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Fiona B. Adamson

@fionaadamson.bsky.social
1.5K followers 1.2K following 8 posts

Professor of International Relations @SOAS.

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Reposted by Fiona B. Adamson
nicoblar.bsky.social @nicoblar.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
Happy to announce the 1st ever @isanet.bsky.social conference in South Asia in August 2026. Hosted in Colombo, Sri Lanka, we welcome proposals from scholars based in and/or studying South Asian politics & international relations, but also broader global themes ofc www.isanet.org/Conferences/...
eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
ISA-SAWP Colombo 2026: Call for Proposals
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Alvina Hoffmann @alvinahoffmann.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
Absolutely mind-blown! 🤯 What an honour to receive this prize. Enormous thanks to the prize committee, everyone who helped sharpen the argument & my incredible interlocutors in Crimea for whom the struggle for human rights continues.
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Yazid Benhadda @yazidbenhadda.bsky.social · 19/06/2025
Happy to share that my first publication is out on IPS! 🥳 In this paper, I offer a new approach to securitization which aims to anchor contemporary securitization processes targeting postcolonial populations in colonial history. Check it out: academic.oup.com/ips/article/...
academic.oup.com
Constructing the “North African Problem” in France (1920–1956): A Colonial Genealogy of Migration Security Practices
Abstract. Despite its sophistication, most of the literature on the securitization of migration remains presentist in the sense that it has not yet truly i
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Yazid Benhadda @yazidbenhadda.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Really happy to share that I have successfully defended my PhD yesterday! Thanks to my supervisors @irenefmolina.bsky.social and @briegp.bsky.social for their support throughout the journey and to examiners Martin Thomas and @fionaadamson.bsky.social for their generous and constructive feedback.
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Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
NEW— Nearly 200 US college presidents affirm their schools as places where "faculty, students, and staff are free to exchange ideas and opinions…without fear of retribution, censorship, or deportation." Signers include Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, UPenn, Brown, Tufts Notably absent: Columbia
"As leaders of America’s colleges, universities, and scholarly societies, we speak with one voice against the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education. We are open to constructive reform and do not oppose legitimate government oversight. However, we must oppose undue government intrusion in the lives of those who learn, live, and work on our campuses. We will always seek effective and fair financial practices, but we must reject the coercive use of public research funding.

America’s system of higher learning is as varied as the goals and dreams of the students it serves. It includes research universities and community colleges; comprehensive universities and liberal arts colleges; public institutions and private ones; freestanding and multi-site campuses. Some institutions are designed for all students, and others are dedicated to serving particular groups. Yet, American institutions of higher learning have in common the essential freedom to determine, on academic grounds, whom to admit and what is taught, how, and by whom. Our colleges and universities share a commitment to serve as centers of open inquiry where, in their pursuit of truth, faculty, students, and staff are free to exchange ideas and opinions across a full range of viewpoints without fear of retribution, censorship, or deportation.

Because of these freedoms, American institutions of higher learning are essential to American prosperity and serve as productive partners with government in promoting the common good. Colleges and universities are engines of opportunity and mobility, anchor institutions that contribute to economic and cultural vitality regionally and in our local communities. They foster creativity and innovation, provide human resources to meet the fast-changing demands of our dynamic workforce, and are themselves major employers. They nurture the scholarly pursuits that ensure America’s leadership in research, and many prov…
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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 21/04/2025
Worth noting that a number of universities have now sued over withheld and canceled grants, but no university has yet sued over the arrest, detention, and threatened deportation of its foreign students. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/19/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Our Foreign Students Are Terrified, and They’re Right to Be
The immigration crackdown has come to America’s campuses.
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The Associated Press @apnews.com · 14/04/2025
BREAKING: Army will control land on the U.S.-Mexico border as part of a base, a move that could allow troops to detain migrants, AP sources say.
bit.ly
US Army to control land on Mexico border as part of base, migrants could be detained, officials say
A long sliver of federal land along the U.S.-Mexico border that President Donald Trump is turning over to the Department of Defense would be controlled by the Army as part of a base, a move that could allow troops to detain any trespassers, including migrants.
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Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
The Trump admin has just detained Mohsen Mahdawi, who: –has green card –was Columbia Buddhist club president –saw his best friend shot & killed by Israeli soldier –said "we are against antisemitism because antisemitism is a form of injustice, and injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere"
In addition to violating Mr. Mahdawi’s First Amendment rights, the Rubio
Determination and Mr. Mahdawi’s unlawful detention also violates Mr. Mahdawi’s statutory rights
and due process rights.
