iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

What happened at RAF Fairford? Depends which platform you use. (X, lol) From @exordelabs.com

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

In the old days, universities did this with Photoshop

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Scenes from a train ride to Scotland, a little while back. Flying there is faster and often cheaper, but the train is nice when possible.

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Coming soon. Featuring an amazing group of authors - check out the table of contents. And a 20% discount when you pre-order with code GLR BD8 www.bloomsbury.com/what-do-we-k...

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

ICYMI (everyone missed it), the US recently added "Los Tiguerones" to its Foreign Terrorist Organization list. An Ecuadorian prison gang joins a roster that used to mostly include al Qaeda affiliates and related terrorist organizations.

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Fascinating article by @markberlin2.bsky.social! Only about half of the articles in "jihadism research" in prominent journals cite any non-English-language sources. But there's a ton of variation across journals. (ISQ, when I was an associate ed., is about 15%.) Lots to think about, and improve.

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Only 8% of femicides in Mexico result in a conviction. Also:

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Important report from the UK: My Google maps shows “Lake Ontario (Lake America)” (boo) BUT someone snarkily added “smallest of the 5 Great Lakes.”

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

And here’s Pebbles enjoying the radiator a few winters ago.

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Some photos of Pebbles, the Essex campus cat, who sadly passed away after 17 years. He was a good boy.

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

For the data viz and critical reading files— this map is a typical example of when data patterns follow national borders only due to reporting issues.

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Regarding this former US Navy SEAL convicted of explosives charges, some news stories make it seem like he was "just" anti-law enforcement. But he had quite a mix of motivations, which he seemed proud to share. At the base of it all, intense antisemitism.

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

The grades/marks on in-class tests (grey) have a lot more variation than the at-home tests (orange). No surprise in the age of AI, but interesting to see... from IHE

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Is the US government being... surprisingly careful or selective... with the enforcement of foreign terrorist organization charges for cartel affiliates? Contrary to some predictions (and my own concern), for criminal groups it seems only high level members have been hit with material support...

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Flashback from about 11 years ago. It was a different time.

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

We wrote case studies on 80 FTOs. Sanctions don't seem to affect the groups that we consider "high financial adaptability" but they have affected some others like the LTTE, MeK, and the Islamic Jihad Union. We summarize aggregate findings in this figure...

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

New article! "When Do Sanctions On Terrorist Groups Work?" with Hyeran Jo and Joshua Alley. A few key points: -Sanctions like the FTO list do not seem to reduce the violence of most FTOs -We look at group "financial adaptability." Only low- or medium-adaptability groups seem affected by sanctions

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Every hometown's got the ominous megastructure. What's yours?

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Berlin. NEPS. I think I’m the only person posting about NEPS here. (I post like it’s 2015 on Twitter, I don’t care.)

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

In the Hague next week? Stop by! Looking forward to presenting some co-authored work

Monday 15 June 15:00-16:30, at University of Leiden Wijnhaven Room 3.48. "How Armed Groups Adapt"

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

This framing is a little nicer than the terrorism/war index. Same data, nicer title? ✌️🕊️🌼🙏 #framing

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Greenwich Royal Observatory. A less-visited but really worthwhile London spot! Scenic vistas in a lovely park and great history of astronomy, longitude, time, etc. 1/2

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

New Foreign Terrorist Organizations just dropped

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Raul was a kind and dedicated teacher-scholar and mentor to so many. He brightened a lot of lives and will be missed.

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

If you ask Google AI, Gemni, "Is it worth it to..." it will ALMOST ALWAYS say yes. I first noticed this pattern with tourism questions. (Now I'm an AI influencer.)

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

Interesting read re: rebel governance. (Gift access) A Congolese militia wants to sell critical minerals to Donald Trump economist.com/middle-east-...

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Essex local election results. Wivenhoe (University of Essex) is a small yellow (Lib Dems) part in the sea of teal (Nigel Farage’s Reform).

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

The UK marking scale, exemplified in a Guardian blind date article. (Really, should be an 8.)

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

The gunman was not in the same room as the president- he never made it to his floor/level. He was stopped at the security checkpoint. (Map from CNN.)

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

14 years ago, great talk. Time flies!

Poster advertising Melissa Dell's 2012 talk at CIDE, on Mexican drug trafficking networks. Eva Arceo and I discussed, and Rosario Aguilar chaired

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

This framing is a bit ridiculous. The shooting (fortunately) appears to be a totally isolated event- much more like a US school shooting than anything cartel-related. It was the anniversary of the Columbine school shooting.

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Mass shooting yesterday at Teotihuacán, the amazing World Heritage pyramid site near Mexico City. Noteworthy- this seems more like a "US-style" mass shooting, and does not seem to be related to organized crime. Single perpetrator, basic weapons. 1 dead, 10+ injured. (Photos circulating online.)

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