Mike Slaven
@mcslaven.bsky.social
Author of "Securing Borders, Securing Power" (Columbia UP, 2022) http://tinyurl.com/yeywvdaa Doing migration politics/policy research, currently @colmigproject.bsky.social. Political speechwriter of yore. Obscure academic in provincial England, AZ guy 🌵
Pinned
Mike Slaven
@mcslaven.bsky.social
· May 13
Saying racism: calling anti-immigration policies racist as effective pro-immigrant politics in Arizona
Identifying anti-immigration policies as racist commonly features in political discourse in many majority-white countries. Both behavioralist studies of voter attitudes and studies of party positio...
www.tandfonline.com
Does calling anti-immigrant policies racist work at opposing them? Much analysis (validly) says no, but I have a new 📖 article 📖 on why this was essential to changing immigration politics in Arizona 🌵. Sometimes the effective arguments aren't already popular! 1/ www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Mike Slaven
Reposted by Mike Slaven
some photos from portland and 34th today. we'll have a story up on racket soon. they gassed us, they knocked folks to the ground, and i watched agents ram a white pickup into a group of protesters, if you're wondering who was actually doing car violence.
January 7, 2026 at 8:27 PM
some photos from portland and 34th today. we'll have a story up on racket soon. they gassed us, they knocked folks to the ground, and i watched agents ram a white pickup into a group of protesters, if you're wondering who was actually doing car violence.
Reposted by Mike Slaven
masked, unidentified goons who assault and murder with impunity. a literal gestapo.
This is the ICE agent who murdered a woman by shooting her multiple times in the face.
January 7, 2026 at 7:36 PM
masked, unidentified goons who assault and murder with impunity. a literal gestapo.
Reposted by Mike Slaven
Abolish ICE. Really.
Trump: "I have just viewed the clip of the event which took place in Minneapolis. It is a horrible thing to watch. The woman screaming was, obviously, a professional agitator, and the woman driving the car was very disorderly, obstructing and resisting ... "
January 7, 2026 at 8:35 PM
Abolish ICE. Really.
Reposted by Mike Slaven
I mean they do lose when their polls go down. Belief and nerve aren't much use in winning elections if no one votes for you.
Keir Starmer has this morning urged Cabinet to keep its nerve amid grim opinion polling (today’s YouGov put Labour in third place behind Reform & Tories)
“Governments do not lose because polls go down. They lose when they lose belief or nerve. We will do neither,” he said
“Governments do not lose because polls go down. They lose when they lose belief or nerve. We will do neither,” he said
January 6, 2026 at 12:26 PM
I mean they do lose when their polls go down. Belief and nerve aren't much use in winning elections if no one votes for you.
Reposted by Mike Slaven
kind of darkly funny that "gender studies" is the stereotypical "useless degree" because gender studies will help you understand a large and important chunk of the current psychosis in american life
January 6, 2026 at 2:00 AM
kind of darkly funny that "gender studies" is the stereotypical "useless degree" because gender studies will help you understand a large and important chunk of the current psychosis in american life
Reposted by Mike Slaven
they're doing it for gender, imo
It’s genuinely wild that the United States spent decades building an elaborate rules-based international order which de facto cemented its permanent status as the dominant global hegemon, sustained by ideology rather than might, and now is just blowing it all up for literally no reason
January 6, 2026 at 1:57 AM
they're doing it for gender, imo
Reposted by Mike Slaven
Hard to underscore how unpopular the idea of a war about oil is among normal people in the US -- it collides with underlying anti-elite suspicions of a very wide segment of the public. The pro-Iraq War elements in 2002/3 tried very hard (with incomplete success, decreasing over time) to dispel this.
December 17, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Hard to underscore how unpopular the idea of a war about oil is among normal people in the US -- it collides with underlying anti-elite suspicions of a very wide segment of the public. The pro-Iraq War elements in 2002/3 tried very hard (with incomplete success, decreasing over time) to dispel this.
