Van Jackson
@vanjackson.bsky.social
The class politics of geopolitics. Newsletter, http://Un-Diplomatic.com. Co-host, https://www.BangBangPod.com; https://www.undiplomaticpodcast.com. 🇺🇸🇵🇭🇳🇿. https://www.vanjackson.org
Old dog figuring out new leg-breaking tricks
November 8, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Old dog figuring out new leg-breaking tricks
--Gen Z's gambling problem is about capitalism.
--Who’s afraid of Zohran?
--An economic depression is already hiding in plain sight.
--Why Trump's war on Venezuela is expanding.
--Trump’s trip across Asia as a symptom of hegemonic decline. www.un-diplomatic.com/p/bombing-la...
--Who’s afraid of Zohran?
--An economic depression is already hiding in plain sight.
--Why Trump's war on Venezuela is expanding.
--Trump’s trip across Asia as a symptom of hegemonic decline. www.un-diplomatic.com/p/bombing-la...
Bombing Latin America | Economic Depression Hiding in Plain Sight | Who’s Afraid of Zohran | Trump Embarrasses Asia | Ep. 270
Just dropped a new episode of the pod, covering a range of national security and political issues from a critical perspective:
www.un-diplomatic.com
November 7, 2025 at 6:03 PM
--Gen Z's gambling problem is about capitalism.
--Who’s afraid of Zohran?
--An economic depression is already hiding in plain sight.
--Why Trump's war on Venezuela is expanding.
--Trump’s trip across Asia as a symptom of hegemonic decline. www.un-diplomatic.com/p/bombing-la...
--Who’s afraid of Zohran?
--An economic depression is already hiding in plain sight.
--Why Trump's war on Venezuela is expanding.
--Trump’s trip across Asia as a symptom of hegemonic decline. www.un-diplomatic.com/p/bombing-la...
Reposted by Van Jackson
"Jurors found Sean Dunn not guilty of one misdemeanor assault charge on Thursday in federal court in D.C."
I do not regret to inform you that we are going to win.
www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/d...
I do not regret to inform you that we are going to win.
www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/d...
DC ‘sandwich guy' found not guilty of assault after throwing sub at federal agent
A man charged with assault for throwing a sandwich at a federal agent calls it an act of protest. Prosecutors are trying to prove that it was a federal crime. Jurors heard attorneys’ opening statement...
www.nbcwashington.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:51 PM
"Jurors found Sean Dunn not guilty of one misdemeanor assault charge on Thursday in federal court in D.C."
I do not regret to inform you that we are going to win.
www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/d...
I do not regret to inform you that we are going to win.
www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/d...
“Everyone’s a communist now. Everyone’s an enemy of the state. Everyone’s deserving of no mercy from this Cobra-Kai regime...Their list of crimes is by now so long that they can’t afford to let go of power, even though their policies are about as popular as episiotomies.”👇
November 5, 2025 at 8:24 PM
“Everyone’s a communist now. Everyone’s an enemy of the state. Everyone’s deserving of no mercy from this Cobra-Kai regime...Their list of crimes is by now so long that they can’t afford to let go of power, even though their policies are about as popular as episiotomies.”👇
We have just passed the Sinatra test for a new, hopeful, inclusive, and class war-focused politics in America. www.un-diplomatic.com/p/concrete-j...
Concrete Jungle Where Dreams Are Made Of, There’s Nothing You Can’t Do...
Un-Diplomatic is entirely reader-supported.
www.un-diplomatic.com
November 5, 2025 at 8:12 PM
We have just passed the Sinatra test for a new, hopeful, inclusive, and class war-focused politics in America. www.un-diplomatic.com/p/concrete-j...
Reposted by Van Jackson
Jewish NYers came out in droves for Mamdani: staff, volunteers, voters. Greenblatt defends Nazis.
November 5, 2025 at 5:42 AM
Jewish NYers came out in droves for Mamdani: staff, volunteers, voters. Greenblatt defends Nazis.
Austin Dahmer (#2 policy job in the Pentagon) just got ROASTED during his confirmation hearing. Even Republican senators complaining OSD Policy is the worst-managed in the Trump admin
November 5, 2025 at 2:07 AM
Austin Dahmer (#2 policy job in the Pentagon) just got ROASTED during his confirmation hearing. Even Republican senators complaining OSD Policy is the worst-managed in the Trump admin
Ta-Nehisi Coates said: “the privilege of a great power is incuriosity about those who lack it.” The failure to see at whose expense power comes is not just a moral failing; it necessarily means we can never grasp how the world came to be the way that it is. www.un-diplomatic.com/p/the-grand-...
The Grand Strategy Book I DON’T Recommend
Un-Diplomatic is entirely reader-supported.
www.un-diplomatic.com
November 4, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Ta-Nehisi Coates said: “the privilege of a great power is incuriosity about those who lack it.” The failure to see at whose expense power comes is not just a moral failing; it necessarily means we can never grasp how the world came to be the way that it is. www.un-diplomatic.com/p/the-grand-...