PARTIES
8. Petitioner Mohsen Mahdawi is a Palestinian who was born and raised in a refugee
camp in the West Bank. He is a lawful permanent resident of the United States and has been for
the last ten years. He is a recent student of Columbia University, with an expected graduation date
of May 2025. He has been admitted to a Master’s program at Columbia University’s School of
International and Public Affairs (“SIPA”), to begin in the fall of 2025.After growing up in a refugee camp, Mr. Mahdawi felt compelled to advocate for
Palestinian human rights upon moving to the United States.
22. Mr. Mahdawi is also a committed Buddhist and believes in non-violence and
empathy as a central tenet of his religion. In fall of 2021, he became the president of the Columbia
University Buddhist Association and led it for two years.
23. In fall of 2023, Mr. Mahdawi co-founded the Palestinian Student Union (“Dar”) at
Columbia University which “serves to engage with and celebrate Palestinian culture, history, and
identity.” Mr. Mahdawi co-founded this organization with Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian lawful
permanent resident who was also recently detained by ICE for his expressive conduct related to
Palestine. Mr. Mahdawi appeared in numerous televised interviews and print news articles
regarding the military campaign in Gaza and related protests. In December of 2023, Mr. Mahdawi
appeared on 60 Minutes where he shared that, as a child, he watched an Israeli soldier shoot and
kill his best friend in the West Bank.
27. Throughout his time as a student and a leader of Dar and the Columbia University
Buddhist Association, Mr. Mahdawi was always willing to engage in dialogue with people whose
views and beliefs differed from his own. Mr. Mahdawi believed, and continues to believe, that
more speech is the solution to disagreement, rather than less, and that empathy and understanding
through communication are a way to resolve conflicts peacefully.…and a peaceful political solution. Mr. Mahdawi gave speeches at several of these protests. In his
speeches, Mr. Mahdawi advocated for Palestinian human rights, a permanent ceasefire, and a
peaceful resolution that affirmed the human dignity of all.
25. During one protest, Mr. Mahdawi vocally denounced an unaffiliated passerby who
made an antisemitic comment, chanting “shame on him”. Mr. Mahdawi stated that “we are against
2:25-cv-00389 Document 1 Filed 04/14/25 Page 6 of 19
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antisemitism because antisemitism is a form of injustice, and injustice anywhere is a threat to
justice everywhere.” The confrontation was documented by the Columbia Spectator
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Andrea Ghiselli @andreaghiselli.bsky.social · 05/04/2025
Great article! Straight into the syllabus!
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Nicholas Toloudis @toloudis.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
Yes, this. I was happy to see a recent @iajournal.bsky.social article by @fionaadamson.bsky.social and Kelly Greenhill about forced migration that begins and ends with this point.
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Peter Gleick @petergleick.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
The Trump book burnings are beginning.
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Quakers in Britain @quaker.org.uk · 28/03/2025
🚨 Outrage as 20 police officers break into Westminster Quaker Meeting House and arrest six. 🚨 This shocking violation of a place of worship is a direct result of crackdowns on protest and dissent - freedom of speech, assembly and democracy are at risk.🕊️ 👉 www.quaker.org.uk/news-and-eve...
quaker.org.uk
Quakers condemn police raid on Westminster Meeting House
Police broke into a Quaker Meeting House last night (27 March) and arrested six young people holding a meeting over concerns for the climate and Gaza.
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Karl Jacoby @karl-jacoby.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
Since our administration would not fight the Trump administration in court, the faculty had to assume the responsibility of doing so to protect academic freedom. www.reuters.com/world/us/col...
reuters.com
Columbia faculty groups sue Trump administration over funding cuts, academic demands
Groups representing Columbia University professors on Tuesday sued the Trump administration over its effort to force the university to tighten rules on campus protests and put a Middle Eastern studies department under outside oversight, among other measures, by canceling $400 million in federal funding and threatening to withhold billions more in the future.
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Nate Schenkkan @nateschenkkan.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
Among other things, this is an invitation for states to seek USG cooperation against their dissidents in exile in the US
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Ian Bond @cerianbond.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
This is so dire, particularly after the lecture Vance gave Europeans on the evils of censorship. Breathtaking hypocrisy.
