Avishay BSG (Ben-Sasson-Gordis)
@avishaybsg.bsky.social
Normative Theory of Civ-Mil especially under democratic backsliding | Liberalism Rekindled Postdoctoral Fellow @Hebrew U | Ruderman Scholar in Residence and Senior Researcher at the INSS | Napper extraordinaire | Kartofellophile
Pinned
Things about politics I’ve come to believe strongly:
1. Less bad is better than more bad
2. Nostalgia is generally incorrect. Things weren’t better
3. Still, things can get much worse
4. Democracy is an outlier in human political history
5. Optimism is rooted in agency, not positive predictions
1. Less bad is better than more bad
2. Nostalgia is generally incorrect. Things weren’t better
3. Still, things can get much worse
4. Democracy is an outlier in human political history
5. Optimism is rooted in agency, not positive predictions
On its face, this is not a promising sign from Mamdani. I say on its face, because I’m leaving open the possibility that he doesn’t consider Jewish immigration to Israel as such “a violation of international law”. But it’s far from being as clear as it should be.
After protest at synagogue, Mamdani says Israel immigration event misused ‘sacred space’ | The Times of Israel
www.timesofisrael.com
November 21, 2025 at 10:57 AM
On its face, this is not a promising sign from Mamdani. I say on its face, because I’m leaving open the possibility that he doesn’t consider Jewish immigration to Israel as such “a violation of international law”. But it’s far from being as clear as it should be.
Hey Siri, is this a CivMil crisis?
November 20, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Hey Siri, is this a CivMil crisis?
I have a paper I've been wanting to write for some time, about the state's duty of ignorance.
(Kindly, don't steal the idea)
(Kindly, don't steal the idea)
Border Patrol is monitoring US drivers and detaining those with 'suspicious' travel patterns
The U.S. Border Patrol is monitoring millions of American drivers nationwide in a secretive program to identify and detain people whose travel patterns it deems suspicious.
apnews.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:49 PM
I have a paper I've been wanting to write for some time, about the state's duty of ignorance.
(Kindly, don't steal the idea)
(Kindly, don't steal the idea)
At least he didn’t plagiarize a bit of his acknowledgements
November 20, 2025 at 10:08 AM
At least he didn’t plagiarize a bit of his acknowledgements
This is a really good conversation, and even though I follow this closely, I learned a lot. One thing I was sorry @lioneltrolling.bsky.social and Klein didn't discuss more is the role of American Catholicism in this phenomenon
November 19, 2025 at 1:30 PM
This is a really good conversation, and even though I follow this closely, I learned a lot. One thing I was sorry @lioneltrolling.bsky.social and Klein didn't discuss more is the role of American Catholicism in this phenomenon
The fact that he was emailing Epstein specifically about it is like the 16th worst thing about Summers’ emails
November 18, 2025 at 12:26 PM
The fact that he was emailing Epstein specifically about it is like the 16th worst thing about Summers’ emails
Reposted by Avishay BSG (Ben-Sasson-Gordis)
Political infrastructures can be used for good or evil.
Bureaucracy is essential to freedom, it’s just hard to see this because not only can it enable tyranny, the mechanisms that make freedom possible superficially resemble tyranny as well. Postal services and secret police alike keep standardized registries of the names and homes of the citizenry.
Look it's weird to say "the city is liberation. Bigness is liberation. Bureaucracy is liberation." But it so often is. The village is inherently tyrannical. Sherly Jackson knew this.
November 18, 2025 at 5:58 AM
Political infrastructures can be used for good or evil.
Rolled credits on Hades II. What a game. Now to true ending.
November 18, 2025 at 6:15 AM
Rolled credits on Hades II. What a game. Now to true ending.
Another thing no Democratic president would dare do, partially because of HR record and partially because of commitment to Israeli qualitative military edge (QME)
President Donald Trump said he plans to approve the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia - just ahead of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit
November 17, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Another thing no Democratic president would dare do, partially because of HR record and partially because of commitment to Israeli qualitative military edge (QME)
Reposted by Avishay BSG (Ben-Sasson-Gordis)
President Donald Trump said he plans to approve the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia - just ahead of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit
November 17, 2025 at 8:39 PM
President Donald Trump said he plans to approve the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia - just ahead of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit
The military matters to the future of American democracy. Trump knows it, and so should his critics
November 17, 2025 at 5:01 PM
The military matters to the future of American democracy. Trump knows it, and so should his critics
Also, summers’ advisees shouldn’t suffer the consequences of the reckoning.
November 16, 2025 at 5:19 AM
Also, summers’ advisees shouldn’t suffer the consequences of the reckoning.
Reposted by Avishay BSG (Ben-Sasson-Gordis)
The emails have Summers reporting to Epstein about his attempts to date a Harvard economics student & to hit on her during a seminar she was giving.
November 15, 2025 at 9:48 PM
The emails have Summers reporting to Epstein about his attempts to date a Harvard economics student & to hit on her during a seminar she was giving.
Reposted by Avishay BSG (Ben-Sasson-Gordis)
If you can't trust the JAGs or the chain of command, who you gonna call? www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...
And, yes, this counts as a crisis in civil-military relations.
What counts as a crisis? All kinds of things, but when members of the military think they may be asked to do illegal things? Yeah.
And, yes, this counts as a crisis in civil-military relations.
What counts as a crisis? All kinds of things, but when members of the military think they may be asked to do illegal things? Yeah.
November 15, 2025 at 7:32 PM
If you can't trust the JAGs or the chain of command, who you gonna call? www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...
