Paul T. Levin
@paultlevin.bsky.social
Director of the Stockholm University Institute for Turkish Studies. Managing Director Consortium for European Symposia on Turkey. Docent (Assoc. Prof.) of and pontificator on international relations. Opinionated. Painter.
There are certainly cautionary lessons from the Cold War about supporting dictators & other CIA shenanigans. We do not need to repeat those mistakes. But I don't think that most current recommendations go far enough when it comes to the need to go on the offense. +
www.iss.europa.eu/sites/defaul...
www.iss.europa.eu/sites/defaul...
November 7, 2025 at 12:54 PM
There are certainly cautionary lessons from the Cold War about supporting dictators & other CIA shenanigans. We do not need to repeat those mistakes. But I don't think that most current recommendations go far enough when it comes to the need to go on the offense. +
www.iss.europa.eu/sites/defaul...
www.iss.europa.eu/sites/defaul...
Such dirty tactics will offend some finer European sensibilities, & I'm not saying that we should wholesale copy Russian tactics, but they are winning because while we adopt a "bureaucratic" approach appropriate for Brussels politics, they use an "entrepreneurial" approach perfected by gangsters.+
November 7, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Such dirty tactics will offend some finer European sensibilities, & I'm not saying that we should wholesale copy Russian tactics, but they are winning because while we adopt a "bureaucratic" approach appropriate for Brussels politics, they use an "entrepreneurial" approach perfected by gangsters.+
In plain language: The Kremlin is currently waging a massive grayzone war against European states with the objectives of sowing division, sparking unrest & violence, undermining democracy & weakening support for Ukraine. We should respond in kind.+
November 7, 2025 at 12:54 PM
In plain language: The Kremlin is currently waging a massive grayzone war against European states with the objectives of sowing division, sparking unrest & violence, undermining democracy & weakening support for Ukraine. We should respond in kind.+
Europe's response to 🇷🇺's disinformation & grayzone warfare attacks is "overwhelmingly defensive and reactive." As I have argued before, defense is not enough. If a fighter just bobs, weaves, & blocks, even a weak opponent will eventually pick him apart. This does not just apply to 🇷🇺 in the Sahel.+
November 7, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Europe's response to 🇷🇺's disinformation & grayzone warfare attacks is "overwhelmingly defensive and reactive." As I have argued before, defense is not enough. If a fighter just bobs, weaves, & blocks, even a weak opponent will eventually pick him apart. This does not just apply to 🇷🇺 in the Sahel.+
The social movement experts that were just mentioned have some answers. They agree that disruptive protests can be effective, but that the target should have a logical connection to climate, like fossil fuel companies, not art galleries.
November 5, 2025 at 3:16 PM
The social movement experts that were just mentioned have some answers. They agree that disruptive protests can be effective, but that the target should have a logical connection to climate, like fossil fuel companies, not art galleries.
That was a journalist’s terrible summary/interpretation of the actual study. You should read the study itself:
www.apollosurveys.org/social-chang...
Here’s just one relevant question, in which the experts completely condemn these kinds of protests (the bottom question):
www.apollosurveys.org/social-chang...
Here’s just one relevant question, in which the experts completely condemn these kinds of protests (the bottom question):
November 5, 2025 at 2:31 PM
That was a journalist’s terrible summary/interpretation of the actual study. You should read the study itself:
www.apollosurveys.org/social-chang...
Here’s just one relevant question, in which the experts completely condemn these kinds of protests (the bottom question):
www.apollosurveys.org/social-chang...
Here’s just one relevant question, in which the experts completely condemn these kinds of protests (the bottom question):
Vad händer här? Fick just detta från en spion i Istanbul.
October 29, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Vad händer här? Fick just detta från en spion i Istanbul.
I don't think I ever posted my latest #Istanbul painting. The motif is my mother in the evening sun at a Beyoğlu meyhane (meze restaurant). You can glimpse a golden İstiklal Street between the buildings. Oil on panel, 65x54 cm. (The painting is under offer.)
#art #konst #oilpainting #kunst
#art #konst #oilpainting #kunst
October 26, 2025 at 12:16 PM
I don't think I ever posted my latest #Istanbul painting. The motif is my mother in the evening sun at a Beyoğlu meyhane (meze restaurant). You can glimpse a golden İstiklal Street between the buildings. Oil on panel, 65x54 cm. (The painting is under offer.)
#art #konst #oilpainting #kunst
#art #konst #oilpainting #kunst
I USA har högern nått till ”det är ok att äga slavar” stadiet. Här är krigsministern Kegsbreaths favoritpastor.
October 25, 2025 at 2:59 PM
I USA har högern nått till ”det är ok att äga slavar” stadiet. Här är krigsministern Kegsbreaths favoritpastor.
Some notes on the peace process in Turkey from my recent trip to Ankara.
open.substack.com/pub/paultlev...
open.substack.com/pub/paultlev...
October 25, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Some notes on the peace process in Turkey from my recent trip to Ankara.
open.substack.com/pub/paultlev...
open.substack.com/pub/paultlev...
Here’s from when they tested a prototype back in 2020. I remember I was like what the hell is this?!
October 17, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Here’s from when they tested a prototype back in 2020. I remember I was like what the hell is this?!
