Ilhan Niaz
@ilhanniaz.bsky.social
Writes history - books include Old World Empires, The State During the British Raj, The Culture of Power and Governance of Pakistan, Downfall: Lessons for our Final Century, and just about to drop, New World Empires. OUP/Routledge/CSCR.
Pinned
Ilhan Niaz
@ilhanniaz.bsky.social
· Nov 13
My next book, New World Empires, is set to be out from Routledge soon - with separate print editions in the pipeline for India and Pakistan. Its a history of how the state evolved in the Americas and the chapters on the USA are really relevant to understanding what’s happening these days.
@bsky.app - I wasted nearly half an hour on a thread of posts. The thing didn’t go through. It got stuck on photo upload. And then I had to restart the app and my phone - the thread didn’t save to drafts for some reason.
You are doing a lousy job.
I won’t wast time on posting a thread here again.
You are doing a lousy job.
I won’t wast time on posting a thread here again.
November 3, 2025 at 5:48 PM
@bsky.app - I wasted nearly half an hour on a thread of posts. The thing didn’t go through. It got stuck on photo upload. And then I had to restart the app and my phone - the thread didn’t save to drafts for some reason.
You are doing a lousy job.
I won’t wast time on posting a thread here again.
You are doing a lousy job.
I won’t wast time on posting a thread here again.
Aiza Azam in conversation with Victor Gao about Sino-US relations, India-Pakistan, and what lies ahead. Worth watching in full:
youtu.be/aWyYL_vmH4w
youtu.be/aWyYL_vmH4w
“Bridges, Not Barriers: Victor Gao on China’s Global Vision”
YouTube video by ISSRA Official
youtu.be
October 26, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Aiza Azam in conversation with Victor Gao about Sino-US relations, India-Pakistan, and what lies ahead. Worth watching in full:
youtu.be/aWyYL_vmH4w
youtu.be/aWyYL_vmH4w
AI slop now accounts for a majority of the written content on the web.
There will be a niche market for “authentic free range human writing” while the bulk of a population increasingly unused to applying its own mind to anything make do with what AI produces.
www.pcmag.com/news/slop-ce...
There will be a niche market for “authentic free range human writing” while the bulk of a population increasingly unused to applying its own mind to anything make do with what AI produces.
www.pcmag.com/news/slop-ce...
Slop Central: More Than 50% of Articles Online Are Now AI-Generated
What will the future of the web look like?
www.pcmag.com
October 26, 2025 at 9:50 AM
AI slop now accounts for a majority of the written content on the web.
There will be a niche market for “authentic free range human writing” while the bulk of a population increasingly unused to applying its own mind to anything make do with what AI produces.
www.pcmag.com/news/slop-ce...
There will be a niche market for “authentic free range human writing” while the bulk of a population increasingly unused to applying its own mind to anything make do with what AI produces.
www.pcmag.com/news/slop-ce...
Zahra Naeem & Hussain Asad reveal how the installation of a coal power plant in Sahiwal has devastated the local community & environment - a shocking indictment of Pakistan’s government & bureaucracy: “Megawatts of Betrayal” - your must read for today:
www.dawn.com/news/amp/195...
www.dawn.com/news/amp/195...
SAHIWAL’S MEGAWATTS OF BETRAYAL
Promised as a beacon of progress and development, the decade-old Sahiwal coal-fired power plant was meant not just to address
www.dawn.com
October 26, 2025 at 6:07 AM
Zahra Naeem & Hussain Asad reveal how the installation of a coal power plant in Sahiwal has devastated the local community & environment - a shocking indictment of Pakistan’s government & bureaucracy: “Megawatts of Betrayal” - your must read for today:
www.dawn.com/news/amp/195...
www.dawn.com/news/amp/195...
Uzair Younus in conversation with the Hindustan Times on the improvement in Pakistan-US relations & the regional outlook. Worth watching in full:
youtu.be/vw1TProUzKQ?...
youtu.be/vw1TProUzKQ?...
The Real Story Behind Trump’s Ties To Pakistan
YouTube video by Hindustan Times
youtu.be
October 23, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Uzair Younus in conversation with the Hindustan Times on the improvement in Pakistan-US relations & the regional outlook. Worth watching in full:
youtu.be/vw1TProUzKQ?...
youtu.be/vw1TProUzKQ?...
Could part of the problem with Pakistani schools be that they have too much curriculum? A very interesting and thoughtful conversation with Sabeena Abbasi:
youtu.be/qTxuVvIfvJM?...
youtu.be/qTxuVvIfvJM?...
