James Baillie
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jubalbarca.bsky.social
James Baillie
@jubalbarca.bsky.social
1.4K followers 1.2K following 100 posts
Historian of the Medieval Caucasus, web community organiser, game developer, liberal activist, songwriter and storyteller. Somewhat hobbitish.

Also at https://exilian.co.uk/, https://scholar.social/@JubalBarca, and https://hcommons.org/members/jubalbarca/
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jubalbarca.bsky.social
Another #LibDems internal election post: I'm running to be a member of the party's Federal Policy Committee, and here's my pitch for why you should vote for me.

Questions, boosts, and support are all very welcome!
Why am I running? We need a clear liberal platform for the coming years, based on our core values and a strong evidence base. I want to help us change the narrative and change our country, with policies that challenge the other parties and set the terms of the discussion across policy areas. We need to understand the digital age and how to tackle big tech in ways that protect our data and civil liberties. As a humanities data specialist with years of experience running online communities, I’m well placed to be that needed voice on FPC. We need some more radical policies that tackle the root causes of problems. We can’t maintain credibility by approaching the biggest problems like climate change, disinformation, and inequality in a way that’s too timid to be useful. On the policies I’ve been motivated to run again because civil liberties are under threat, especially online. I want to see us tackling the business models of tech titans rather than resorting to unwieldy paternalism and the processing dangers of feeding huge quantities of personal information to “AI” data models. Labour and Tory policies like the botched Online Safety Act are putting people at risk—we need a liberal answer. I want us to be a strong voice for social liberalism in Britain. We have a duty to make policy that speaks for and amplifies the voices of people often marginalised by society, including trans people and migrants who are under particular threat right now. I want us to articulate a more distinct liberal economic policy, focusing on cooperative and social business models, rejoining European free movement and trade, strong standards and social security, and tackling rent-seeking, wage theft, and other unfair, unproductive and unequal practices. Endorsement by Welsh Lib Dem Leader Jane Dodds Who am I? I’m a historian, based in Vienna at the Iranian Studies institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. My specialisms are in digital data, how computers affect our understanding of history and identity, and the history of the Caucasus region. I’ve worked with digital creative communities making space for hobbyists and small businesses over the years, and I’m keen to ensure we properly tackle digital policy and support the innovative, economically dynamic world of small creators & artists. I grew up in rural Norfolk: rural issues and strong pro-environmental, pro-biodiversity policies matter strongly to me. That’s why I successfully campaigned for Nature Recovery Networks to become Lib Dem policy, and why I’m committed to building a liberal platform that works for rural towns, not just for London suburbs. What I’ve Achieved I co-wrote the policy motion that committed the party to back a Universal Basic Income in 2020, and drafted the subsequent party report on UBI implementation. My successful amendments to conference motions have included strengthening our commitments to restorative justice, keeping LGBT+ rights at the heart of our campaigning themes, and supporting immigrants by rejecting income and social security limitations for partners immigrating to join spouses in the UK. Outside the party, I’ve campaigned on a range of issues, most recently leading a parliamentary petition effort against censorship by payment processors where businesses use their near-monopoly power to block clients’ or third party content. How do I find out more? You can check out my blog, https://thoughtsofprogress.wordpress.com: contact me there, at @JubalBarca@bsky.social, Mastodon at @JubalBarca@Scholar.Social, or by email to james@wavcott.org.uk. I’m happy to answer any questions - and hope you’ll support my candidacy for FPC. Endorsement by Steff Aquarone, MP for North Norfolk
October 21, 2025 at 4:58 PM
jubalbarca.bsky.social
Another post for #LibDems federal elections: please give April Preston a top preference for Federal Council. We need folks who live their liberalism and better working-class representation at the top of our party: April's a great choice for that.

