Ashley Wood
@ashleywood.bsky.social
Foreign policy, democracy, public opinion.
Editing @ForeignAffairs.com, former NSC46 and State/China House. Floridian but don’t hold it against me.
Editing @ForeignAffairs.com, former NSC46 and State/China House. Floridian but don’t hold it against me.
Jim Mattis and leading former defense officials from Australia, the UK, and the US make the case for AUKUS in Foreign Affairs www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
Don’t Abandon AUKUS
The case for recommitting to—and revitalizing—the alliance.
www.foreignaffairs.com
September 5, 2025 at 1:35 AM
Jim Mattis and leading former defense officials from Australia, the UK, and the US make the case for AUKUS in Foreign Affairs www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
Robert Keohane joins the podcast for a wide ranging conversation on US-China relations, the consequences of the Trump administration’s misuse of interdependence, and the legacy of Joseph Nye 🎧
On the latest episode of “The Foreign Affairs Interview,” Robert Keohane discusses the late Joseph Nye’s contributions to the study of international relations and the future of U.S. foreign policy.
Start listening here: fam.ag/4kZ9jwJ
Start listening here: fam.ag/4kZ9jwJ
July 24, 2025 at 10:53 PM
Robert Keohane joins the podcast for a wide ranging conversation on US-China relations, the consequences of the Trump administration’s misuse of interdependence, and the legacy of Joseph Nye 🎧
If the U.S. wants to achieve results like China, it will have to build more like China by replicating certain aspects of how Beijing organizes and mobilizes its production economy, prioritizing speed and agglomeration. What Washington needs is an industrial policy with American characteristics.
An Industrial Policy With American Characteristics
Competition between China and the United States has long been framed as a contest between two countries with opposite roles in the global economy: China as the world’s leading producer and the United ...
www.foreignaffairs.com
July 1, 2025 at 3:16 PM
If the U.S. wants to achieve results like China, it will have to build more like China by replicating certain aspects of how Beijing organizes and mobilizes its production economy, prioritizing speed and agglomeration. What Washington needs is an industrial policy with American characteristics.
Reposted by Ashley Wood
Adding to the chorus of praise for this truly excellent piece by @profsaunders.bsky.social . See link below, in Julian's post. And here's another snippet:
June 16, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Adding to the chorus of praise for this truly excellent piece by @profsaunders.bsky.social . See link below, in Julian's post. And here's another snippet:
Reposted by Ashley Wood
Unfortunately, not a surprise.
It was always my understanding of the Trump-world critiques of the Afghanistan withdrawal under Biden, that if Trump had done it there would have been zero effort to evacuate vulnerable Afghans.
www.militarytimes.com/news/your-mi...
It was always my understanding of the Trump-world critiques of the Afghanistan withdrawal under Biden, that if Trump had done it there would have been zero effort to evacuate vulnerable Afghans.
www.militarytimes.com/news/your-mi...
Trump administration plans to end Afghan relocation programs
The White House plans to shutter a program that relocates Afghan nationals who are endangered because of their involvement with U.S. war efforts.
www.militarytimes.com
June 5, 2025 at 1:21 AM
Unfortunately, not a surprise.
It was always my understanding of the Trump-world critiques of the Afghanistan withdrawal under Biden, that if Trump had done it there would have been zero effort to evacuate vulnerable Afghans.
www.militarytimes.com/news/your-mi...
It was always my understanding of the Trump-world critiques of the Afghanistan withdrawal under Biden, that if Trump had done it there would have been zero effort to evacuate vulnerable Afghans.
www.militarytimes.com/news/your-mi...
Reposted by Ashley Wood
"I remain more committed to honesty than I do to optimism."
Moving essay, "In Defense of Despair," by Hanif Abdurraqib.
www.newyorker.com/culture/essa...
Moving essay, "In Defense of Despair," by Hanif Abdurraqib.
www.newyorker.com/culture/essa...