Pakistan's Education Emergency | Teacher Training | Student Learning Outcomes | Sabeena Abbasi
YouTube video by The Dialectic Arc
youtu.be
October 22, 2025 at 6:06 AM
Could part of the problem with Pakistani schools be that they have too much curriculum? A very interesting and thoughtful conversation with Sabeena Abbasi:
youtu.be/qTxuVvIfvJM?...
youtu.be/qTxuVvIfvJM?...
A superb conversation about Uzair Younus’s new book, Future Ready: Innovation, Abundance & the Global South.
Do watch the full thing - full of precise policy prescriptions that folks in government & the private sector can draw upon.
youtu.be/SKTswVV2dYY?...
Do watch the full thing - full of precise policy prescriptions that folks in government & the private sector can draw upon.
youtu.be/SKTswVV2dYY?...
How the Global South Can Be Future Ready | Uzair Younus on Innovation & Abundance
YouTube video by Parallel Learning Space
youtu.be
October 11, 2025 at 8:19 AM
A superb conversation about Uzair Younus’s new book, Future Ready: Innovation, Abundance & the Global South.
Do watch the full thing - full of precise policy prescriptions that folks in government & the private sector can draw upon.
youtu.be/SKTswVV2dYY?...
Do watch the full thing - full of precise policy prescriptions that folks in government & the private sector can draw upon.
youtu.be/SKTswVV2dYY?...
Uzair Younus’s new book, Future Ready, challenges the reader to understand the non-linearity of development & provides lots of valuable insights - here is my review of the book, be sure to get it as it’s a fast-paced and engaging read:
www.dawn.com/news/1946735...
www.dawn.com/news/1946735...
NON-FICTION: A GRAND STRATEGY FOR DEVELOPMENT
A new book offers sharp, engaging and valuable insights about developmental paths, and communicates complex ideas in an easily...
www.dawn.com
October 5, 2025 at 8:24 AM
Uzair Younus’s new book, Future Ready, challenges the reader to understand the non-linearity of development & provides lots of valuable insights - here is my review of the book, be sure to get it as it’s a fast-paced and engaging read:
www.dawn.com/news/1946735...
www.dawn.com/news/1946735...
Two enterprising young scholars from 🇵🇰 have just launched a new podcast series - called the dialectic it covers a wide range of topics from geopolitics to personal development - please watch their launch video & like & subscribe to their channel to give them a warm welcome:
youtu.be/5NpIdVKOH6o?...
youtu.be/5NpIdVKOH6o?...
October 4, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Two enterprising young scholars from 🇵🇰 have just launched a new podcast series - called the dialectic it covers a wide range of topics from geopolitics to personal development - please watch their launch video & like & subscribe to their channel to give them a warm welcome:
youtu.be/5NpIdVKOH6o?...
youtu.be/5NpIdVKOH6o?...
The mistake Democrats are making is that they think the current president cares about the administration that reports to him:
youtu.be/SoZwKjQ0c18?...
youtu.be/SoZwKjQ0c18?...
Shutdown Sparks Cringey Meme War & Trump Punishes Blue Cities | The Daily Show
YouTube video by The Daily Show
youtu.be
October 3, 2025 at 1:10 PM
The mistake Democrats are making is that they think the current president cares about the administration that reports to him:
youtu.be/SoZwKjQ0c18?...
youtu.be/SoZwKjQ0c18?...
In this article Ariba Shahid captures the the contradiction at the heart of ecocide & the ongoing collapse of industrial civilisation.
Solarisation is a good thing, but what happens when farmers use solar power to extract the last bits of underground 💧?
www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
Solarisation is a good thing, but what happens when farmers use solar power to extract the last bits of underground 💧?
www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
Solar-powered farming is digging Pakistan into a water catastrophe
Karamat Ali's cows and buffalos once provided his multi-generational family with milk. But earlier this year, the 61-year-old sold about a dozen bovine - and spent the proceeds on a set of solar panels.
www.reuters.com
October 2, 2025 at 11:35 AM
In this article Ariba Shahid captures the the contradiction at the heart of ecocide & the ongoing collapse of industrial civilisation.
Solarisation is a good thing, but what happens when farmers use solar power to extract the last bits of underground 💧?
www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
Solarisation is a good thing, but what happens when farmers use solar power to extract the last bits of underground 💧?
www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
Uzair Younus on the Grand Tamasha (a podcast from the Carnegie Endowment) on why the big story from Asia is the US-Pakistan reset & Pakistan’s breakthrough on the world stage after the 4 day conflict with India. Great convo. Listen & learn.
youtu.be/3l2DCQipv3c?...
youtu.be/3l2DCQipv3c?...