“What does it even mean for the state to pursue security on behalf of a nation where millions have anything but?” My review of a grand-strategy book I DO NOT recommend www.un-diplomatic.com/p/the-grand-...
The Grand Strategy Book I DON’T Recommend
Un-Diplomatic is entirely reader-supported.
www.un-diplomatic.com
November 3, 2025 at 6:55 PM
“What does it even mean for the state to pursue security on behalf of a nation where millions have anything but?” My review of a grand-strategy book I DO NOT recommend www.un-diplomatic.com/p/the-grand-...
What happens in Sino-US diplomacy is far downstream of much larger forces. Great-power competition is inter-imperial rivalry. Its sources are structural and remain unchanged. The balance of power has shifted. And Trump accommodated reality for once. www.un-diplomatic.com/p/upsetting-...
Upsetting the China Consensus
Three new types of policy advocates are disrupting “great-power competition” in their own ways, but not getting beyond it.
www.un-diplomatic.com
November 2, 2025 at 9:29 PM
What happens in Sino-US diplomacy is far downstream of much larger forces. Great-power competition is inter-imperial rivalry. Its sources are structural and remain unchanged. The balance of power has shifted. And Trump accommodated reality for once. www.un-diplomatic.com/p/upsetting-...
Rivalry between China and the US persists, and talk of a “G2” is premature, but here are three ways to address the root sources of great-power competition 👇 www.un-diplomatic.com/p/did-trump-...
Did Trump End Great-Power Rivalry with China? Tactical Economic Detente Explained
Un-Diplomatic is entirely reader-supported.
www.un-diplomatic.com
November 1, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Rivalry between China and the US persists, and talk of a “G2” is premature, but here are three ways to address the root sources of great-power competition 👇 www.un-diplomatic.com/p/did-trump-...
"As much as defensive realists value prudence in statecraft, they really have no framework to ensure prudence beyond accepting mutual vulnerability and rational deterrence, which is just not good enough in the age of MAGA and crisis capitalism.” www.un-diplomatic.com/p/upsetting-...
Upsetting the China Consensus
Three new types of policy advocates are disrupting “great-power competition” in their own ways, but not getting beyond it.
www.un-diplomatic.com
October 31, 2025 at 8:11 PM
"As much as defensive realists value prudence in statecraft, they really have no framework to ensure prudence beyond accepting mutual vulnerability and rational deterrence, which is just not good enough in the age of MAGA and crisis capitalism.” www.un-diplomatic.com/p/upsetting-...
Reposted by Van Jackson
“Put aside the precariousness of nuclear ‘stability’...Bracket off too the truism that one man’s deterrence is another man’s escalation. The indictment goes deeper, for nuclear testing is not harmless; it is a sacrificial form of nuclear use.” www.un-diplomatic.com/p/fresh-hell...
Fresh Hell: Unjust Nuclear Deterrence and Nuclear Testing
Un-Diplomatic is entirely reader-supported.
www.un-diplomatic.com
October 30, 2025 at 11:39 PM
“Put aside the precariousness of nuclear ‘stability’...Bracket off too the truism that one man’s deterrence is another man’s escalation. The indictment goes deeper, for nuclear testing is not harmless; it is a sacrificial form of nuclear use.” www.un-diplomatic.com/p/fresh-hell...
This would be a much better piece if its examples didn’t low-key pretend that there was nothing to the left of liberal internationalism. Making us choose between Bridge Colby, Mira Rapp-Hooper, and Anne Applebaum is a sick joke
October 31, 2025 at 8:10 AM
This would be a much better piece if its examples didn’t low-key pretend that there was nothing to the left of liberal internationalism. Making us choose between Bridge Colby, Mira Rapp-Hooper, and Anne Applebaum is a sick joke
New Zealand Halloween!
October 31, 2025 at 6:07 AM
New Zealand Halloween!
Reposted by Van Jackson
“We should be unsettled by the idea that a multi-trillion-dollar complex of mass extinction exists at all. We should be even more troubled by the fact that this nuclear enterprise is to be guided by something other than logic and evidence.” www.un-diplomatic.com/p/fresh-hell...
Fresh Hell: Unjust Nuclear Deterrence and Nuclear Testing
Un-Diplomatic is entirely reader-supported.
www.un-diplomatic.com
October 30, 2025 at 11:31 PM
“We should be unsettled by the idea that a multi-trillion-dollar complex of mass extinction exists at all. We should be even more troubled by the fact that this nuclear enterprise is to be guided by something other than logic and evidence.” www.un-diplomatic.com/p/fresh-hell...