In Defense of Despair
The feeling is most commonly framed as an end point, a level of despondency that cannot be overcome. But it doesn’t have to be so.
www.newyorker.com
May 16, 2025 at 6:14 PM
"I remain more committed to honesty than I do to optimism."
Moving essay, "In Defense of Despair," by Hanif Abdurraqib.
www.newyorker.com/culture/essa...
Moving essay, "In Defense of Despair," by Hanif Abdurraqib.
www.newyorker.com/culture/essa...
So many book events are not good. This was great.
Wow, my first book event tomorrow in NYC is completely sold out! Can't wait to meet all of you 😍
One of the best things about going on book tour is getting to be in conversation with some of the baddest people I know. First up: @brandyzadrozny.bsky.social & Graciela Mochkofsky on May 21 at CUNY in NY.
Register for free: journalism.cuny.edu/events/book-...
My other stops: empireofai.com#tour.
Register for free: journalism.cuny.edu/events/book-...
My other stops: empireofai.com#tour.
May 21, 2025 at 11:03 PM
So many book events are not good. This was great.
Excellent reporting. Wild that Joe Kent, who believes the FBI planned Jan 6, is reportedly clinging to an FBI *partial* dissent to the NIC assessment that the Venezuelan state does not direct Tren de Aragua activities in the US
New from Julian Barnes, Maggie Haberman and me:
Trump Appointee Pressed Analyst to Redo Intelligence on Venezuelan Gang
The move followed a disclosure that intelligence agencies disagree with a key factual claim Trump made to invoke a wartime deportation law.
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/u...
Trump Appointee Pressed Analyst to Redo Intelligence on Venezuelan Gang
The move followed a disclosure that intelligence agencies disagree with a key factual claim Trump made to invoke a wartime deportation law.
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/u...
Trump Appointee Pressed Analyst to Redo Intelligence on Venezuelan Gang
www.nytimes.com
May 17, 2025 at 3:03 AM
Excellent reporting. Wild that Joe Kent, who believes the FBI planned Jan 6, is reportedly clinging to an FBI *partial* dissent to the NIC assessment that the Venezuelan state does not direct Tren de Aragua activities in the US
Excellent explanation of the real operational security risks of Signal Gate, featuring everything I’m paranoid about, by Citizen Lab’s @rondeibert.bsky.social in @foreignaffairs.com
reader.foreignaffairs.com/2025/04/24/t...
reader.foreignaffairs.com/2025/04/24/t...
The Real Lesson of SignalGate
A Surveillance Arms Race Has Poked a Gaping Hole in National Security
reader.foreignaffairs.com
May 6, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Excellent explanation of the real operational security risks of Signal Gate, featuring everything I’m paranoid about, by Citizen Lab’s @rondeibert.bsky.social in @foreignaffairs.com
reader.foreignaffairs.com/2025/04/24/t...
reader.foreignaffairs.com/2025/04/24/t...
Reposted by Ashley Wood
As if Chang Chang wasn't good enough already.
SCOOP: ICE tried to raid Chang Chang restaurant in Dupont (Washington, D.C.) but the manager ran then off.
May 6, 2025 at 7:24 PM
As if Chang Chang wasn't good enough already.
Reposted by Ashley Wood
Hardcoded credentials in the Signal archiving tool used by the White House is a five-alarm security dumpster fire.
The source code for the TM SGNL apps (basically a backdoored version of Signal used by Trump officials) is public! Since it's open source, I've pushed it to github for easier research micahflee.com/heres-the-so...
Here's the source code for the unofficial Signal app used by Trump officials
Yesterday, I published an analysis of what I could publicly find about TM SGNL, the obscure and unofficial Signal app used by Mike Waltz, and presumably also by Pete Hegseth, JD Vance, Tulsi Gabbard, ...
micahflee.com
May 3, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Hardcoded credentials in the Signal archiving tool used by the White House is a five-alarm security dumpster fire.
