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Davis Ellison

@davisellison.bsky.social
329 followers 531 following 224 posts

Writer on history, civil-military relations, and Central and Eastern Europe Indiana guy in The Hague (not for that reason…yet 👀) Check out my podcast and substack Official Positions! 🇵🇸 🇨🇩

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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I can comfortably divide all of humanity between two types: 1- Those who are completely cool being in physical contact with others on planes 2- Those who hate it more than anything in the world And those in group 1 are unaware group 2 exists. I am 1000% group 2
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
In the finest of military traditions
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
open.substack.com/pub/official... Some weird thoughts on a Friday! What are we doing, whats going on?
open.substack.com
There's too much to know
We're not supposed to know this much
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HCSS - The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies @hcss.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
What does deterrence against Russian aggression look like in practice? Ahead of the 2026 NATO Summit, HCSS analyst @davisellison.bsky.social travelled through Estonia, from the military base at Tapa to the border in Narva, gaining first-hand insights into security on NATO's eastern flank.
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Expert Insights | Seeing Deterrence Up Close: Notes from Estonia's Front Line - HCSS
Just days before the 2026 NATO Summit in Ankara, HCSS strategic analyst Davis Ellison joined a study tour of Estonia to gain first-hand insight into security on NATO's eastern flank. From military…
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David, just David @coldwarhost.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
It's #StarWarsDay! Remember, the first picture are the Rebels and the Second picture are the Empire
Viet Cong soldiersUS Marines, Vietnam-era
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
In my latest with The European Leadership Network @theeln.bsky.social, I argue that TPNW membership is not at the crossed-purposes of alliance networks that is so often claimed. Also perhaps of interest to @apln.network and @eunpdc.bsky.social europeanleadershipnetwork.org/commentary/a...
europeanleadershipnetwork.org
At cross purposes? The TPNW and US alliance commitments
As the US behaves with increasing unpredictability, it is becoming necessary for its allies to develop more independent foreign policy paths. Taking a leadership role on the TPNW could be part of that...
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
thecradle.co/articles-id/... Some thoughts I gave to @thecradlemedia.bsky.social’s Stasa Salacanin on the US/Israeli war on Iran and transatlantic relations. Not a great time for any hangover Atlanticists still poking around…
thecradle.co
NATO at breaking point: Transatlantic rupture accelerates under US escalation
Europe is moving, cautiously but decisively, toward a security future that no longer depends on the US.
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Iceland is without a doubt my new favourite place. Push comes to shove I will disappear to the glaciers. 🇮🇸
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
One of the bleaker things I always see in the Netherlands is groups of people shovelling down hard bread with cheese as they walk and calling it “lunch.”
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Joe Kassabian @jkass99.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
People keep saying "send Donald Trump to The Hague" but have you considered i dont want to live near him?
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
What a lot of national security minded folks don’t quite grasp is that opposition to the US-Israeli war on Iran is not interested in US success. They seem to have the attitude that those in the opposition are concerned with procedure, like them (ie lack of strategy, no Congressional approval)
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
From the war against Iran to the ICE occupations and murders, historians are not going to see the internal records of this administration, thats for sure. They will absolutely be destroying whatever they can whenever they leave. www.cbsnews.com/news/justice...
cbsnews.com
Justice Department says law requiring president to turn over records at end of administration is unconstitutional
The opinion from the Office of Legal Counsel said that because it believes the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional, President Trump does not need to comply with it.
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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
I gave a campus talk last night on Trump's first 100 days for the WUD Society & Politics group. A student asked me if I thought that, at some point, we might start to describe the US as a competitive authoritarian regime. I said that we were already there, it's just that most folks haven't noticed:
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
How it feels learning Russian
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Not a great time to share a last name with dude. You can be damn sure though if my wife and I had this some programming changes would be made. Priority #1: Merging all MTV reality into one giant chaotic homunculus
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
I promise not to get political. Me at the function 1 hour later:
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Lol this AI slop image of Clausewitz is great. Like he’d be going: “Where the tf the tsar?” “France has nukes?!?” “Whats a nuke?!” “Tf is a Saudi?” Guy probably would’ve ended up addicted to Zyn and Only Fans like a true modern military professional.
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
Oh look, just a premier security studies school linking its students to violent extremism for passing a student-led resolution on BDS. Yet another university administration choosing government ties over its own students…. www.hertie-school.org/en/news/allc...
hertie-school.org
Hertie School: no institutional support for BDS campaign
Hertie School leadership sharply criticizes a resolution adopted by its student representatives and affirms that no school policies will be affected by the student-led endorsement of the BDS campaign.
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Also good on Spain for calling out Rutte’s pro-Trump bullshit. His appeasing the US goes way beyond the veneer of “holding the alliance together.” www.politico.eu/article/spai...
politico.eu
Spain rejects Rutte’s claim of ‘massive’ backing for Iran war by NATO allies
Madrid has been one of the fiercest critics of the escalating conflict and has refused to let the U.S. use jointly operated military bases to conduct its strikes.
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Good on Spain for its full refusal to take part in or enable this US insanity. Half marks for the UK. Alliances aren’t worth it if they’re a one way street, and more European countries are starting to realise that.
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Viet Thanh Nguyen @vietthanhnguyen.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
