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wbain.bsky.social
William Bain
@wbain.bsky.social
2.5K followers 530 following 110 posts
Professor of International Relations, National University of Singapore. International Relations | History of International Thought | Political Theology
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wbain.bsky.social
William Bain @wbain.bsky.social · Dec 4

Modern international order is a worldly application of a theological pattern

global.oup.com/academic/pro...
Reposted by William Bain
cfr.org
The UN80 Initiative, a plan to restructure the United Nations, aims to make it more agile in responding to global challenges—but its proposed budget cuts and agency consolidations have drawn scrutiny.

Here’s a rundown ⬇️
The UN80 Initiative: What to Know About the United Nations’ Reform Plan
As the UN General Assembly convenes for its eightieth session, one major topic of debate is the secretary-general’s internal reform plan, which proposes significant budget cuts and agency consolidati…
www.cfr.org
September 15, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Reposted by William Bain
chathamhouse.org
Seizing the $300 billion in Russian assets immobilized in Western jurisdictions and allocating them to Ukraine would send a strong signal that there is little light at the end of the tunnel for Russia's economy.
The ‘Fortress Russia’ economy has adapted well to pressure. But stagflation presents an opportunity for the West
Now could be the time to ratchet up sanctions pressure on Putin and change Moscow’s risk analysis of prolonging the war.
www.chathamhouse.org
September 8, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Reposted by William Bain
profpaulpoast.bsky.social
The Tianjin summit shows that the Russia-China alliance is as strong as ever. Truly no-limits. If Trump thought he could "pull" Russia away from China, he was mistaken. As I explain in my latest for @wpr.bsky.social, you can't manipulate major powers.

www.worldpoliticsreview.com/us-trump-rus...
The Myth of Great Power Manipulation
The idea that Trump is swaying Russia’s and India’s foreign policies misses a key point about great power politics.
www.worldpoliticsreview.com
September 1, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Reposted by William Bain
global-ih.bsky.social
1/9 Reminder, we do medieval history! "Violence and Order: Past and Present", a SI edited by Warren C. Brown (Caltech‬), @rorycox.bsky.social (St Andrews‬), & Jennifer Jahner (Caltech), explores medieval "meanings of and relationships between violence and order" www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
A contemporary (1334) depiction of knights battling at the Battle of Mühldorf in 1322
August 10, 2025 at 8:18 AM
wbain.bsky.social
The last pod from @fplgeneral.bsky.social before the launch of FPL!
August 15, 2025 at 8:27 AM
wbain.bsky.social
Latest pod from @fplgeneral.bsky.social
August 11, 2025 at 11:40 PM
Reposted by William Bain
chathamhouse.org
Countries like Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Poland are openly reconsidering their nuclear postures in light of eroding US security guarantees.
Eighty years on from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the world should not forget the devastation wrought by nuclear weapons
The breakdown of nuclear diplomacy, misleading talk of ‘limited’ nuclear war and a lack of public awareness have produced a dangerously heightened risk.
www.chathamhouse.org
August 7, 2025 at 6:01 AM
wbain.bsky.social
FPL is back!
August 5, 2025 at 12:51 AM
wbain.bsky.social
New from Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, one of the most perceptive scholars of religion and politics. A timely book on a crucially important issue

press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
Heaven Has a Wall
An urgent exploration of borders as sacred objects in American culture.   Our national conversation about the border has taken a religious turn. When televangelists declare, “Heaven has a wall,” activ...
press.uchicago.edu
June 22, 2025 at 3:35 PM
wbain.bsky.social
Come work with me at NUS Political Science. We are looking for an outstanding scholar and administrator to serve as head of department. The appointment is at the rank of full professor; research area is open. Please contact me directly for further information.

careers.nus.edu.sg/job/Professo...
Professor & Head of Department (Political Science)
Professor & Head of Department (Political Science)
careers.nus.edu.sg
May 28, 2025 at 1:24 PM
wbain.bsky.social
The grand finale from @fplgeneral.bsky.social
May 23, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Reposted by William Bain
aysezarakol.bsky.social
Why do we have such difficulty making sense of our current moment? I brainstorm some possible answers

www.theideasletter.org/essay/certai...
Certainty and Strange Thoughts - The Ideas Letter
Zarakol reflects on the collapse of the post–Cold War liberal international order and contrasts today's disorientation with the bold, definitive visions offered by thinkers like Fukuyama, Huntington, ...
www.theideasletter.org
May 19, 2025 at 7:37 AM
Reposted by William Bain
phillipspobrien.bsky.social
A new, free Europe Dispatch column by @alanderminna.bsky.social is out. She talks about the difficulty European states are facing balancing their commitment to Ukraine and their need not to have a rupture with the USA. open.substack.com/pub/phillips...
Playing Along in Trump’s Ceasefire Charade
In this week’s Europe Dispatch, Minna Ålander looks at the chaotic day in Istanbul from Europe’s perspective.
open.substack.com
May 16, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Reposted by William Bain
irjournal.bsky.social
Read Professor Kimberly Hutchings 2023 EH Carr Memorial Lecture given @interpolaber.bsky.social online first:

