Ben Francis
@benfrancis.bsky.social
PhD-ing in Peace & Political Science at University of Notre Dame. Climate and gender politics. Previously: a decade in aid sector in Palestine, Libya, Afghanistan, Nepal and elsewhere. Unrewarding sense of loyalty to: Man United, UK Labour Party.
He/him
He/him
Friends! Please consider signing this petition which needs (and deserves) a lot of attention to reach its target in the coming days. The Welsh government is making a monumentally poor decision that will have a detrimental impact on digital education in Wales.
petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/24...
petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/24...
Petition: Continue funding Technocamps to provide the support that schools and teachers across Wales rely on.
Welsh Government has stopped funding Welsh universities (Technocamps) to support Welsh teachers, and instead is giving £1.4M to York University to provide on-line resources for this. This is outrageous: both in the loss of critical local in-person support for Welsh teachers, and in the disrespect shown towards Wales and Welsh universities that are eager to support their local schools but are having their funding for this taken away and given -in far greater amounts- to an English university.
petitions.senedd.wales
November 17, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Friends! Please consider signing this petition which needs (and deserves) a lot of attention to reach its target in the coming days. The Welsh government is making a monumentally poor decision that will have a detrimental impact on digital education in Wales.
petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/24...
petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/24...
Reposted by Ben Francis
Just published at PNAS (@pnas.org): “Electing amateur politicians reduces cross-party collaboration”
We show that districts electing first-time members of the U.S. House experience substantial declines in bipartisan representation in the subsequent Congress.
🧵1/4
We show that districts electing first-time members of the U.S. House experience substantial declines in bipartisan representation in the subsequent Congress.
🧵1/4
October 9, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Just published at PNAS (@pnas.org): “Electing amateur politicians reduces cross-party collaboration”
We show that districts electing first-time members of the U.S. House experience substantial declines in bipartisan representation in the subsequent Congress.
🧵1/4
We show that districts electing first-time members of the U.S. House experience substantial declines in bipartisan representation in the subsequent Congress.
🧵1/4
Reposted by Ben Francis
Check out PWH postdoc @shanascogin.bsky.social's insight on Nepal's youth uprising here ⬇️
In the aftermath of the deadly anti-government youth uprising in Nepal that led to the fall of the country’s government, Shana Scogin, a political scientist and Perry World House fellow, weighs in on the roots of unrest, the interim government, and what to expect next.
@perryworldhouse.bsky.social
Three things to know: Postdoc Shana Scogin on Nepal’s youth uprising | Penn Today
In the aftermath of the deadly anti-government uprising that led to the fall of the country’s government, Penn Today spoke with the Perry World House fellow for insights.
buff.ly
September 29, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Check out PWH postdoc @shanascogin.bsky.social's insight on Nepal's youth uprising here ⬇️
Reposted by Ben Francis
Super interesting new paper by Ben Francis, one of my graduate co-authors, who is writing excellent theoretical studies and doing important empirical work on gender, the ethics of positionality statements, and the environmental movement. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Peace positionalities: exploring the use of reflexive positionality statements in peace research
The field of peace studies is necessarily concerned with issues of equity, justice, and inclusion. Notions of violence that define the field and a normative commitment to positive, sustainable peac...
www.tandfonline.com
September 30, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Super interesting new paper by Ben Francis, one of my graduate co-authors, who is writing excellent theoretical studies and doing important empirical work on gender, the ethics of positionality statements, and the environmental movement. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
New article out! 🚨 I analyze how peace scholars are using reflexivity & positionality statements. Their use is climbing, but approaches are varied. Our field is still shaping best practices. Open access in Peacebuilding.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Peace positionalities: exploring the use of reflexive positionality statements in peace research
The field of peace studies is necessarily concerned with issues of equity, justice, and inclusion. Notions of violence that define the field and a normative commitment to positive, sustainable peac...
www.tandfonline.com
September 29, 2025 at 1:35 PM
New article out! 🚨 I analyze how peace scholars are using reflexivity & positionality statements. Their use is climbing, but approaches are varied. Our field is still shaping best practices. Open access in Peacebuilding.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Excited to be at LeHigh University today to do a guest lecture. Climate change is a gendered phenomenon, let's talk about it!
September 18, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Excited to be at LeHigh University today to do a guest lecture. Climate change is a gendered phenomenon, let's talk about it!
Be cautious of the white dude academic opining on distant events but I've worked in and cared about Nepal for many years and have spent today refreshing horrific social media updates from friends & former colleagues there. Sending solidarity to young Nepalis taking on a corrupt & violent government.
September 8, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Be cautious of the white dude academic opining on distant events but I've worked in and cared about Nepal for many years and have spent today refreshing horrific social media updates from friends & former colleagues there. Sending solidarity to young Nepalis taking on a corrupt & violent government.