Why Washington Is Wooing Pakistan
YouTube video by Carnegie Endowment
youtu.be
October 1, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Uzair Younus on the Grand Tamasha (a podcast from the Carnegie Endowment) on why the big story from Asia is the US-Pakistan reset & Pakistan’s breakthrough on the world stage after the 4 day conflict with India. Great convo. Listen & learn.
youtu.be/3l2DCQipv3c?...
youtu.be/3l2DCQipv3c?...
Had a wide ranging discussion with Ejaz Haider on what lies ahead for world history - are we headed to a great unraveling? Where does China stand in all this? And then there’s the wrecking ball of climate change that no one is taking seriously. (English language)
youtu.be/CoFEGJLLmP0?...
youtu.be/CoFEGJLLmP0?...
InFocus With Ejaz Haider Ep75: Geopolitical Churns, Yesterday and Today
YouTube video by CSSPR
youtu.be
October 1, 2025 at 8:26 AM
Had a wide ranging discussion with Ejaz Haider on what lies ahead for world history - are we headed to a great unraveling? Where does China stand in all this? And then there’s the wrecking ball of climate change that no one is taking seriously. (English language)
youtu.be/CoFEGJLLmP0?...
youtu.be/CoFEGJLLmP0?...
Talked to the Mokalma folks about my 2022 book, Downfall: Lessons for our Final Century - marking the third anniversary of its publication. The book is free to download.
youtu.be/VtzCoDPH4b0?...
youtu.be/VtzCoDPH4b0?...
Muklama: Ilhan Niaz, The Process of Collapse (Revisiting “Downfall”)
YouTube video by Parallel Learning Space
youtu.be
September 27, 2025 at 8:35 AM
Talked to the Mokalma folks about my 2022 book, Downfall: Lessons for our Final Century - marking the third anniversary of its publication. The book is free to download.
youtu.be/VtzCoDPH4b0?...
youtu.be/VtzCoDPH4b0?...
On the third anniversary of the publication of my 2022 book (Downfall: Lessons for our Final Century), I’ll be discussing the process of collapse (a real sunny topic 😃) thanks to the Parallel Learning Space. You can join on zoom by emailing below:
parallel.learning.org@gmail.com
parallel.learning.org@gmail.com
September 22, 2025 at 12:14 PM
On the third anniversary of the publication of my 2022 book (Downfall: Lessons for our Final Century), I’ll be discussing the process of collapse (a real sunny topic 😃) thanks to the Parallel Learning Space. You can join on zoom by emailing below:
parallel.learning.org@gmail.com
parallel.learning.org@gmail.com
Pakistan’s constitutional order fractured in the 1950s, never to be healed & settled since. Asad Rahim Khan takes us back to how it happened & the role the judiciary played in legalising reversion to medieval norms of seizing power & arbitrary rule: 👍 👇
www.dawn.com/news/1943706...
www.dawn.com/news/1943706...
Power to the people strongest: 70 years ago, the apex court sealed Pakistan’s fate. Its effects still echo today
When Justice Munir denied the existence of the assembly’s sovereignty, he destroyed the country’s existing constitutional basis. Sovereign power in Pakistan would become a prize, to be seized by the s...
www.dawn.com
September 22, 2025 at 9:52 AM
Pakistan’s constitutional order fractured in the 1950s, never to be healed & settled since. Asad Rahim Khan takes us back to how it happened & the role the judiciary played in legalising reversion to medieval norms of seizing power & arbitrary rule: 👍 👇
www.dawn.com/news/1943706...
www.dawn.com/news/1943706...
Pakistan & Saudi Arabia have just signed a mutual defence agreement.
“The agreement states that any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both.”
www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...
“The agreement states that any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both.”
www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...
www.reuters.com
September 17, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Pakistan & Saudi Arabia have just signed a mutual defence agreement.
“The agreement states that any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both.”
www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...
“The agreement states that any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both.”
www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...
Uzair Younus in conversation with Ashish Pradhan (Kathmandu) on Nepal’s Gen Z led revolution. Worth watching:
youtu.be/0cQt1e4mv6U?...
youtu.be/0cQt1e4mv6U?...
Revolution in Nepal | Who is PM Karki? | Role of India and China | Ashish Pradhan | Ep 251
YouTube video by Pakistonomy
youtu.be
September 14, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Uzair Younus in conversation with Ashish Pradhan (Kathmandu) on Nepal’s Gen Z led revolution. Worth watching:
youtu.be/0cQt1e4mv6U?...
youtu.be/0cQt1e4mv6U?...
NASA announces that it might have found bio-signatures of ancient microbial life on Mars. The samples were discovered a year ago and have been rigorously analysed since then. A lot more study needed, but it is a very important development:
www.nasa.gov/news-release...
www.nasa.gov/news-release...