I think the last time the USA created regime change solely through bombing was in Cambodia, when a massive carpet bombing campaign so destabilized the country that the Khmer Rouge came to power and wiped out the Royal government—the American ally. Genocide followed.
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WWN @waterfordwhispers.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
Quote of the day
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Van Jackson @vanjackson.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
A central feature of US decline is declining credibility. When it makes threats and promises, others simply don’t believe it. As Trump has now twice used diplomacy for the sole purpose of deception to wage illegal war on Iran, he has only accelerated US decline
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Spencer Ackerman @attackerman.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
Inhumanity and insanity. The sort of thing a dying empire does.
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
Wake up babe, my country started another war of aggression. I can only wish US and Israeli forces failure.
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Taliban fighters who’ve been stuck in office jobs getting up to go beat their third nuclear power in their lifetime.
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
It is just on the nose how defence commentators will condemn the Russian bombing of Ukrainian energy infrastructure on one hand and totally back strangling Cuban energy supplies. Both sides of their mouth.
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
How did I wind up helping plan a NATO summit while surrounded by anti-NATO protestors? Take a look in here, where I try to wrap my mind around becoming a peace strategist not only in form, but function. officialpositions.substack.com/p/an-absurd-...
officialpositions.substack.com
An absurd coffee hour
Or, cognitive dissonance personified
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
Easy to write off as unhinged behaviour from Alberta separatists and US officials, more accurate to describe as a genuine plan they’re trying hard to make happen. Imperialism doesn’t happen by accident. www.cbc.ca/news/politic...
cbc.ca
Carney says he expects U.S. to 'respect Canadian sovereignty' after Alberta separatists meet with Trump team | CBC
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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
A Minnesota woman observing ICE agents in her car was cornered on one-way streets. An agent approached, called her by name—citing facial recognition. Days later, her Global Entry and TSA privileges were revoked, with no explanation.
nytimes.com
How ICE Already Knows Who Minneapolis Protesters Are
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Waitman Wade Beorn, PhD, FRHistS @waitmanwbeorn.com · 27/01/2026
Chuck Schumer needs to go. The resistance deserves better leadership. @schumer.senate.gov
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
Its finally happened. Nature itself is over our collective shit and has found a new leader. I for one welcome our new bovine overlords. www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
Cow astonishes scientists with rare tool use
The discovery suggests cows may have far greater cognitive abilities than previously assumed.
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
Sensational
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Things are looking up in London!
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
Check out my latest short piece on the risks of being too categorical with too little historical knowledge: open.substack.com/pub/official... In short, by over-using the analogy of 1939, we risk sparking 1914.
open.substack.com
E.H. Carr and the modern European crisis
The risk of projecting metaphors.
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Ken Jennings @kenjennings.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
The “prosecute the former regime at every level” candidate has my vote in 2028.
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
See, this isn’t just a discussion to be had about how violent this particular presidency is. This needs to be a discussion about the disestablishment of the post-war national security state to take power from the executive branch. We should want the president’s hand tied. This means, in no order:
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Christoph Harig @charig.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
"Don't blame us, we're just innocent apolitical professionals - who could have known all these orders were illegal?"
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
Demonstrated now both with Iran and Venezuela, talking with the US now makes you a bombing target. America’s allies need to wake up and realise they’re aligned with a rogue state.
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Christoph Harig @charig.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
Once again, congrats to "the professional US military will never obey illegal orders, the true civ-mil crisis would be if they voiced dissent"-crowd
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 30/12/2025
How it feels being American in Europe: Wake up everyone, my country is attacking another country that didn’t attack us. Happy New Year y’all, but not to anyone at the Pentagon. I hope the pizza place stops delivering 🫵
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
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HIG - The Hague Institute for Geopolitics @the-hig.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
𝐓𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐰𝐤 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬: 𝐚 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞-𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐔𝐤𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐎? “Based on Ukraine’s experience, deep-strike is going to be very much a part of NATO strategy and doctrine for a long time to come.” - @davisellison.bsky.social (@hcss.bsky.social) thehig.eu/article/toma...
thehig.eu
Tomahawk missiles: a game-changer for Ukraine and NATO? - The HIG
At a time when the United States and European leaders are seeking a peace agreement for Ukraine, the country is struggling on the battlefield and with protecting its energy infrastructure over the win...
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
I had low expectations, but seeing literal great replacement conspiracy language in the new National Security Strategy really takes it: www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u...
whitehouse.gov
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Thanks again to @vanjackson.bsky.social for the great discussion and the cross-post! podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/t...
podcasts.apple.com
Leaving Washington | NATO Hawk to NATO Dove | Teaching International Relations | Realities of PhD Life | Ep. 274
Podcast Episode · The Un-Diplomatic Podcast · 03/12/2025 · 1h 4m
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
Parties in multi-party democracies each weird in their own little or big way cancelling each other out to prevent total disaster.
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Davis Ellison @davisellison.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
Babe wake up there was another coup in West Africa 🇬🇼
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