Sign in

Allan Gillies

@allangillies.bsky.social
233 followers 226 following 145 posts

Senior Lecturer in Political and International Studies, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Glasgow | Political Economy of Illicit Commodities in Latin America

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Allan Gillies
The Glasgow Latin American Research Network @glalarn.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Many thanks to all those who came along yesterday to our workshop and fashion show. Weaving Stories, Weaving Peace considered the role of social enterprise in peacebuilding in Colombia, Scotland and beyond.
111
Reposted by Allan Gillies
Ewan Gibbs @ewangibbs.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
The BBC’s Ratcliffe interview is shocking. He’s allowed to spout unchallenged nonsense about politics, economics and energy. Ratcliffe is worth listening to because he represents an emboldened and retrograde section of Britain’s ruling class 🧵 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Billionaire Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe says he has lost confidence in UK
Ineos founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe tells the BBC he thinks the country is "on the slide" and calls for more investment in the North Sea.
1316765
Reposted by Allan Gillies
Anand Menon @anandmenon.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
God I hate this 'people who create wealth' nonsense. Let's see how much wealth we have in a society without teachers, nurses etc......
491141256
Allan Gillies @allangillies.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
New BBC editorial line
static.klipy.com
Kent Brockman: Welcome Insect Overlords
ALT: Kent Brockman: Welcome Insect Overlords
001
Allan Gillies @allangillies.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
So we’re only getting Papal control of the SFA for one season then? Rubbish #Celtic
000
Reposted by Allan Gillies
The Empty City @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Seems the difference between ‘protestors’ and ‘terrorists’ is that protestors wear balaclavas while terrorists hold placards.
3034381278
Reposted by Allan Gillies
Dean Hochlaf @dhochlaf.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Maybe there should be some added responsibilities for the most senior journalist at the national broadcaster to check the veracity of what their source is telling them before just posting it on the internet...
03814
Allan Gillies @allangillies.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
All-timer from Celtic last night, but not out of character. Not good enough. 2018-19 - 2-3 AEK Athlens 2019-20 - 4-5 Cluj 2020-21 - 1-2 Ferencvaros 2021-22 - 2-3 FC Midtjylland 2025-26 - 0-0p Kairat 2026-27 - 4-5 LASK
010
Allan Gillies @allangillies.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
static.klipy.com
Joe Pesci's 'Now Go Get Your Shine Box' from Goodfellas
ALT: Joe Pesci's 'Now Go Get Your Shine Box' from Goodfellas
000
Reposted by Allan Gillies
Alasdair Mackenzie @alasdairmackenzie.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
This is obviously 100% correct, but also it shows how the specific target of racism shifts over time - people on small boats, asylum-seekers generally, E.European workers, care workers, Albanians, Muslims - but it’s always, always a proxy for objections to any migration or racial diversity at all
626483
Allan Gillies @allangillies.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
The rise of the podcast class - folk theorising authoritatively on stuff they know little about.
010
Allan Gillies @allangillies.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...
theguardian.com
Colombia on the brink: ELN guerrilla group prepares for return to war
As Abelardo de la Espriella takes office as president vowing a new military offensive, the country’s last leftwing rebels are getting ready to fight back
000
Reposted by Allan Gillies
highland--paddy @highland--paddy.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
From the Graveyard to Paradise. If you know, you know.
0132
Allan Gillies @allangillies.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
This Argentina team needs adversity to turn it on. Battered England after the first goal. For England, yet another tournament passes where they’ve been underwhelming. So much talent to pick from as well - baffling.
020
Reposted by Allan Gillies
Jonathan Liew @jonathanliew.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
I wrote about England and Argentina, a rivalry that you often see described as “asymmetric” or “a grudge match”, but is really a kind of fascinating dialogic relationship, based largely in shared values and - in the Age of Saturation - nourished by scarcity www.theguardian.com/football/202...
theguardian.com
Love and hate collide: England v Argentina is not simply a grudge match | Jonathan Liew
Look beyond the flashpoints and flare-ups and perhaps this is the greatest and most romantic of footballing rivalries
10488
Allan Gillies @allangillies.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Argentina v England SF - tasty. Vamos
000
Allan Gillies @allangillies.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
Important article explaining the far-right movement in Scotland.