Reposted by Van Jackson
Beyond the headlines, why did manufacturing move to East Asia, who are the workers, and what are the social costs? I'm so honored to have Anru Lee and Ya-Wen Lei on Ep.5 of 开门见山 | Gateway to Global China @madeinchinajournal.com to discuss gender, labor, and (de)industrialization in China and Taiwan:
Episode 5 | Labour and (De)Industrialisation in East Asia | Made in China Journal
Over the past few years, industrial policy and manufacturing capacity, especially in the high-tech sector, have been at the centre of great power rivalry between the United States and China. The White...
madeinchinajournal.com
October 30, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Beyond the headlines, why did manufacturing move to East Asia, who are the workers, and what are the social costs? I'm so honored to have Anru Lee and Ya-Wen Lei on Ep.5 of 开门见山 | Gateway to Global China @madeinchinajournal.com to discuss gender, labor, and (de)industrialization in China and Taiwan:
“Put aside the precariousness of nuclear ‘stability’...Bracket off too the truism that one man’s deterrence is another man’s escalation. The indictment goes deeper, for nuclear testing is not harmless; it is a sacrificial form of nuclear use.” www.un-diplomatic.com/p/fresh-hell...
Fresh Hell: Unjust Nuclear Deterrence and Nuclear Testing
Un-Diplomatic is entirely reader-supported.
www.un-diplomatic.com
October 30, 2025 at 11:39 PM
“Put aside the precariousness of nuclear ‘stability’...Bracket off too the truism that one man’s deterrence is another man’s escalation. The indictment goes deeper, for nuclear testing is not harmless; it is a sacrificial form of nuclear use.” www.un-diplomatic.com/p/fresh-hell...
“We should be unsettled by the idea that a multi-trillion-dollar complex of mass extinction exists at all. We should be even more troubled by the fact that this nuclear enterprise is to be guided by something other than logic and evidence.” www.un-diplomatic.com/p/fresh-hell...
Fresh Hell: Unjust Nuclear Deterrence and Nuclear Testing
Un-Diplomatic is entirely reader-supported.
www.un-diplomatic.com
October 30, 2025 at 11:31 PM
“We should be unsettled by the idea that a multi-trillion-dollar complex of mass extinction exists at all. We should be even more troubled by the fact that this nuclear enterprise is to be guided by something other than logic and evidence.” www.un-diplomatic.com/p/fresh-hell...
Which side are you on?
California police boost patrols at grocery stores as millions set to lose SNAP benefits
California police boost patrols at grocery stores as millions set to lose SNAP benefits
www.foxla.com
October 30, 2025 at 4:04 AM
Which side are you on?
Trump is stringing together a bunch of meaningless words--literal falsehoods--to justify the punchline that the US is resuming nuclear testing. Putting aside that I predicted this, we’re unbridling the most violent weapon known to man on the basis of lies
October 30, 2025 at 4:03 AM
Trump is stringing together a bunch of meaningless words--literal falsehoods--to justify the punchline that the US is resuming nuclear testing. Putting aside that I predicted this, we’re unbridling the most violent weapon known to man on the basis of lies
Just booked Scott Sagan on the pod to talk House of Dynamite. Gonna be epic!
October 30, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Just booked Scott Sagan on the pod to talk House of Dynamite. Gonna be epic!
Reposted by Van Jackson
I had a fantastic talk on all things problematic in the defence and IR intellectual world with @vanjackson.bsky.social from the Un-Diplomatic podcast (among many other things) on my latest episode of official positions!
Be sure to check out all of Van’s stuff!
podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/o...
Be sure to check out all of Van’s stuff!
podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/o...
Talking IR academia and the state of the world with Van Jackson
Podcast Episode · Official Positions © · 28/10/2025 · 1h 14m
podcasts.apple.com
October 29, 2025 at 9:29 AM
I had a fantastic talk on all things problematic in the defence and IR intellectual world with @vanjackson.bsky.social from the Un-Diplomatic podcast (among many other things) on my latest episode of official positions!
Be sure to check out all of Van’s stuff!
podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/o...
Be sure to check out all of Van’s stuff!
podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/o...
"MAGA is not proposing to transcend the pain and power imbalances of the previous established order; they are in fact heightening both. On the matter of China, they are changing the character of inter-imperial rivalry, not the nature of it, nor the fact of it.” www.un-diplomatic.com/p/upsetting-...
Upsetting the China Consensus
Three new types of policy advocates are disrupting “great-power competition” in their own ways, but not getting beyond it.
www.un-diplomatic.com
October 29, 2025 at 9:59 PM
"MAGA is not proposing to transcend the pain and power imbalances of the previous established order; they are in fact heightening both. On the matter of China, they are changing the character of inter-imperial rivalry, not the nature of it, nor the fact of it.” www.un-diplomatic.com/p/upsetting-...
The Trump administration is not turning away from great-power rivalry with China--it’s shifting the line of conflict www.un-diplomatic.com/p/upsetting-...
Upsetting the China Consensus
Three new types of policy advocates are disrupting “great-power competition” in their own ways, but not getting beyond it.
www.un-diplomatic.com
October 29, 2025 at 7:44 PM
The Trump administration is not turning away from great-power rivalry with China--it’s shifting the line of conflict www.un-diplomatic.com/p/upsetting-...