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Camilo Pérez-Bustillo @cperezbustillo.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
"In essence, the same forces that benefited from Archbishop Romero’s murder in the 1980s are those that profit from Bukele’s dystopian carceral state machinery today"
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Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
Will even one powerful institution stick to their principles? "Columbia agreed to ban masks, empower 36 campus police officers with new powers to arrest students and appoint a senior vice provost with broad authority to oversee the department of Middle East, South Asian and African Studies"
wsj.com
Columbia Yields to Trump in Battle Over Federal Funding
Columbia’s agreement is a significant moment in the intensifying battle between Trump and elite universities.
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Bilge Yesil @bilgeyesil.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
Scenes from Turkey today: University students protesting, police beating up citizens, Erdogan regime arresting social media users and bandwith throttling
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Reuters @reuters.com · 20/03/2025
Britain has in recent weeks revised its advice for citizens traveling to the United States to include a warning that anyone found breaking its entry rules could face arrest or detention reut.rs/41FPanJ
reut.rs
Britain beefs up travel warnings over US border enforcement
Britain has in recent weeks revised its advice for citizens travelling to the United States to include a warning that anyone found breaking its entry rules could face arrest or detention.
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Dani Rodrik @drodrik.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
Istanbul’s popular mayor was about to be anointed formally as the opposition candidate to challenge Erdoğan in the next election. So what happens? He gets detained.
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Vicky Murillo @vickymurillo.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
GUEST POST: We Are Professors at Columbia. Here is How We Would Respond. open.substack.com/pub/danieldr...
open.substack.com
GUEST POST: We Are Professors at Columbia. Here is How We Would Respond.
Five Columbia University political scientists offer their unofficial response to the Trump administration's demands on their university.
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Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
Understand that this El Salvador gulag deportation was done partly in order to make the fascist video that the president now transmits, with his fascist message. The cameras are all set up in advance.
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António Ferraz de Oliveira @antoniofdo.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
Job alert! Fully-funded PhD @facultyofartsug.bsky.social, with myself, @karimeltaki.bsky.social and @bherborth.bsky.social on post-imperial geopolitical imaginations in/of the Arab world. Please help spread the word among interested candidates! Full details here: karimeltaki.com/phd-position...
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Border Criminologies @bordercrim.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
[🇪🇺 EU Pact Series 📝] ‘The intra-Schengen borderlands, once relatively unexamined, are now becoming focal points of mobility control—risking a two-tiered system of movement where some enjoy freedom while others face increasing restrictions,’ writes Prof. Maartje van der Woude: buff.ly/Lhrk9DN
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Wajahat Ali @wajali.bsky.social · 16/03/2025
Valid visa and now gone. BTW, she was here to SAVE LIVES. Doctor and Professor Is Deported to Lebanon Despite a Judge’s Order www.nytimes.com/2025/03/16/u...
nytimes.com
Brown University Professor and Doctor Are Deported to Lebanon Despite a Judge’s Order
Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a kidney transplant specialist and Brown University professor who had a valid visa, was expelled in apparent defiance of a court order.
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Andrew Jacobs (he/him) @drewjakeprof.bsky.social · 16/03/2025
www.browndailyherald.com/article/2025...
browndailyherald.com
Brown University advises all international community members to postpone, reconsider travel
One week before spring break, Brown advised international community members, including green card holders and permanent residents, to postpone international travel in a campus-wide email sent on Sunda...
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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
Stop pretending that the authoritarian repression is BECAUSE of the problems in {higher education, the media, the law, government, immigration policy, etc.}. This is what authoritarians do. If they didn't focus on these justifications, they'd come up with other ones.
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Zeynep Yanasmayan @zyanasmayan.bsky.social · 16/03/2025
I hope the upside of the nonsense that keeps coming out of JD Vance’s mouth would be to incentivise the EU to truly become more in solidarity with each other, to stop the current race to the bottom -especially when it comes to human rights- and show that an alternative to hatred is imaginable.
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Cas Mudde @casmudde.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
I decided to start a #thread 🧵 of stories about legal residents and tourists being (illegally) arrested, detained and/or deported by the Trump regime. I'll only post stories from serious sources, as rumors and conspiracies are really not needed in this authoritarian moment.
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Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 16/03/2025
Ranjani Srinivasan is an international student from India pursuing a doctorate in urban planning. She received a Fulbright scholarship. She was forced to flee to Canada to escape ICE, which was pursuing her for nonsense reasons. Columbia kicked her out of the doctoral program.
nytimes.com
How a Columbia Student Fled to Canada After ICE Came Looking for Her
Ranjani Srinivasan’s student visa was revoked by U.S. immigration authorities. That was just the start of her odyssey.
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Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
This is a great piece. One thing it’s important for folks to recognize is that the right has been working to whitewash the way US history is taught and publicly discussed for over a century now. What’s relatively new is how aggressively they’re using the power of the federal government to do it.