@himself.bsky.social asks: How do we build new publics, and new relationships between the public and the government, when technologies are leading to increasingly deranged publics and the government seems increasingly incapable of solving problems?
What happens when tech titans don’t just shape the conversation, but become the public voice? SNF Agora faculty Henry Farrell explores how Elon Musk and other tech billionaires are blurring the line between democracy and digital dictatorship. @himself.bsky.social democracyjournal.org/magazine/76/...
Reining in Our Tech God-Emperors
The Web We Weave: Why We Must Reclaim the Internet from Moguls, Misanthropes, and Moral Panic by Jeff Jarvis • Basic Books • 2024 • 272 pages • $29 When Elon Musk brought the U.S. government to the…
democracyjournal.org
April 3, 2025 at 2:38 AM
@himself.bsky.social asks: How do we build new publics, and new relationships between the public and the government, when technologies are leading to increasingly deranged publics and the government seems increasingly incapable of solving problems?
“America’s experience urges us not to be complacent. It holds no secret key to predict the future, however … It can happen here — but the “it” is likely to look different than anything that came before or elsewhere.” @thomaszimmer.bsky.social
I asked a number of people who study democracy and history where they thought the U.S. would be in 5 or 10 years.
Gift link: wapo.st/44bN4i6
Gift link: wapo.st/44bN4i6
Opinion | What America could look like a decade from now
Political scientists and historians weigh in on authoritarianism’s impact on the United States.
wapo.st
March 31, 2025 at 1:23 PM
“America’s experience urges us not to be complacent. It holds no secret key to predict the future, however … It can happen here — but the “it” is likely to look different than anything that came before or elsewhere.” @thomaszimmer.bsky.social
Reposted by Ashley Wood
They're called public records for a reason. Starting today, WIRED will *stop paywalling* articles that are primarily based on public records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, becoming the first publication to partner with @freedom.press to offer this for our new coverage.
Wired is dropping paywalls for FOIA-based reporting. Others should follow
As the administration does its best to hide public records from the public, Wired magazine is stepping up to help stem the secrecy
freedom.press
March 18, 2025 at 1:11 PM
They're called public records for a reason. Starting today, WIRED will *stop paywalling* articles that are primarily based on public records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, becoming the first publication to partner with @freedom.press to offer this for our new coverage.
Meta was willing to go to extreme lengths to censor content and shut down political dissent in a failed attempt to win the approval of the Chinese Communist Party and bring Facebook to millions of internet users in China, according to a new whistleblower complaint
wapo.st/3FpcoqA
wapo.st/3FpcoqA
Zuckerberg’s Meta considered sharing user data with China, whistleblower alleges
Meta went to extreme lengths, including developing a censorship system, in a failed attempt to bring Facebook to millions of internet users in China, according to a whistleblower complaint.
wapo.st
March 10, 2025 at 3:07 AM
Meta was willing to go to extreme lengths to censor content and shut down political dissent in a failed attempt to win the approval of the Chinese Communist Party and bring Facebook to millions of internet users in China, according to a new whistleblower complaint
wapo.st/3FpcoqA
wapo.st/3FpcoqA
Reposted by Ashley Wood
“When you see important societal actors — be it university presidents, media outlets, C.E.O.s, mayors, governors — changing their behavior in order to avoid the wrath of the government, that’s a sign that we’ve crossed the line into some form of authoritarianism.”
Six weeks into the second Trump administration, a chill is spreading over Washington and beyond as people on both sides stay silent out of fear of retribution. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/06/u...
Fearing Retribution, Trump Critics Muzzle Themselves
People say they are intimidated by online attacks from the president, concerned about harm to their businesses or worried about the safety of their families.
www.nytimes.com
March 7, 2025 at 2:02 AM
“When you see important societal actors — be it university presidents, media outlets, C.E.O.s, mayors, governors — changing their behavior in order to avoid the wrath of the government, that’s a sign that we’ve crossed the line into some form of authoritarianism.”