She's currently off BSky but here's her manifesto:
April's manifesto page 1. Gives her email as april.preston@icloud.com, notes her background as a care leaver, working class feminist, and trans ally who's worked on gender based violence, charity project management, and changes to the Lib Dem disciplinary system. April's manifesto page two. Gives her email address at april.preston@icloud.com, and endorsements from LD Women executive member Rebecca Jones on her tireless campaigning, Lord Mohammed on the need for working class representation in the party, and Radical Association founder James Baillie on her radicalism and the need to keep connected with lived liberal experiences. The manifesto finishes with a personal pledge to ensure Federal Council is a body where members feel their voice is heard, to ensure diversity is rooted in genuine representation not tokenism, and to bring lived experience into the Federal Council.
October 14, 2025 at 1:28 PM
jubalbarca.bsky.social
Lib Dem friends: internal party elections going on, here's my manifesto for Federal Council. Boosts welcome, if you can vote please vote for me, if you know a Lib Dem then please ask them to do so!

And please feel free to ask questions (whether you're a voter or not) about what all this is about :)
Federal Council Manifesto Why am I running? - Because I think good scrutiny makes for great leadership and I'm the right person to hold party leaders accountable - Because I want Federal Council to be an effective and unafraid scrutiny body and would support constitutional changes to empower its role - Assessing evidence is core to my work and core to this role What sort of party do we want? - Open to everyone, especially focusing right now on immigrants & trans folk who are under threat and on working class people who are very underrepresented in politics. - Better internal communications and giving the microphone to more people more of the time, especially specified associated organisations - Looking after campaigners and staff better to reduce burnout Who am I? I'm a professional historian, living and working in Austria. I'm outside the bubble of Westminster politics but engaged with what needs doing: that's the right perspective from which to be the good critical friend our party leaders need to get things right. I'm from a rural community in Norfolk, and whilst | now live abroad I've kept my membership with the Breckland & South West Norfolk Liberal Democrats. | want to make sure Federal Council properly represents the rural communities that make up so much of our voting base across the country. I've helped run digital communities for over half my life, chairing the Exilian creative society and being co-convenor of the Medieval Caucasus Network among other roles. Building spaces, working with constitutions and volunteers, and designing the right social rules and tools for the job is something I've spent my life doing. That gives me a wealth of experience that | can apply to party governance as well. How do I find out more? My blog, https://thoughtsofprogress.wordpress.com; @jubalbarca.bsky.social; @JubalBarca@Scholar.Social; james@wavcott.org.uk. I'm happy to answer any questions - and hope you'll support me for our Federal Council. Endorsements follow from former Lib Dems in England chair Alison Rouse, and former Federal Board member April Preston.
October 5, 2025 at 9:30 AM
jubalbarca.bsky.social
I wrote a thing! This is the fifth of my "Unexpected Bestiary" articles, in each of which I take seven curious creatures and discuss their lore, biology, and using them in fiction or RPGs. There's some great birds and beasts in this one - let me know what you think:
exilian.co.uk/article.php?...
A cormorant sitting on a tree branch. It is a black and grey bird with a yellow face, a large head and a slightly hooked end to the beak, and a vivid green eye.
August 24, 2025 at 10:00 PM
jubalbarca.bsky.social
Call for papers! We at the Medieval Caucasus Network are having our first international conference next year in Belgium, on how to study non-elites across the medieval region. Look forward to seeing some of you there!

Boosting and sharing very welcome :)
Call for Papers for the First International Conference of the Medieval Caucasus Network, 'Studying Non-Elites in the Medieval Caucasus'. Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Brussels, Belgium, on March 13th-14th 2026. This conference aims to present new, comparative and connective approaches to the study of non-elite groups in the medieval Caucasus, including but not limited to: - Peasants and non-elite pastoralists - Enslaved people - Non-elite women - Religious minorities. We invite papers on any of the above groups living in the Caucasus in the medieval period. Papers may include theoretical, methodological or historiographical overviews; comparative studies, including comparisons between groups in the Caucasus and those in other world regions and time periods; or case studies of individual social groups, social networks, textual or ethnographic sources, or archaeological sites. Papers may be presented in any national or endemic language of the Caucasus. For languages other than English, the organisers will endeavour to provide interpreters, although this cannot be guaranteed. Papers may be presented in person in Brussels, or online. Depending on funding applications, the conference organisers may be able to provide limited travel funding for some attendees. Interested speakers should send a CV, abstract of 100-300 words, contact details and information about funding requirements to mcnconference2026@gmail.com by 30th September 2025. Queries may be directed to this email.
July 21, 2025 at 2:18 PM
jubalbarca.bsky.social
A lilac bush in flower, with pale sky somewhere behind. The lilac flowers are sticking forward across the picture, in large bunches.
May 25, 2025 at 8:37 AM
jubalbarca.bsky.social
New paper out! In Aegyptiaca 8, I apply historical game studies methods to Egyptology rather than my usual medieval studies, and talk about how the Necrons of Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War reflect popular ideas of ancient Egypt in their game mechanics:

journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/ae...
Games are a key medium for modern science fiction and can contain a wide range of cues to evoke particular implied settings or analogies. Examinations of historical material in games of all kinds are, consequently, a growing academic pursuit. These analyses frequently focus largely on aesthetic representations, however, which are only one part of the ludic experience. Equally important are the models of game rules and AI that define arguments about how the world works. Focusing on the Necrons of the Dawn of War games but considering other titles in passing, this essay explores whether Egyptian-inspired science fiction in games can be considered mechanically rather than purely aesthetically Egyptian. This focuses mainly on whether particular special rules, unit types and attributes, and other similar structural mechanics of the game help in reflecting popular tropes about ancient Egyptian culture and society, especially ideas like an emphasis on slave underclasses, pharaonic autocracy and supremacy, fascination with death and preservation, and the association between ancient Egypt and technological advancement.
January 14, 2025 at 12:40 PM
jubalbarca.bsky.social
Some sillier recent writing: you may have heard of the Two Cows Theory, an old joke format which explains how political systems affects someone with two cows.

Well, I decided to apply it to explaining the world of medieval Europe - here's the result...
exilian.co.uk/forum/index....
Two cows, one in a papal tiara and one in chainmail with a helmet (badly photoshopped) stand in front of a parchment background. In front of them, a dark red banner says "The Two Cows Theory (Medieval Edition)" in white text with an oldey-timey looking font.
January 9, 2025 at 8:57 AM
jubalbarca.bsky.social
Release date announcement!

The Exile Princes, my upcoming turn-based RPG set in a vibrant medieval fantasy, will be live on Friday, Dec 13th. Quests, companions, strategy, and a new world to explore all await!

It'll be free on Steam, you can wishlist it at:
store.steampowered.com/app/2824620/...
A banner that says "the Exile Princes" with a tile-based manuscript effect map behind it including various strange creatures, a blue and pink coloured city, some farm tiles and some trees and mountains.
November 16, 2024 at 4:17 PM
jubalbarca.bsky.social
I'm officially me, as a one-person development studio :)

I make little RPGs and adventures - I've got a couple released, a Doctor Who fan-game and a survival-RPG set in the medieval fenlands, and I'm releasing my next & so far biggest project fairly soon, a fantasy RPG called The Exile Princes.
Banner saying "The Exile Princes" with a manuscript-effect square tile based map behind it including trees, farmland, creatures, and a blue and pink city.
November 15, 2024 at 9:57 AM
jubalbarca.bsky.social
Right, an introduction seems in order!

I'm Dr. James Baillie, I'm a digital humanities specialist & historian of the medieval Caucasus based in Vienna. I'm also an occasional writer, game developer, songwriter, and left-liberal activist, so if that sounds interesting, boosts/follows all welcome :)
Pasque flowers at Perchtoldsdorf, near Vienna.
November 15, 2024 at 9:53 AM
jubalbarca.bsky.social
Announcing Coding Medieval Worlds 5: Power and Institutions!

This is the fifth year I've run this shared historian/game dev space and I'm looking forward to it! It'll be 22-23 Feb 2025: email james.baillie@oeaw.ac.at to register :)

Plaintext call for participation at: exilian.co.uk/codingworlds...
The poster for CMW5. Full text at the link in the post.
November 5, 2024 at 2:20 PM