Reposted by Mike Slaven
the 6% is the WaPo editorial board
One of the most lopsided results you'll ever see in a poll, from our weekend Washington Post poll www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
January 5, 2026 at 3:47 PM
the 6% is the WaPo editorial board
Reposted by Mike Slaven
Don't miss that they started with threatening a court martial, and are now backing down to an administrative action and a letter in a file
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says Sen. Mark Kelly will face administrative action
January 5, 2026 at 4:10 PM
Don't miss that they started with threatening a court martial, and are now backing down to an administrative action and a letter in a file
40% approve of the US action in Venezuela (42% disapprove, plenty of DKs on most of these questions) and the polling is probably not going to get more supportive of it from here.
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
We texted 1,000 Americans about U.S. actions in Venezuela. Here’s what they said.
A Washington Post poll shows Americans are split on sending military forces to Venezuela to capture Maduro. Most say it should have required Congress’s approval.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 5, 2026 at 5:17 PM
40% approve of the US action in Venezuela (42% disapprove, plenty of DKs on most of these questions) and the polling is probably not going to get more supportive of it from here.
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
Reposted by Mike Slaven
The problem isn't that Europeans don't understand that Trump's foreign policy is fundamentally kleptocratic, or neo-patrimonial, or neo-Royal, or whatever one wants to call it.
The problem is that they don't have a lot of good options for how to respond.
The problem is that they don't have a lot of good options for how to respond.
1/Leaders are abducted/allies are threatened but pundits and governments are scratching their heads on what the US is doing. Danish PM on Greenland "It makes absolutely no sense". Why? Because actors using old IR models when we need a new lens. Enter neo-royalism.
abcnews.go.com/Internationa...
abcnews.go.com/Internationa...
Denmark's PM urges Trump to 'stop the threats' of annexing Greenland
The prime minister of Denmark called on Trump to “stop the threats” of the U.S. annexing Greenland after renewed comments garnered international attention.
abcnews.go.com
January 5, 2026 at 1:44 PM
The problem isn't that Europeans don't understand that Trump's foreign policy is fundamentally kleptocratic, or neo-patrimonial, or neo-Royal, or whatever one wants to call it.
The problem is that they don't have a lot of good options for how to respond.
The problem is that they don't have a lot of good options for how to respond.
Reposted by Mike Slaven
Marco Rubio has been playing a Marco Rubio character ever since he bowed to Trump, but he’s never been willing to fully commit to the character. It’s like he’s trying to signal to The Hague that his heart isn’t in this.
Still can’t get over how much Rubio’s body language and demeanor have changed from a decade ago. If this were a movie about a politician who sold his soul for power, the actor playing Rubio would be panned for his ham-fistedness.
WELKER: Mr. Secretary, are you running Venezuela right now?
MARCO RUBIO: Yeah. People are fixating on that. Here's the bottom line -- we expect to see changes in Venezuela
MARCO RUBIO: Yeah. People are fixating on that. Here's the bottom line -- we expect to see changes in Venezuela
January 5, 2026 at 2:04 PM
Marco Rubio has been playing a Marco Rubio character ever since he bowed to Trump, but he’s never been willing to fully commit to the character. It’s like he’s trying to signal to The Hague that his heart isn’t in this.
Reposted by Mike Slaven
WH sources say Venezuela's opposition leader committed the "ultimate sin": She accepted the Nobel Peace prize.
“If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,” one said.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
“If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,” one said.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
January 5, 2026 at 3:02 AM
WH sources say Venezuela's opposition leader committed the "ultimate sin": She accepted the Nobel Peace prize.
“If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,” one said.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
“If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,” one said.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Reposted by Mike Slaven
amazing how the entire machine can pivot within 24 hours. no need to slowly upsell the argument; just issue new marching orders
January 5, 2026 at 6:50 AM
amazing how the entire machine can pivot within 24 hours. no need to slowly upsell the argument; just issue new marching orders
Reposted by Mike Slaven
Cutting off access to information and family. This is an asylum policy tailor-made for traffickers who will have an even more vulnerable population to prey upon.