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Barb McQuade @barbmcquade.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
From interview of Lee Bollinger, 1st Amendment scholar who served as dean of @UMichLaw, president of @UMich, and president of Columbia University. www.chronicle.com/article/were...
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Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 15/03/2025
I even had slides! bsky.app/profile/chan...
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Rachael Sirianni, PhD @docsirianni.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
This is horrible to post, but I may as well post it. We are essentially shutting down research operations in my group, which is focused on treatments for pediatric brain cancer. I’m a well funded investigator, and there’s no choice. Science can’t function without the stability of NIH
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Kate Schapira: "Well Put & Generalizable" @kateschapira.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
They're trying to deport my colleague from the med school and holding her without counsel. She was coming back from a visit to her family. If there are ways to help I'll let you know. www.providencejournal.com/story/news/l...
providencejournal.com
She saw family in Lebanon. Now this Brown Medicine doctor is being held at Logan for deportation.
Dr. Rasha Alawieh flew into Logan Airport Thursday after visiting family in Lebanon. She's being detained now at Logan without legal counsel.
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Micah Warren @micah541.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
"University leaders would help themselves, and the country, by emerging from their defensive crouches and making a forthright case for inquiry, research, science and knowledge." www.nytimes.com/2025/03/15/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | The Authoritarian Endgame on Higher Education (Gift Article)
This is a moment to trumpet the strengths of higher education and address its weaknesses.
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Anjali Dayal @anjalikdayal.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
even if I hadn’t been lucky enough to spend time at USIP this would read like a bad dystopian joke
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Cas Mudde @casmudde.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
And let’s not forget that thousands of U.S. citizens, including Native Americans, were arrested and deported in Operation Wetback in the early 20th Century. No reason to assume anything will be different now. No one is truly safe under authoritarianism.
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saipirafurstenberg.bsky.social @saipirafurstenberg.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
I am happy to share that my article on the EU's responses to transnational repression is now out in EJIS. In this article I examine the extent to which transnational repression has been securitised in the EU. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
The European Union’s response to transnational repression: Are we moving towards securitisation? | European Journal of International Security | Cambridge Core
The European Union’s response to transnational repression: Are we moving towards securitisation?
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Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
Despite Rubio’s grandfather’s “insistence that he was fleeing oppression, immigration officials raised suspicions that he might harbor communist sympathies…That charge, had they pursued it, could have led to a conclusion that he was a national security threat.” Oh. The. Irony.
nytimes.com
Marco Rubio’s Policies Might Shut the Door to People Like His Grandfather (Published 2016)
Under the stricter screening Senator Marco Rubio now supports, his grandfather would most likely have been deported, depriving him of knowing the man he has called his mentor and closest boyhood frien...
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Faine Greenwood @faineg.com · 12/03/2025
You apparently can now be fired from a university for stuff an AI hallucinated about you. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/12/u...
nytimes.com
Yale Scholar Banned After A.I. News Site Accuses Her of Terrorist Link
The deputy director of a liberal project at Yale Law School was put on leave over allegations that she is linked to Samidoun, a group the U.S. government has said funds terrorists.
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Lisa Stampnitzky 🤷🏻‍♀️ @lisastampnitzky.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
This is draconian. And absolutely shameful and anti intellectual behaviour from the uni of Essex. www.middleeasteye.net/news/uk-pro-...
middleeasteye.net
UK: Pro-Palestine students face expulsion for sharing Middle East Eye posts
The University of Essex is investigating six students affiliated to the Palestine Society after Prevent flagged their social media posts
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Jan-Werner Mueller @jwmueller-pu.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
From Adam Przeworski's Diary: "I grew up under a dictatorship but could never imagine I would die under one. Today I entertain this possibility." (Just in case it's not obvious: this is one of the most sober political scientists writing today, someone with a minimalist definition of democracy).
adamprzeworski.substack.com
Diary
I decided to keep a record of my thoughts as events transpire, a diary.
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It's Going Down @igd.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
Jewish students at Columbia university today organized a demonstration in solidarity with anti-war student organizer Mahmoud Khalil and to denounce Trump's attacks on public education and protest. Photo via @/Columbia_psc
Students hold signs at protest reading "Fuck Fascism" and "Jews Hate ICE"
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Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
The way this works is that you either defend Khalil's First Amendment rights, no matter what you think about his specific views, or else you acquiesce to a totalitarian dystopia where the government can disappear people for expressing opinions opposed by the regime. There's really no middle ground.
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