000
Reposted by Allan Gillies
Samira Shackle @samirashackle.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
I have to say, it's making me feel a little insane hearing commentators say Ed Miliband shouldn't be chancellor because of his "ideological zeal" for Net Zero, in a week where temperatures are so extreme that my kids are being sent home early every day and it's regularly 30 degrees inside my house
722699813
Allan Gillies @allangillies.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Stealing some great results in qualifying covered for the fact Scotland’s performances have been chronic for quite some time. Can’t help but feel the team is less than the sum of its parts, with no real clear identity
110
Reposted by Allan Gillies
Peter Beaumont @petersbeaumont1.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
This is what a pogrom looks like: men in masks coming to drive you from your home. This is a collective failure of our political and media class because we did not have the courage to say no, and because too many were allowed to embrace this without shame
3425331052
Reposted by Allan Gillies
Kieran Hurley @kieranhurley.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Glasgow has long had its own distinct "far right" anti-immigrant base that cannot be understood without understanding unionist loyalism. This truth is often dismissed - that's different, it's just about football here etc - but I reckon it's going to become increasingly impossible to deny.
714243
Reposted by Allan Gillies
Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Just chatting to a northern irish politician. Had to open their offices last night to help people put out of a loyalist neighbourhood in Belfast This is a city with a long history of ethnic expulsions, but this time we have politicians in the U.K. giving tacit (and not tacit) support
218463
Reposted by Allan Gillies
Joshua Collins @murosinvisibles.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Donald Trump endorses Abelardo in Colombian elections, saying de la Espriella will "stop illegal immigration, fight crime and drugs, and restore public order!” Also falsely calls Cepeda a "radical Marxist" and suggests Colombia's relation with the US will worsen if he is elected
31311
Allan Gillies @allangillies.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
“the very idea of ‘student satisfaction’ is in tension with genuine education since real learning requires intellectual pressure and challenge, which does not always produce satisfied customers. Yet it is satisfaction, not learning, that tends to be measured and rewarded.”
0207
Allan Gillies @allangillies.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Edinburgh Marathon ✅ The heat was a killer. Splits fell off a cliff second half of the race as the cramping kicked in. Just a case of finishing at that point. 3:20 was a decent time under the circumstances
000
Allan Gillies @allangillies.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
From afar, the reinvention of Burnham as a deep political thinker and man of the people is extraordinary. Remember him as a mediocre minister and career politician
000
Allan Gillies @allangillies.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
That was stressful. Up the Celts!
031
Reposted by Allan Gillies
Liverpool Distribution Services at Liverpool University Press @lupdistribution.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
After democratization, #Bolivia defied the region’s violent drug-war pattern by using state–narco networks to contain conflict, at the cost of entrenching corruption and weakening democracy. Find Alan Gillies's "Narco-Democratization": bit.ly/3QQFFAg @allangillies.bsky.social @upittpress.bsky.social
024
Allan Gillies @allangillies.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Love the framing - like paying someone a wage is an act of charity
000
Reposted by Allan Gillies
Tamar but spooky @heartinamber.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Making an actual violent terrorist attack about wokeness on uni campuses is unbelievable loser politics
116947
Allan Gillies @allangillies.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
The new book is finally out with Pitt Latin American Series! Available now in hardback and paperback from all the usual places
195
Allan Gillies @allangillies.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
Glasgow Running Festival - half-marathon ✅ Warm up race for the Edinburgh marathon, trying to get a sense of my pacing. Nice to run a PB - 01:26:29
000
Reposted by Allan Gillies
Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
£64bn is the cost of UK capitulation to pharmaceutical companies and Trump. Secret deal commits the NHS to pay higher price for new and existing drugs No debate in parliament. Govt can tax the rich, cut other services, let people die, start manufacturing drugs and become self-reliant.
thebureauinvestigates.com
Inside the £64bn pharma deal that could cost more lives than Covid
With the NHS on its knees, the UK has struck a secretive new drugs deal. But how was it made – and what will it really cost?