January 5, 2026 at 10:15 AM
Cutting off access to information and family. This is an asylum policy tailor-made for traffickers who will have an even more vulnerable population to prey upon.
Reposted by Mike Slaven
GS: “Sen. Warner said you can’t argue drug trafficking charges demand invasion in one case while issuing a pardon in another…”🤔
@marcorubio: “Maduro was indicted.”
GS: “Hernandez was CONVICTED.”
RUBIO: “I wasn't involved in the pardon… I've got other things going on.” 🤷🏽♂️
@marcorubio: “Maduro was indicted.”
GS: “Hernandez was CONVICTED.”
RUBIO: “I wasn't involved in the pardon… I've got other things going on.” 🤷🏽♂️
January 4, 2026 at 5:28 PM
GS: “Sen. Warner said you can’t argue drug trafficking charges demand invasion in one case while issuing a pardon in another…”🤔
@marcorubio: “Maduro was indicted.”
GS: “Hernandez was CONVICTED.”
RUBIO: “I wasn't involved in the pardon… I've got other things going on.” 🤷🏽♂️
@marcorubio: “Maduro was indicted.”
GS: “Hernandez was CONVICTED.”
RUBIO: “I wasn't involved in the pardon… I've got other things going on.” 🤷🏽♂️
Reposted by Mike Slaven
The pardon for Hernandez makes an obvious & absolute mockery of each & every attempt to rationalise, or even justify, Trump's treatment of Maduro. I'm not sure this single, simple point can be stressed enough. Once again, he proves his critics right & reduces his supporters to epic moral corruption.
January 5, 2026 at 9:04 AM
The pardon for Hernandez makes an obvious & absolute mockery of each & every attempt to rationalise, or even justify, Trump's treatment of Maduro. I'm not sure this single, simple point can be stressed enough. Once again, he proves his critics right & reduces his supporters to epic moral corruption.
Reposted by Mike Slaven
Legacy US media usually has a fawning and very impressed view of US military interventions right after they happen. Everyday Americans are often the more skeptical ones
January 4, 2026 at 8:37 AM
Legacy US media usually has a fawning and very impressed view of US military interventions right after they happen. Everyday Americans are often the more skeptical ones
Reposted by Mike Slaven
absolutely bizarre to see a violent, rogue american regime, which is threatening military attacks on a bunch of major trading partners and close allies, and openly fantasizing about hitler-style wars of territorial conquest, covered in the tone of horse-race political commentary
January 4, 2026 at 3:14 AM
absolutely bizarre to see a violent, rogue american regime, which is threatening military attacks on a bunch of major trading partners and close allies, and openly fantasizing about hitler-style wars of territorial conquest, covered in the tone of horse-race political commentary
Reposted by Mike Slaven
Imagine being the person brave enough to leak this in the hopes that media attention could stop it and then the media just……buries it.
NEW: Plans for secret U.S. raid to capture Maduro leaked to the Washington Post and New York Times before it happened, but both decided not to publish to protect U.S. troops - Semafor
January 4, 2026 at 4:36 AM
Imagine being the person brave enough to leak this in the hopes that media attention could stop it and then the media just……buries it.
Reposted by Mike Slaven
New Interview: www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
January 3, 2026 at 9:42 PM
New Interview: www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
Even US officials who knew what they were doing would find the impact of deposing Maduro on hemispheric stability impossible to predict. These people in addition also don’t know what they’re doing
January 3, 2026 at 9:54 AM
Even US officials who knew what they were doing would find the impact of deposing Maduro on hemispheric stability impossible to predict. These people in addition also don’t know what they’re doing
Hey, just wanting to follow up on whether auld acquaintance should be forgot and never brought to mind. Did we come to an answer on that? And where do we stand on auld lang syne? Thanks
December 31, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Hey, just wanting to follow up on whether auld acquaintance should be forgot and never brought to mind. Did we come to an answer on that? And where do we stand on auld lang syne? Thanks