Reposted by Ashley Wood
Yes! Lets fix services and improve client experiences. The Biden admin invested more energy in that than any prior president. But that is not driving public beliefs about government for the most part, and many stakeholders are not clients (e.g. older ppl hearing about how crazy schools are on Fox)
March 3, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Yes! Lets fix services and improve client experiences. The Biden admin invested more energy in that than any prior president. But that is not driving public beliefs about government for the most part, and many stakeholders are not clients (e.g. older ppl hearing about how crazy schools are on Fox)
Just came across this excellent essay that gets at my long held skepticism of our approach to disinformation, polling, & silly outrage at inconsistencies in voter preferences.
We're getting the social media crisis wrong
The bigger problem isn't disinformation. It's degraded democratic publics. On Zuckerberg today and Musk over the last few weeks. www.programmablemutter.com/p/were-getti...
The bigger problem isn't disinformation. It's degraded democratic publics. On Zuckerberg today and Musk over the last few weeks. www.programmablemutter.com/p/were-getti...
We're getting the social media crisis wrong
The bigger problem isn't disinformation. It's degraded democratic publics
www.programmablemutter.com
March 1, 2025 at 4:58 AM
Just came across this excellent essay that gets at my long held skepticism of our approach to disinformation, polling, & silly outrage at inconsistencies in voter preferences.
Reposted by Ashley Wood
“If anyone with a smartphone can publish, they should also be able to verify,”
@nottspolitics.bsky.social' @drnataliemartin.bsky.social
writes with @eliothiggins.bsky.social for Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism
Read in full here ⤵️
@nottspolitics.bsky.social' @drnataliemartin.bsky.social
writes with @eliothiggins.bsky.social for Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism
Read in full here ⤵️
How to protect democracies from falsehoods? By empowering the young with open-source investigation skills
“If anyone with a smartphone can publish, they should also be able to verify,” argue Bellingcat’s founder Eliot Higgins and Dr Natalie Martin in this piece.
reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk
February 12, 2025 at 1:49 PM
“If anyone with a smartphone can publish, they should also be able to verify,”
@nottspolitics.bsky.social' @drnataliemartin.bsky.social
writes with @eliothiggins.bsky.social for Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism
Read in full here ⤵️
@nottspolitics.bsky.social' @drnataliemartin.bsky.social
writes with @eliothiggins.bsky.social for Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism
Read in full here ⤵️
Reposted by Ashley Wood
Standing up to the authoritarian wave requires more than cheerleading for democracy; it demands making democratic societies more participatory, responsive, and adaptable at all levels, from local to national, in response to the societal shifts driven by the Internet over the past 15 years.
February 21, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Standing up to the authoritarian wave requires more than cheerleading for democracy; it demands making democratic societies more participatory, responsive, and adaptable at all levels, from local to national, in response to the societal shifts driven by the Internet over the past 15 years.
Reposted by Ashley Wood
Reminder: Black history offers many examples of fighting authoritarianism, so one doesn't always have to look to Europe. Nazi lawyers looked to Jim Crow for inspiration for their racist laws. Read as much about struggles against Jim Crow as you do about other examples of resisting authoritarianism
February 14, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Reminder: Black history offers many examples of fighting authoritarianism, so one doesn't always have to look to Europe. Nazi lawyers looked to Jim Crow for inspiration for their racist laws. Read as much about struggles against Jim Crow as you do about other examples of resisting authoritarianism
Reposted by Ashley Wood
Okay, so you're using Signal for encrypted messaging. Cool. It's a good time to use usernames instead of a phone number to talk to people. That and lots more about how to make the most of Signal's security features in here: freedom.press/digisec/blog...
Locking down Signal
Also available in Spanish.
freedom.press
November 7, 2024 at 3:56 AM
Okay, so you're using Signal for encrypted messaging. Cool. It's a good time to use usernames instead of a phone number to talk to people. That and lots more about how to make the most of Signal's security features in here: freedom.press/digisec/blog...