Brent Sasley
besasley.bsky.social
Brent Sasley
@besasley.bsky.social
Political Science professor @ UT Arlington: international relations, Middle East, Jewish politics—even fantasy & science fiction. Nothing here represents UTA or the views of its employees (except me). he/him
A huge thanks to @goodauth.bsky.social for having me as one of their Good Fellows. @dadakim.bsky.social and Vanessa were amazing editors and full of patience! I learned a lot about writing. @johnsides.bsky.social and @profsaunders.bsky.social were great to work with, too!
May 14, 2025 at 8:13 PM
These kind of headlines are so problematic. The judge was upholding the law, not defying Trump.

www.thedailybeast.com/trump-appoin...
Trump-Appointed Judge Defies Him on AP’s White House Access
The outlet and the White House have been at war for months.
www.thedailybeast.com
April 8, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Reposted by Brent Sasley
In our latest Good to Know, we ask the question, "Why is antisemitism now on the rise?"

What is antisemitism, exactly? What motivates it – and how prevalent is it in America?

Read: goodauthority.org/news/good-to...
Good to Know: Antisemitism in America
Why is antisemitism now on the rise?
goodauthority.org
April 8, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Need a primer on antisemitism? Here’s mine, at @goodauth.bsky.social.

goodauthority.org/news/good-to...
Good to Know: Antisemitism in America
Why is antisemitism now on the rise?
goodauthority.org
April 8, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Reposted by Brent Sasley
Are you a graduate student planning to present a paper at the 2025 APSA conference on an IR/Foreign Policy topic? Need some funds to cover costs of attending? APSA's Foreign Policy section travel grant is there just for you- Apply Now!
April 7, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Reposted by Brent Sasley
This letter from the Harvard president bows to the fiction that the attack on higher education is about antisemitism
April 1, 2025 at 1:17 AM
Reposted by Brent Sasley
They had to cancel their tour because they couldn't find any citizens who wanted to meet with them and they anticipated needing overwhelming security to deal with constant protests. Seems like "the people of Greenland" have made it pretty clear who they feel is making "aggressive incursions".
JD Vance in Greenland: "Denmark has not kept pace in devoting the resources necessary to keep this base, to keep our troops, and in my view to keep the people of Greenland safe from a lot of aggressive incursions from Russia, from China, and from other nations."
March 28, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Does anyone have an electronic copy of the testimonies to the Peel Commission they could share?
March 28, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Do they think Goldberg won’t release the texts? Or are they confident that if they’re found to have lied under oath—in addition to the breach itself—Republicans in Congress will protect them?

www.axios.com/2025/03/25/s...
"No classified material": Trump officials all but dare The Atlantic to release texts
Jeffrey Goldberg has said the texts included precise details about U.S. strikes on the Houthis.
www.axios.com
March 26, 2025 at 12:44 AM
Reposted by Brent Sasley
Letter to leadership of universities being targeted, to run in Chronicle tomorrow. Academic friends, pls sign if you are a US citizen and tenured (ie it’s safe for you to do so)
“We Must Leverage the Strength of Our Institutions and Stand Together”
Text in replies

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
March 23, 2025 at 3:33 AM
I wrote about the fact that campus antisemitism is not as wide, deep, or virulent as Trumpworld and many others claims (goodauthority.org/news/the-tru...). This is not to say it isn’t there or only mild. But we need a complete understanding of the issue if we’re going to address it.
March 21, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Reposted by Brent Sasley
Here’s me at @goodauth.bsky.social on why the administration’s claims about antisemitism on campus are too simplistic.

goodauthority.org/news/the-tru...
Campus antisemitism is widespread, according to Trump.
Research suggests the record of antisemitism and antisemitic activities is not as deep and virulent as the Trump administration claims.
goodauthority.org
March 20, 2025 at 12:17 PM
Here’s me at @goodauth.bsky.social on why the administration’s claims about antisemitism on campus are too simplistic.

goodauthority.org/news/the-tru...
Campus antisemitism is widespread, according to Trump.
Research suggests the record of antisemitism and antisemitic activities is not as deep and virulent as the Trump administration claims.
goodauthority.org
March 20, 2025 at 12:17 PM
Here’s me on why Trump’s ideas about Gaza are so…problematic. It’s paywalled but DM if you want a pdf.

www.expressnews.com/opinion/comm...
Occupying Gaza goes against Donald Trump’s campaign promises
President Donald Trump promised to shrink the government budget and withdraw the United States from foreign entanglements. Occupying Gaza goes against that.
www.expressnews.com
March 12, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Reposted by Brent Sasley
Our "Good to Know" series of explainers at @goodauth.bsky.social can be used as teaching tools, as a supplement or complement to assigned readings. See our latest, by @besasley.bsky.social, on Israeli politics:
Why did the January 2025 ceasefire between Israel and Hamas take so long to reach? What about Israel’s domestic politics matters?

Read about this and more in our latest "Good to Know: Israeli politics."

goodauthority.org/news/good-to...
Israeli politics and political fragmentation, explained.
Israeli politics and the electoral system have encouraged the formation of right-wing government coalitions.
goodauthority.org
March 5, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Here my Good to Know piece on Israeli politics for @goodauth.bsky.social. Short version: the political right is likely to remain in power for a long time.

goodauthority.org/news/good-to...
Israeli politics and political fragmentation, explained.
Israeli politics and the electoral system have encouraged the formation of right-wing government coalitions.
goodauthority.org
March 4, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Is this just me? In Trump’s first administration we were constantly seeing news reports about how he treated those around him. That seems to be missing this time. Too early yet?
February 10, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Reposted by Brent Sasley
2024’s big surprises in Middle Eastern politics: Nasrallah’s end, Netanyahu’s warrant, and Assad’s fall.

Read: goodauthority.org/news/2024-bi...
What surprises in the Middle East did we see in 2024?
Middle East surprises last year included the fall of Assad, the death of Nasrallah, and ICC warrants against Netanyahu.
goodauthority.org
January 9, 2025 at 3:02 PM
As the Russian and Syrian militaries can tell you (if they could speak freely), imposing ideological conformity on the military weakens the military.

apnews.com/article/hegs...
Military leaders are rattled by a list of 'woke' officers that a group urges Hegseth to fire
Military leaders are rattled by a list of “woke” senior officers that a conservative group is urging Pete Hegseth to dismiss for promoting diversity in the ranks if he is confirmed to lead the Pentago...
apnews.com
December 8, 2024 at 1:45 PM
There was a time when many argued that Russia was gaining on America in the Middle East. It was never the case, but I can see why some thought that. With the end of Assad, Russia doesn’t appear to have any close, important, friends left in the region.
December 8, 2024 at 1:06 PM
Syria, end of an era. A long, terrible era.
December 8, 2024 at 1:03 PM