NASA Says Mars Rover Discovered Potential Biosignature Last Year - NASA
A sample collected by NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover from an ancient dry riverbed in Jezero Crater could preserve evidence of ancient microbial life. Taken
www.nasa.gov
September 11, 2025 at 4:03 PM
NASA announces that it might have found bio-signatures of ancient microbial life on Mars. The samples were discovered a year ago and have been rigorously analysed since then. A lot more study needed, but it is a very important development:
www.nasa.gov/news-release...
www.nasa.gov/news-release...
Commence Saturation bombardment:
youtu.be/TWpg1RmzAbc?...
youtu.be/TWpg1RmzAbc?...
AI Slop: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
YouTube video by LastWeekTonight
youtu.be
September 9, 2025 at 9:22 PM
Commence Saturation bombardment:
youtu.be/TWpg1RmzAbc?...
youtu.be/TWpg1RmzAbc?...
“It's highly ironic that the crowd who spent their entire lives trashing art education and the humanities suddenly finds so much value in the art they "make" with robots.”
www.the-sentinel-intelligence.net/the/?ref=the...
www.the-sentinel-intelligence.net/the/?ref=the...
The Biggest Problem with AI Art
And there's a lot...
www.the-sentinel-intelligence.net
September 9, 2025 at 8:20 AM
“It's highly ironic that the crowd who spent their entire lives trashing art education and the humanities suddenly finds so much value in the art they "make" with robots.”
www.the-sentinel-intelligence.net/the/?ref=the...
www.the-sentinel-intelligence.net/the/?ref=the...
Take 18 minutes & do watch this - it helps explain why poor leadership skills is rarely an obstacle to gaining leadership positions:
youtu.be/DU06c7f9fzc?...
youtu.be/DU06c7f9fzc?...
Why do we celebrate incompetent leaders? | Martin Gutmann | TEDxBerlin
YouTube video by TEDx Talks
youtu.be
September 8, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Take 18 minutes & do watch this - it helps explain why poor leadership skills is rarely an obstacle to gaining leadership positions:
youtu.be/DU06c7f9fzc?...
youtu.be/DU06c7f9fzc?...
My generation was there when Al Gore invented the Internet 😃- 1994 BBC program on the birth of the World Wide Web -
youtu.be/XpZ5STahhPE?...
youtu.be/XpZ5STahhPE?...
1994: Are YOU Ready for the INTERNET? | Tomorrow's World | Retro Tech | BBC Archive
YouTube video by BBC Archive
youtu.be
September 8, 2025 at 6:50 AM
My generation was there when Al Gore invented the Internet 😃- 1994 BBC program on the birth of the World Wide Web -
youtu.be/XpZ5STahhPE?...
youtu.be/XpZ5STahhPE?...
The key question this talk concludes on is “Who does AI help when we depend on learning with it?”
Gedeon explains the ‘cognitive offloading’ effect of using AI so that by using it people lose or fail to acquire skills and learning.
Worth watching in full:
youtu.be/m8WomdCLBqE?...
Gedeon explains the ‘cognitive offloading’ effect of using AI so that by using it people lose or fail to acquire skills and learning.
Worth watching in full:
youtu.be/m8WomdCLBqE?...
Is AI making us dumber? Maybe. | Charlie Gedeon | TEDxSherbrooke Street West
YouTube video by TEDx Talks
youtu.be
September 7, 2025 at 2:10 PM
The key question this talk concludes on is “Who does AI help when we depend on learning with it?”
Gedeon explains the ‘cognitive offloading’ effect of using AI so that by using it people lose or fail to acquire skills and learning.
Worth watching in full:
youtu.be/m8WomdCLBqE?...
Gedeon explains the ‘cognitive offloading’ effect of using AI so that by using it people lose or fail to acquire skills and learning.
Worth watching in full:
youtu.be/m8WomdCLBqE?...
Miftah Ismail in conversation with Usama Nizamani on a wide range of topics from economic policies, to the bureaucracy to foreign affairs. Worth watching in full:
youtu.be/9P89QRQKGeY?...
youtu.be/9P89QRQKGeY?...
Sugar Mafia, Ruling Elite's Privileges, Peace with India, and more | Ft. Miftah Ismail | Ep. 9
YouTube video by Chaos Knowledge
youtu.be
September 7, 2025 at 8:22 AM
Miftah Ismail in conversation with Usama Nizamani on a wide range of topics from economic policies, to the bureaucracy to foreign affairs. Worth watching in full:
youtu.be/9P89QRQKGeY?...
youtu.be/9P89QRQKGeY?...