And, yes, this counts as a crisis in civil-military relations.
What counts as a crisis? All kinds of things, but when members of the military think they may be asked to do illegal things? Yeah.
And, yes, this counts as a crisis in civil-military relations.
What counts as a crisis? All kinds of things, but when members of the military think they may be asked to do illegal things? Yeah.
Reposted by Avishay BSG (Ben-Sasson-Gordis)
In friend-enemy politics, surveillance & disciplining of allies is essential because of the infinite stakes of the existential struggle that politics is conceived of. Our side must be united, and traitors must be found & purged
November 15, 2025 at 6:22 PM
In friend-enemy politics, surveillance & disciplining of allies is essential because of the infinite stakes of the existential struggle that politics is conceived of. Our side must be united, and traitors must be found & purged
Or reinstate the circuit
What I first said in sarcasm I increasingly think is a real thing to consider:
Move SCOTUS to a strip mall in rural Kansas.
We can’t fire them. Impeachment* is functionally dead. The 18-yr term thing is a fantasy.
But we can kill a lot of their perks.
Bet Kav would retire fast.
Move SCOTUS to a strip mall in rural Kansas.
We can’t fire them. Impeachment* is functionally dead. The 18-yr term thing is a fantasy.
But we can kill a lot of their perks.
Bet Kav would retire fast.
Devastating piece on the human toll of Kavanaugh Stops.
Especially infuriating to know that rich white guys like Brett K can simply close their eyes to the human suffering their racist jurisprudence has unleashed.
Especially infuriating to know that rich white guys like Brett K can simply close their eyes to the human suffering their racist jurisprudence has unleashed.
November 15, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Or reinstate the circuit
Sometimes it's as hard as pulling out teeth to get all that gold
oh a kilogram of gold from Switzerland? where did they get that I wonder?
"It was tough to beat Apple, but the Swiss did it." said one administration official.
How the Swiss convinced Trump to drop tariffs with gifts of a Rolex desk clock and a 1 kg gold bar.
www.axios.com/2025/11/14/t...
How the Swiss convinced Trump to drop tariffs with gifts of a Rolex desk clock and a 1 kg gold bar.
www.axios.com/2025/11/14/t...
November 15, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Sometimes it's as hard as pulling out teeth to get all that gold
Reposted by Avishay BSG (Ben-Sasson-Gordis)
"Based on our shared understanding of what militaries do, domestic military use is liable to express, and even communicate, that the target of such state action is an enemy."
Helpful article by Avishay Ben Sasson-Gordis:
Helpful article by Avishay Ben Sasson-Gordis:
Citizenship, Enmity, and the Normative Theory of Domestic Military Use - Avishay Ben Sasson-Gordis, 2024
Historical and legal accounts of domestic military and militarized use abound, but there is no systematic normative treatment of the issue. This article argues ...
journals.sagepub.com
November 11, 2025 at 1:25 AM
"Based on our shared understanding of what militaries do, domestic military use is liable to express, and even communicate, that the target of such state action is an enemy."
Helpful article by Avishay Ben Sasson-Gordis:
Helpful article by Avishay Ben Sasson-Gordis:
People who follow the integralists, if the pope came out and said “integralism is a schism” how would they respond? I’m trying to figure out what actual papal authority means to them.
November 13, 2025 at 10:02 AM
People who follow the integralists, if the pope came out and said “integralism is a schism” how would they respond? I’m trying to figure out what actual papal authority means to them.
I can’t tell you how infuriating it is for me that a conspiracy theory turns out to basically be true
November 13, 2025 at 7:47 AM
I can’t tell you how infuriating it is for me that a conspiracy theory turns out to basically be true
If Vance succeeds Trump this may well yet end up being a Road to Canossa showdown
BREAKING: At Pope Leo XIV’s urging, U.S. Catholic bishops just delivered the strongest rebuke of a sitting president in Church history — condemning Trump-Vance raids as “inhumane” and “dehumanizing” in a 216–5 vote.
NEW: At Pope Leo’s Urging, Bishops Issue Historic Rebuke of Trump’s Raids
Nearly all U.S. Catholic bishops united in Baltimore to denounce the Trump administration’s “inhumane” deportation campaign — a near-unanimous, unprecedented moral stand against a sitting president.
www.thelettersfromleo.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:07 AM
If Vance succeeds Trump this may well yet end up being a Road to Canossa showdown
The 1990’s produced some of the all time best singer-songwriter music. They also produced Polyester Bride.
November 12, 2025 at 9:51 PM
The 1990’s produced some of the all time best singer-songwriter music. They also produced Polyester Bride.
Trump calls on Israeli president to pardon Bibi. Unlike Brazilian case, emphasizes he respects Israeli judicial independence, i.e. no sanctions if case isn’t dropped
November 12, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Trump calls on Israeli president to pardon Bibi. Unlike Brazilian case, emphasizes he respects Israeli judicial independence, i.e. no sanctions if case isn’t dropped
New England be New Englanding
Church Street in Burlington Vermont last night.
November 11, 2025 at 7:00 PM
New England be New Englanding
I object to the Ben Gvir led passage in preliminary Knesset vote of capital punishment for terrorists. But Hamas condemning it as a violation of humanitarian law and human rights is a bit rich.
November 11, 2025 at 7:52 AM
I object to the Ben Gvir led passage in preliminary Knesset vote of capital punishment for terrorists. But Hamas condemning it as a violation of humanitarian law and human rights is a bit rich.