Interpreting submission guidelines and upload structures required for (some) journals is significantly more difficult a feat of problem-solving than any other part of academia. I feel I deserve two PhDs; one for my research and one for successfully navigating the Kafkaesque task of submitting it.
September 5, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Interpreting submission guidelines and upload structures required for (some) journals is significantly more difficult a feat of problem-solving than any other part of academia. I feel I deserve two PhDs; one for my research and one for successfully navigating the Kafkaesque task of submitting it.
So almost a 30% reduction in jobs from last year's market which many people told me was a bad year itself.
Not to worry, I'm going to take this PhD and deliver insightful lectures on climate politics while doing minimum wage service industry work. Destroy higher ed, but you can't stop me lecturing!
Not to worry, I'm going to take this PhD and deliver insightful lectures on climate politics while doing minimum wage service industry work. Destroy higher ed, but you can't stop me lecturing!
May-August total job number comparison is fucking brutal:
May-August 2024: 310 total positions (212 open to assistant TT)
May-August 2025: 226 total positions (138 open to assistant TT)
May-August 2024: 310 total positions (212 open to assistant TT)
May-August 2025: 226 total positions (138 open to assistant TT)
August 29, 2025 at 6:24 PM
So almost a 30% reduction in jobs from last year's market which many people told me was a bad year itself.
Not to worry, I'm going to take this PhD and deliver insightful lectures on climate politics while doing minimum wage service industry work. Destroy higher ed, but you can't stop me lecturing!
Not to worry, I'm going to take this PhD and deliver insightful lectures on climate politics while doing minimum wage service industry work. Destroy higher ed, but you can't stop me lecturing!
The absolute worst part about living 750 miles away from campus during the 5th year of your PhD is still getting the emails about the free food that's available after events. My grad student instincts are still strong. I still want the freebies!
August 29, 2025 at 2:26 PM
The absolute worst part about living 750 miles away from campus during the 5th year of your PhD is still getting the emails about the free food that's available after events. My grad student instincts are still strong. I still want the freebies!
Reposted by Ben Francis
The Fossil-Fueled Roots of Climate Inaction in Authoritarian Regimes
The Fossil-Fueled Roots of Climate Inaction in Authoritarian Regimes By William Kakenmaster, University of Notre Dame Why do some authoritarian regimes contribute more to climate change than others? I suggest that climate…
The Fossil-Fueled Roots of Climate Inaction in Authoritarian Regimes By William Kakenmaster, University of Notre Dame Why do some authoritarian regimes contribute more to climate change than others? I suggest that climate…
The Fossil-Fueled Roots of Climate Inaction in Authoritarian Regimes
The Fossil-Fueled Roots of Climate Inaction in Authoritarian Regimes By William Kakenmaster, University of Notre Dame Why do some authoritarian regimes contribute more to climate change than others? I suggest that climate inaction in nondemocracies is shaped by a combination of fossil fuel wealth and executive constraints. Fossil fuel wealth undermines climate action by giving leaders of authoritarian regimes incentives to capture oil and gas rents that help them maintain power.
politicalsciencenow.com
August 26, 2025 at 6:00 PM
The Fossil-Fueled Roots of Climate Inaction in Authoritarian Regimes
The Fossil-Fueled Roots of Climate Inaction in Authoritarian Regimes By William Kakenmaster, University of Notre Dame Why do some authoritarian regimes contribute more to climate change than others? I suggest that climate…
The Fossil-Fueled Roots of Climate Inaction in Authoritarian Regimes By William Kakenmaster, University of Notre Dame Why do some authoritarian regimes contribute more to climate change than others? I suggest that climate…
Swearing repeatedly is a legitimate research technique and an effective coping mechanism
August 26, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Swearing repeatedly is a legitimate research technique and an effective coping mechanism
Reposted by Ben Francis
TIL that @rizahmed.bsky.social is pro-sortition (random selection of citizens to become politicians) 😱
youtube.com/shorts/M7oTO...
youtube.com/shorts/M7oTO...
We need to stop having all election and elect leaders through a random lottery!! Feat Riz Ahmed
YouTube video by SubwayTakes with Kareem Rahma
youtube.com
August 24, 2025 at 8:27 PM
TIL that @rizahmed.bsky.social is pro-sortition (random selection of citizens to become politicians) 😱
youtube.com/shorts/M7oTO...
youtube.com/shorts/M7oTO...
As an inexperienced grad student I'm going through only my 2nd ever R&R process at the moment and wondering - is it normal, at a certain point of making revisions, to decide that actually the whole paper is (and always has been) bad?
It's happened to me both times. Is this just a me thing?
It's happened to me both times. Is this just a me thing?