Resisting the canon: critique, abolition and doing epistemic justice in reading the history of international thought

Authored by Kimberly Hutchings

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Resisting the canon: critique, abolition and doing epistemic justice in reading the history of international thought - Kimberly Hutchings, 2025
The paper proceeds in two main sections. First, it sketches out the nature of critique as a de-canonising practice within IR theory and how critique has itself ...
journals.sagepub.com
May 15, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Reposted by William Bain
oxfordcih.bsky.social
📢 New Blog

Or Rosenboim (@orrosenboim.bsky.social) explores 'Planetary Orders and Global Divisions in the Political Thought of Barbara Ward'

intellectualhistory.web.ox.ac.uk/article/plan...
Planetary Orders and Global Divisions in the Political Thought of Barbara Ward
intellectualhistory.web.ox.ac.uk
May 15, 2025 at 7:55 AM
wbain.bsky.social
A spicy title from @dandrezner.bsky.social along with characteristically good insight
May 10, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Reposted by William Bain
brucealexb.bsky.social
Our next Australian Intellectual History Network seminar is coming up on Thursday, May 15.
4.00-5.00 PM (AEST)

Professor Peter Harrison on “The Origins of Scientific Naturalism”.

All welcome!

Join via Microsoft Teams.
Meeting ID: 495 232 214 924 8
Passcode: 8Pq2Ub9W
May 8, 2025 at 4:37 AM
wbain.bsky.social
Another insightful pod from the @theairshowpodcast.com
May 2, 2025 at 1:16 AM
wbain.bsky.social
www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
The Rise and Fall of Great-Power Competition
Trump’s new spheres of influence.
www.foreignaffairs.com
April 27, 2025 at 2:45 AM
Reposted by William Bain
duncanbell.bsky.social
JOB
Assistant Professor in the History of International Political Thought c.1700 to the Present, University of Cambridge

(this is a permanent/tenured position, open to those with a specialism in any period since 1700)
www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/50242/
Assistant Professor in the History of International Political Thought c.1700 to the Present - Job Opportunities - University of Cambridge
Assistant Professor in the History of International Political Thought c.1700 to the Present in the Faculty of History at the University of Cambridge.
www.jobs.cam.ac.uk
February 7, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Reposted by William Bain
foreignpolicy.com
As the so-called forgotten war enters its third year, with no clear end in sight, FP compiled a collection of reporting and essays from distinct voices to help you understand the many dimensions of the conflict and the cracks it has exposed in the global system.
Sudan’s Civil War, Two Years on
What the forgotten war has revealed about the international system.
foreignpolicy.com
April 21, 2025 at 11:30 PM
wbain.bsky.social
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Samuel Moyn: Liberalism Against Itself: Cold War Intellectuals and the Making of our Times. (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2023. Pp. 229.) | The Review of Politics | Cambridge Core
Samuel Moyn: Liberalism Against Itself: Cold War Intellectuals and the Making of our Times. (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2023. Pp. 229.)
www.cambridge.org
April 13, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Reposted by William Bain
profpaulpoast.bsky.social
The legal prohibition against territorial conquest is a pillar of the current global legal order. Too bad it's dying.

My latest for @wpr.bsky.social.
The Norm Against Territorial Conquest Is in Its Death Throes
The norm against territorial conquest has underpinned the post-World War II rules-based order. But it now seems to be weakening.
www.worldpoliticsreview.com
April 11, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Reposted by William Bain
jonostrower.com
Not one, but two, bleeped expletives on this week’s episode of @theairshowpodcast.com, in which we discuss U.S. economic policy, tariffs and the business of the sky. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... @crankyflier.com
The Air Show
Business Podcast · Updated Weekly · Jon Ostrower, Brian Sumers and Brett Snyder discuss the business of the sky on this aviation podcast.
podcasts.apple.com
April 10, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Reposted by William Bain
chathamhouse.org
Podcast🎙️| Are Donald Trump’s tariffs the end of globalization?

@jasonfurman.bsky.social, DeAnne Julius and @davidlubin.bsky.social discuss the impact of Donald Trump’s tariffs on the global economy.

Apple: apple.co/3FWLtD6
Spotify: spoti.fi/3E8XfJU
April 8, 2025 at 10:00 AM