14319201
Reposted by Allan Gillies
The Glasgow Latin American Research Network @glalarn.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
On 5 May, Prof Javier Auyero of UT Austin will be in Glasgow to present findings from his latest book, Dark Governance: Illegal Organisations and State Power. Please join us for this joint event of GLARN and IPED. 16:00 - 5 May 2026 Room 916, 42 Bute Gardens Followed by a drinks reception
018
Reposted by Allan Gillies
The Glasgow Latin American Research Network @glalarn.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
We have a wonderful new blog by Juliana Ramírez-Muñoz to share with you. Juliana reflects on the Gloria Anzaldúa Borderlands workshop she facilitated for GLARN last month. Read 'Taking seriously the creative discomfort of starting where we are' here: tinyurl.com/47233mh7
012
Allan Gillies @allangillies.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
“The legislation makes the death penalty the default punishment for Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank found guilty of intentionally carrying out deadly attacks deemed acts of terrorism by a military court.” www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...
theguardian.com
Israel passes law to give death penalty to Palestinians convicted of lethal attacks
Knesset approves measure that has been criticised by European countries and rights groups
000
Allan Gillies @allangillies.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
While it’s easy to mock the complete ignorance of ancient philosophies which encouraged introspection (albeit with a different lexicon), this example speaks to a problem of our time: billionaires who believe their success in one area qualifies them to pontificate and intervene in other fields.
000
Allan Gillies @allangillies.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Two talks coming-up this month to support the launch of my new book, Narco-Democratization @upittpress.bsky.social. See below for details. Paperback (with 20 percent discount) is available to preorder here: www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10....
liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk
Narco-Democratization | Home
Organized Crime and Political Transition in Bolivia
123
Reposted by Allan Gillies
Joshua Collins @murosinvisibles.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
The US has conducted a bombing inside Ecuador near the Colombian border, with cooperation from the Ecuadorian military Ecuador and the US claim the target was a FARC dissident camp. They do not yet provide any further details US killings in LATAM go landward
21417
Reposted by Allan Gillies
Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Reuters Exclusive "U.S. military investigators believe it is likely that U.S. forces were responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls' school." "The strike would rank among the worst cases of civilian casualties in decades of U.S. conflicts in the ​Middle East."
reuters.com
Exclusive: US investigation points to likely US responsibility in Iran school strike, sources say
Military investigators believe it is likely that U.S. forces were responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls' school that killed scores of children on Saturday, two U.S. officials told Reu...
61299615226
Allan Gillies @allangillies.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Even by the Sun’s low standards, this is pretty astounding: war-mongering, Islamophobic and fascist.
000
Reposted by Allan Gillies
The Glasgow Latin American Research Network @glalarn.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
The next few months are shaping up to be a busy time for GLARN @uofgsocsci.bsky.social @uofgsps.bsky.social, with a host of exciting events. See thread below 👇👇👍
112
Allan Gillies @allangillies.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
Looking forward to sharing insights from my new book Narco-Democratization at @uniofaberdeen.bsky.social Centre for Citizenship, Civil Society, and Rule of Law seminar series on 10 February: cisrul.blog/event/dr-all...
cisrul.blog
Dr Allan Gillies Presents his New Book ‘Narco-Democratization: Organized Crime and Political Transition in Bolivia’
On Tuesday 10 February at 2-3.30pm in Edward Wright F61 and on Teams, Dr Allan Gillies (University of Glasgow) will speak on his new book ‘Narco-Democratization: Organized Crime and Political…
165
Reposted by Allan Gillies
Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
Some important new government policy that Native Americans might be interested in:
6157641785
Reposted by Allan Gillies
Dan Nexon @dhnexon.net · 05/01/2026
I’m sorry. I can’t let this Miller bullshit pass. After WWII “the West,” sometimes relatively quickly, sometimes not until the ‘70s, realized that the writing was on the wall: that they could spend vast sums in blood and treasure trying to defeat anti-colonial movements, and still lose.
627272
Allan Gillies @allangillies.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
“I’m not going to give a running commentary” - one for @aiannucci.bsky.social Also used the hypothetical get-out.
2476
Allan Gillies @allangillies.bsky.social · 04/01/2026
So, has the US made an agreement with people within the Maduro regime, maybe the military? Keep them in power in return for US access to Venezuelan oil? Kidnapping Maduro in and of itself doesn’t really achieve much
000
Reposted by Allan Gillies
Adam Isacson @adamisacson.com · 17/12/2025
This is the first time a FIFA Peace Prize laureate has ever ordered a naval blockade, of a nation with more than 3,000 miles of land borders, for allegedly "stealing" its own oil reserves. Truly historic.
333684
Allan Gillies @allangillies.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
UK politics podcasts, I’m once again begging you, please read a few books about Latin America before talking about it on your show. Some wild takes in this episode.
010
Reposted by Allan Gillies
Thor Benson @thorbenson.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
I guess it's fitting that it's a reimagined, worse version of someone else's artwork
Time person of the year cover for 2025
860238554348