July 31, 2025 at 10:02 PM
As an inexperienced grad student I'm going through only my 2nd ever R&R process at the moment and wondering - is it normal, at a certain point of making revisions, to decide that actually the whole paper is (and always has been) bad?
It's happened to me both times. Is this just a me thing?
It's happened to me both times. Is this just a me thing?
Took my wife to her first Man Utd game yesterday. I took care to explain that being a United fan would this season would almost certainly mean enduring frequent disappointment but that it was good practice for being married to me.
July 27, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Took my wife to her first Man Utd game yesterday. I took care to explain that being a United fan would this season would almost certainly mean enduring frequent disappointment but that it was good practice for being married to me.
The sentence "How can you have progressive politics without any sense of progress" efficiently captures a huge chunk of the problem. It's 11 words doing the same job as I do over 3 or 4 pints and a tipsy monologue to whoever will listen.
"The truly unnerving thing about the fall of Rome (yes, I’m going there again, sorry) was that most Romans probably didn’t notice it had happened."
Morning all!
Morning all!
The decline and fall of Great Britain
From the graffiti to the economy, a sense of terminal rot has set in.
www.newstatesman.com
July 21, 2025 at 12:35 PM
The sentence "How can you have progressive politics without any sense of progress" efficiently captures a huge chunk of the problem. It's 11 words doing the same job as I do over 3 or 4 pints and a tipsy monologue to whoever will listen.
My co-author only puts one space after a full stop. I type properly. I have begrudgingly agreed to her standard for our collaborative manuscript, though I did state for the record that one space was "woke nonsense" and I think this might be my descent into right wing politics origin story.
July 14, 2025 at 5:55 PM
My co-author only puts one space after a full stop. I type properly. I have begrudgingly agreed to her standard for our collaborative manuscript, though I did state for the record that one space was "woke nonsense" and I think this might be my descent into right wing politics origin story.
This morning while out with my research team collecting survey responses I was handed two fresh and delicious mangos by one of our survey respondents and fieldwork has never tasted so good!
July 7, 2025 at 5:50 PM
This morning while out with my research team collecting survey responses I was handed two fresh and delicious mangos by one of our survey respondents and fieldwork has never tasted so good!
Went to the @fifaclubworldcup.bsky.social in Philly today and, well, after spending ages trying to get near the stadium and then seeing lines of thousands trying to get in well after kick off, I gave up and came home.
FIFA messing up the organisation of a soulless commercial exercise? I'm shocked!
FIFA messing up the organisation of a soulless commercial exercise? I'm shocked!
June 18, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Went to the @fifaclubworldcup.bsky.social in Philly today and, well, after spending ages trying to get near the stadium and then seeing lines of thousands trying to get in well after kick off, I gave up and came home.
FIFA messing up the organisation of a soulless commercial exercise? I'm shocked!
FIFA messing up the organisation of a soulless commercial exercise? I'm shocked!
It was a real pleasure to present at the @politicsgenderj.bsky.social conference at Rutgers last week & to catch up with a great group of friends from IQMR. Even as the current state and future of academia seems depressing, it's the wonderful community and scholarship that makes me want to do this.
June 3, 2025 at 5:57 PM
It was a real pleasure to present at the @politicsgenderj.bsky.social conference at Rutgers last week & to catch up with a great group of friends from IQMR. Even as the current state and future of academia seems depressing, it's the wonderful community and scholarship that makes me want to do this.
So proud of my amazing wife who got to put on the fancy PhD robes and do the graduation thing last weekend ❤️
May 25, 2025 at 9:29 PM
So proud of my amazing wife who got to put on the fancy PhD robes and do the graduation thing last weekend ❤️
Submitting an article to a journal is, as a non-parent, how I imagine folks feel sending their kid off to school on the bus in the morning. Hoping they'll be lovingly looked after and well regarded by their peers. Secretly ok with the idea they might not be back home for quite a while...
April 22, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Submitting an article to a journal is, as a non-parent, how I imagine folks feel sending their kid off to school on the bus in the morning. Hoping they'll be lovingly looked after and well regarded by their peers. Secretly ok with the idea they might not be back home for quite a while...
The 1500 mile round trip drive was totally worth it to go to ISA in Chicago last week and find energy and community in very difficult times amongst masses of inspirational academics. None more so than the awesome peace scholars I was able to share a panel with.
March 10, 2025 at 8:13 PM
The 1500 mile round trip drive was totally worth it to go to ISA in Chicago last week and find energy and community in very difficult times amongst masses of inspirational academics. None more so than the awesome peace scholars I was able to share a panel with.
Made it to Chicago for #ISA2025, I love this conference. Great minds, big ideas, incredible scholarship. And open bar receptions if you're lucky!
March 3, 2025 at 11:18 PM
Made it to Chicago for #ISA2025, I love this conference. Great minds, big ideas, incredible scholarship. And open bar receptions if you're lucky!