Perhaps surprisingly to many, Hungary may be the next case where democracy claws back, as polling shows Orbán’s opponent, Peter Magyar, ahead in polls, even when government-aligned pollsters are included in the averages.+
October 17, 2025 at 6:51 AM
Perhaps surprisingly to many, Hungary may be the next case where democracy claws back, as polling shows Orbán’s opponent, Peter Magyar, ahead in polls, even when government-aligned pollsters are included in the averages.+
Jag och Leo the #sheltie var ute och målade på Hoburgen, längst ner på Gotlands södra spets, i helgen. Det var strålande vackert. Jag kommer att lägga ut lite filmer från utflykten på mitt Insta.
Olja på duk 61 x 50 cm.
#art #konst #dogsofsky
Olja på duk 61 x 50 cm.
#art #konst #dogsofsky
October 15, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Jag och Leo the #sheltie var ute och målade på Hoburgen, längst ner på Gotlands södra spets, i helgen. Det var strålande vackert. Jag kommer att lägga ut lite filmer från utflykten på mitt Insta.
Olja på duk 61 x 50 cm.
#art #konst #dogsofsky
Olja på duk 61 x 50 cm.
#art #konst #dogsofsky
I think there are lots of lessons for Democrats & opponents of autocratization in the U.S. from how the Turkish opposition has recently found its feet after years of losing. Reject polarization & have a positive message are two. Avoid violence is a third.
unbiasthenews.org/democracy-pl...
unbiasthenews.org/democracy-pl...
October 14, 2025 at 1:53 PM
I think there are lots of lessons for Democrats & opponents of autocratization in the U.S. from how the Turkish opposition has recently found its feet after years of losing. Reject polarization & have a positive message are two. Avoid violence is a third.
unbiasthenews.org/democracy-pl...
unbiasthenews.org/democracy-pl...
To those who argue that violent protest in the USA is needed, look at the argument right now between the judge trying to stop Trump from deploying troops to Oregon & the GOP governor of Texas seeking a rationale to send his National Guard. Which side’s argument would violent protest strengthen?
October 6, 2025 at 7:53 AM
To those who argue that violent protest in the USA is needed, look at the argument right now between the judge trying to stop Trump from deploying troops to Oregon & the GOP governor of Texas seeking a rationale to send his National Guard. Which side’s argument would violent protest strengthen?
Två sätt denna nyhet skulle kunna ha presenterats på. I den svenska versionen från DN ”klagar” Greta över löss.
October 5, 2025 at 9:33 AM
Två sätt denna nyhet skulle kunna ha presenterats på. I den svenska versionen från DN ”klagar” Greta över löss.
Verkligen! Jämför med hur internationella (tror att detta är turkiska) medier rubriksätter.
October 5, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Verkligen! Jämför med hur internationella (tror att detta är turkiska) medier rubriksätter.
The article quotes from an email by the Swedish Foreign Ministry to her relatives in which they convey Greta's account of her harsh treatment.
October 4, 2025 at 9:39 PM
The article quotes from an email by the Swedish Foreign Ministry to her relatives in which they convey Greta's account of her harsh treatment.
Did *you* read the article? If not, here's a screenshot from it.
October 4, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Did *you* read the article? If not, here's a screenshot from it.
Jag hatar att jag blivit en sån som kräver "hårdare tag" hela tiden. Låt mig förtydliga att jag inte krigshetsar. Men 🇷🇺 bedriver IDAG hybridkrig mot oss & vi har de facto valt en "Jesus-strategi" där vi får örfil efter örfil av Ryssland utan att svara. Hur går det? Har Putin trappat ner?+
October 3, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Jag hatar att jag blivit en sån som kräver "hårdare tag" hela tiden. Låt mig förtydliga att jag inte krigshetsar. Men 🇷🇺 bedriver IDAG hybridkrig mot oss & vi har de facto valt en "Jesus-strategi" där vi får örfil efter örfil av Ryssland utan att svara. Hur går det? Har Putin trappat ner?+
The judge introduced his judgment by responding to a death threat he had received. (See pic.) He then “assailed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in general for wearing masks, which he assessed was a tactic “to terrorize Americans into quiescence.””+
September 30, 2025 at 8:49 PM
The judge introduced his judgment by responding to a death threat he had received. (See pic.) He then “assailed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in general for wearing masks, which he assessed was a tactic “to terrorize Americans into quiescence.””+
A little know fact about what made General Eisenhower such a legendary commander: his ability to do a lot of pull-ups. He was a beast. A real physical specimen.
September 30, 2025 at 3:30 PM
A little know fact about what made General Eisenhower such a legendary commander: his ability to do a lot of pull-ups. He was a beast. A real physical specimen.
And yes, I know that political violence in the U.S. has almost exclusively been a hobby of the Right (and that some anonymous commenters here may well be Russian bots). Nevertheless, the Left clearly does have a growing problem (even if JD Vance has said so in his usual infuriating way).
September 29, 2025 at 9:23 PM
And yes, I know that political violence in the U.S. has almost exclusively been a hobby of the Right (and that some anonymous commenters here may well be Russian bots). Nevertheless, the Left clearly does have a growing problem (even if JD Vance has said so in his usual infuriating way).