Andrew M Leber
banner
andrewleber.bsky.social
Andrew M Leber
@andrewleber.bsky.social
Asst. Prof. of political science, Tulane U
MENA politics, some photography, some translation
New Orleans, LA ⚜️
Reposted by Andrew M Leber
With security cooperation with the U.S. and economic ties with China, do Gulf monarchies get the best of both worlds? @andrewleber.bsky.social explains: China’s manufacturing capacity and high-tech capabilities shape competition in the region.

Full article: carnegieendowment.org/research/202...
Imports and Influence: China’s Growing Economic Presence in the Gulf
The Arab Gulf monarchies offer a window into the policy implications of China’s rising global economic influence, driven by its substantial manufacturing capacity and growing range of high-tech capabi...
carnegieendowment.org
October 31, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Reposted by Andrew M Leber
Posting is correlated with affective polarization:
😡 The most partisan users — those who love their party and despise the other — are more likely to post about politics
🥊 The result? A loud angry minority dominates online politics, which itself can drive polarization (see doi.org/10.1073/pnas...)
October 30, 2025 at 8:09 AM
Reposted by Andrew M Leber
Join us next week!
Tiffany Simon (@harvardkennedy.bsky.social) will present "Happiness as Control: The Political Consequences of Entertainment Policy in Saudi Arabia" and @andrewleber.bsky.social (@tulanepolisci.bsky.social) and @aasiegel.bsky.social (@colorado.edu) will discuss
October 29, 2025 at 11:31 AM
In case of interest for anybody in the DC area
October 14, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Reposted by Andrew M Leber
Initiatives like the Riyadh Comedy Festival aren’t helping Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman “clean up” his image abroad. But the kingdom’s international reputation isn’t its main priority here.

@andrewleber.bsky.social, on @npr.org: www.npr.org/2025/10/04/n...
The image Saudi Arabia hopes to achieve beyond the comedy festival
Saudi Arabia is working to reshape its global cultural image, but controversies over several acts in its comedy festival tied to the country's human rights record are underscoring the tension between ...
www.npr.org
October 6, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Reposted by Andrew M Leber
Two especially good bits ⬇️

What @andrewleber.bsky.social’s analysis captures, that much discourse around “-washing” events in the Gulf & beyond often neglects, are these domestic drivers.

Not everything is done solely, or mainly, for an international gaze. Some risks are taken despite that gaze.
October 4, 2025 at 8:12 PM
Reposted by Andrew M Leber
Dwayne has his job back because we organized for it. We fight or we die. Join AAUP today www.aaup.org/join
October 3, 2025 at 6:46 PM
I looked at the domestic drivers of the Riyadh Comedy Festival for @carnegieendowment.org

carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...
The Riyadh Comedy Festival Isn’t Trying to Change Your Opinion of Saudi Arabia
The driving forces are domestic.
carnegieendowment.org
October 3, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Reposted by Andrew M Leber
🚨🚨 My dear friend and fellow academic, the Palestinian American sociologist @emanabdelhadi.bsky.social has been taken by the Cook County Sheriff near Chicago. They have not mirandized her. Please signal boost. All eyes on Broadview for Eman and the community she was defending 🚨🚨
October 3, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Speaking tomorrow with Elias Muhanna at Brown University on a panel about Gulf-monarchy "giga-projects," for anybody interested in stopping by.

events.brown.edu/middle-east/...
Giga-Projects: Envisioned Communities in the Age of Saudi Arabia’s “Vision 2030”
The webinar hosted by Elias Muhanna, director of the Center for Middle East Studies, will be focused on megaprojects like NEOM, the Red Sea Project...
events.brown.edu
October 1, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Reposted by Andrew M Leber
"Perhaps the most ghastly piece printed during Hegseth’s reign as publisher was an assertion that Princeton’s characterization of sex with an unconscious person as nonconsensual was an effort to “indoctrinate” students."

thebaffler.com/salvos/battl...
Battle of the Sexes | Jasper Craven
Pete Hegseth has used his many perches—from Princeton to the Pentagon—to agitate for a kind of trickle-down masculinity.
thebaffler.com
September 28, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Reposted by Andrew M Leber
it's a great interview, and what's striking is that at the end of the day both klein and coates believe in winning people over. the difference is that coates thinks you do this by telling them the truth, and klein thinks you do it by empathizing with them and recognizing their concerns as Real
This was revealing. Worth reading. The basic demand is that Coates spend less time thinking/writing his true feelings and more time playing political strategist. Klein asks him over and over him to do Dem strategy; he says no, over and over. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/28/o...
Opinion | Ta-Nehisi Coates on Bridging Gaps vs. Drawing Lines
www.nytimes.com
September 28, 2025 at 2:10 PM
"As AI bots like ChatGPT become inextricably tangled with people’s private and public lives, it’s causing unpredictable new crises."

