen
youtu.be
January 28, 2026 at 5:02 PM
I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
Stay free
Stay free
Reposted by Manfred Elfstrom
This is not in fact the definition of the “working class.”
January 19, 2026 at 9:14 PM
This is not in fact the definition of the “working class.”
This year’s batch of inflatable Santas in my neighborhood all seem ready to (cheerfully) pronounce, “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf…”
January 1, 2026 at 4:54 PM
This year’s batch of inflatable Santas in my neighborhood all seem ready to (cheerfully) pronounce, “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf…”
Best discussion about where the US stands right now that I’ve listened to in a while. Featuring Stephen Levitsky, @dziblatt.bsky.social, and @lucanway.bsky.social. Somehow at once sobering and hopeful. podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/t...
How Bad Is It?: Three Political Scientists Say America Is No Longer a Democracy
Podcast Episode · The Political Scene | The New Yorker · 2025-12-11 · 49m
podcasts.apple.com
December 12, 2025 at 6:35 AM
Best discussion about where the US stands right now that I’ve listened to in a while. Featuring Stephen Levitsky, @dziblatt.bsky.social, and @lucanway.bsky.social. Somehow at once sobering and hopeful. podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/t...
Another embarrassment from an MLA near me: a proposal to establish a provincial holiday in honor of the Freedom Convoy. Won a somewhat close election last year. Checked an old news report and she said then she would focus on “affordability, housing and healthcare.” www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna...
Kelowna-area MLA wants provincial holiday in honour of the Freedom Convoy - Kelowna News
A Kelowna-area MLA wants a new statutory holiday to honour the 2022 Freedom Convoy that took over downtown Ottawa.
www.castanet.net
December 3, 2025 at 4:58 AM
Another embarrassment from an MLA near me: a proposal to establish a provincial holiday in honor of the Freedom Convoy. Won a somewhat close election last year. Checked an old news report and she said then she would focus on “affordability, housing and healthcare.” www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna...
All I can say is that if the Democrats come back, they better not bail these people out this time around like Obama felt he had to do in 2009. At least not without asking for a LOT more in return. Otherwise, both bad policy & bad politics.
You pull yourself up by your boostraps. Me? I DESERVE free money from the government, and so do my rich friends bsky.app/profile/cwar...
when its definitely not a hostage situation
November 25, 2025 at 7:21 PM
All I can say is that if the Democrats come back, they better not bail these people out this time around like Obama felt he had to do in 2009. At least not without asking for a LOT more in return. Otherwise, both bad policy & bad politics.
Will check this out. But didn’t Graeber and Wengrow’s book argue the opposite—that pre-agricultural societies could be hierarchical (sometimes / for some parts of the year) and settling down did not necessarily lead to hierarchy?
November 13, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Will check this out. But didn’t Graeber and Wengrow’s book argue the opposite—that pre-agricultural societies could be hierarchical (sometimes / for some parts of the year) and settling down did not necessarily lead to hierarchy?
The point isn't that one thing cancels out the other. And other positive changes could also be mentioned: noticeably quieter streets due to EVs, the continued expansion of high-speed rail, etc. Just saying that, at this particular moment, China's energy transition slams you with contradictions.
November 13, 2025 at 12:09 AM
The point isn't that one thing cancels out the other. And other positive changes could also be mentioned: noticeably quieter streets due to EVs, the continued expansion of high-speed rail, etc. Just saying that, at this particular moment, China's energy transition slams you with contradictions.
Traveled through N. China for a few days and was impressed by both the expansion of green power since I last spent real time there--solar panels draping terraced hills and poking up out of villages, windmills along ridges--and, at the same time, the persistence incredible levels of air pollution.
November 13, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Traveled through N. China for a few days and was impressed by both the expansion of green power since I last spent real time there--solar panels draping terraced hills and poking up out of villages, windmills along ridges--and, at the same time, the persistence incredible levels of air pollution.
Reposted by Manfred Elfstrom
More from the scene
October 25, 2025 at 4:21 PM
More from the scene
Recent impulse purchase
October 18, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Recent impulse purchase
Was delighted to see that a reader on Goodreads was angry at the suggestion that hot dogs could be healthy.
September 22, 2025 at 12:28 AM
Was delighted to see that a reader on Goodreads was angry at the suggestion that hot dogs could be healthy.
Hey, now! A is for Activist is not too bad. Forever stuck in my head: “Hummus, Hot dogs, Havarti cheese. Hot dogs!?! Yes! Healthy hot dogs please! (And pizza.)”
September 22, 2025 at 12:28 AM
Hey, now! A is for Activist is not too bad. Forever stuck in my head: “Hummus, Hot dogs, Havarti cheese. Hot dogs!?! Yes! Healthy hot dogs please! (And pizza.)”
Lucky to have gotten to hear this incredible call to action: podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/l...
Cecil Roberts: “ You must continue to fight”
Podcast Episode · Labor History Today · 2025-09-21 · 34m
podcasts.apple.com
September 21, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Lucky to have gotten to hear this incredible call to action: podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/l...
Send the email. www.amnesty.org/en/documents...
South Sudan: End two deportees' arbitrary detention: Nyo Myint and Enrique Arias Hierro - Amnesty International
On 4 July, Nyo Myint and Enrique Arias Hierro were deported from a US military base in Djibouti to Juba, South Sudan, as part of the United States government’s mass deportation campaign and have since...
www.amnesty.org
September 10, 2025 at 6:04 AM
Send the email. www.amnesty.org/en/documents...
Reposted by Manfred Elfstrom
Big news!
My book "Contested Taiwan: Sovereignty, Social Movements, and Party Formation" is officially available for pre-order through University of Washington Press!
Here's a brief summary of the book, contested politics, and why Taiwan matters for political science:
My book "Contested Taiwan: Sovereignty, Social Movements, and Party Formation" is officially available for pre-order through University of Washington Press!
Here's a brief summary of the book, contested politics, and why Taiwan matters for political science:
December 3, 2024 at 11:40 AM
Big news!
My book "Contested Taiwan: Sovereignty, Social Movements, and Party Formation" is officially available for pre-order through University of Washington Press!
Here's a brief summary of the book, contested politics, and why Taiwan matters for political science:
My book "Contested Taiwan: Sovereignty, Social Movements, and Party Formation" is officially available for pre-order through University of Washington Press!
Here's a brief summary of the book, contested politics, and why Taiwan matters for political science:
Congrats! Looks excellent!
September 4, 2025 at 3:51 AM
Congrats! Looks excellent!
Update: I declined the contract.
August 26, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Update: I declined the contract.