futurism.com/chatgpt-marr...
ChatGPT Is Blowing Up Marriages as Spouses Use AI to Attack Their Partners
Across the world, marriages are being destroyed as spouses use AI like OpenAI's ChatGPT to attack their partners.
futurism.com
September 28, 2025 at 2:30 PM
With due respect to the authors, this article further affirms the bankruptcy of terrorism studies in being a) value-neutral on "the state" and b) drawing artificial divisions with other forms of political violence.

www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
Left-Wing Terrorism Is on the Rise
For the first time in more than 30 years, attacks by the far left outnumber those by the far right.
www.theatlantic.com
September 24, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Reposted by Andrew M Leber
Critical part of the President's new $100,000 charge for H1-B visas: The Administration can also offer a $100,000 discount to any person, company, or industry that it wants. Replacing rules with arbitrary discretion.

Want visas? You know who to call and who to flatter.
September 20, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Reposted by Andrew M Leber
Across the Middle East, Israel’s strikes on Qatar have raised questions– among them whether the region can rely on the U.S. for protection.

Amr Hamzawy, Sarah Yerkes, @andrewleber.bsky.social, and Marwan Muasher share more: carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...
September 12, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Reposted by Andrew M Leber
🔝 This is the most-read story on FT right now >>
🚨 My latest story: Saudi authorities shut down two dozen music “lounges” in recent weeks over violations to public health and hygiene codes, but their existence has been controversial for years as conservatives see them as signs of the rapid decay of morals and social norms.
September 17, 2025 at 11:23 AM
I joined Carnegie colleagues Amr Hamzawy, Marwan Muasher, and Sarah Yerkes in assessing the regional fallout of Israel's recent strikes on Doha.

carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...
The Widespread Fallout of Israel’s Qatar Strikes
The operation against Hamas in Doha has eliminated the notion that the Middle East can rely on America for protection of its lands.
carnegieendowment.org
September 11, 2025 at 9:31 PM
'“They don’t want to go down in history as the people who facilitated either a genocide or the pathway to a genocide,” he says; they want jobs in the next White House.'

nymag.com/intelligence...
The Spin on Gaza
Those who resigned in protest over the war say its enablers are rewriting history.
nymag.com
September 9, 2025 at 11:38 AM
.@tulanepolisci.bsky.social is "seek to hire an Assistant Professor (tenure-track) in Comparative Political Economy." Open area focus, but looking especially for:
energy transitions
natural resources governance
domestic environmental/climate politics

apply.interfolio.com/172989
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
September 7, 2025 at 7:07 PM
"A headline in “Intelligencer” captured Cassidy’s posture: “Key Republican Almost Annoyed Enough at RFK Jr. to Act.”"

www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
R.F.K., Jr., Brings More Chaos to COVID Policy and the C.D.C.
When MAGA met MAHA, Donald Trump vowed that Kennedy would “go wild on health.” Promises made, promises kept.
www.newyorker.com
September 7, 2025 at 7:02 PM
A good look at US democratic backsliding in comparative perspective from McKenzie Carrier and Thomas Carothers.

Via @carnegieendowment.org

carnegieendowment.org/research/202...
U.S. Democratic Backsliding in Comparative Perspective
The erosion of U.S. democracy under President Donald Trump shares many features with other prominent cases of democratic backsliding. Yet a close comparative look highlights important distinctive elem...
carnegieendowment.org
September 2, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Sadly a feature, not a bug, for a Trump administration bent on destroying "liberal" institutions.

www.marketplace.org/story/2025/0...
Colleges brace for a harsh new reality as higher ed recession — or depression — looms
Higher education institutions like Clark University are rethinking how they operate as enrollment slips, costs climb, and politics threaten international students, research funding, and financial aid.
www.marketplace.org
August 29, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Reposted by Andrew M Leber
3 The Saints open next week in the Caesars Superdome, a building named after a casino in a world more dominated by MLMs, crypto, and assorted scams than ever before. Fans will spend a lot of their time watching while also placing bets on apps designed to bleed money from them all day.
August 29, 2025 at 3:56 PM