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Gary Weatherhead

@garyweatherhead.bsky.social
236 followers 214 following 194 posts

politics/geopolitics/law

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Reposted by Gary Weatherhead
The Empty City @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 14h
NEW The diabolical defending of Manchester City Understanding an aggressive litigation strategy By me, at @prospectmagazine.co.uk (Prospect paywall is down currently.) www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th... #MCFC
What can explain such an aggressive and counterproductive approach? To an extent the answer may be in the facts and the evidence. Perhaps the view was that the only chance of getting out of this was to be unhelpful as well as robust. In respect of an earlier dispute with Uefa, an internal communication at the club apparently said “Uefa doesn't respond to anything other than aggression”. Maybe the view was taken that this would work here too. Maybe the club still thinks it will work in the end, with the league being pushed into settlement on appeal or at the doors of the High Court.

But this does not offer a total explanation. What may work with Uefa may not work with other adversaries. The structure of the league’s investigation and the disciplinary approach meant that aggression would not only be unhelpful, but would count heavily against the club. An appeal on the law or procedure at the High Court in this sort of case only has a remote chance of success. It can be assumed the club was warned of all this.

There is a phrase in football punditry that “the defending is diabolical”. Here diabolical is, of course, a synonym for dreadful. But in its more literal sense, diabolical means bedevilled with wrongful purpose. And the strategy adopted by Manchester City in contesting this matter is also in this sense diabolical. The club will have known that it was unlikely to work, and that it would make things harder, but the club decided to do it anyway.
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Dan Neidle @danneidle.bsky.social · 19h
Manchester City cheated Premier League rules, the Commission found. Did it also cheat HMRC? We've examined the decision and leaked Mancini documents. We think City likely failed to pay £12m in tax. There should be a criminal investigation. Thread:
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Jacob Öberg @profjacob.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
🚨🚨 @coe.int of Europe said yesterday that the #US formally notified it that it would leave the Group of States against Corruption, or #GRECO. Only two other countries have left GRECO before — #Russia and #Belarus. The fall of the #US on the world scene is striking. apnews.com/article/trum...
apnews.com
US withdraws from European anti-corruption panel in latest shift away from global groups
The Trump administration has withdrawn the United States from a top European anti-corruption watchdog.
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Reposted by Gary Weatherhead
Andrew Cutting @andrewcutting.coe.int · 30/09/2026
❗“The ECHR is not a constraint on British security. It is one of its foundations,” write 3 former Independent Reviewers of Terrorism Legislation👇 🔗 www.lawgazette.co.uk/commentary-a... via @lawsocietygazette.bsky.social “Walking away would not make Britain freer. It would make Britain weaker.”
lawgazette.co.uk
The ECHR is not a constraint on British security. It is one of its foundations
Britain should not be abandoning one of its greatest post-war achievements.
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Reposted by Gary Weatherhead
The Moscow Times @themoscowtimes.com · 28/09/2026
Opinion: The seizure of Auchan and Nestlé is an unmistakable signal that even playing by the rules won't protect foreign businesses from forced nationalization in Russia, warns Charles Hecker.
themoscowtimes.com
Moscow's Audacious Asset Grab Is a Warning to Western Companies - The Moscow Times
Opinion | Two more Western giants have fallen to the Kremlin.
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Gary Weatherhead @garyweatherhead.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Early results show Swiss voters are on track to reject a push to tighten neutrality rules apnews.com/article/swit...
apnews.com
Early results show Swiss voters are on track to reject a push to tighten neutrality rules
Early projections suggest Swiss voters are on track to reject a right-wing proposal aimed at the strict implementation of the country’s neutrality.
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Reposted by Gary Weatherhead
Mo Ibrahim Foundation @mo.ibrahim.foundation · 23/09/2026
🇸🇹 #SãoToméAndPríncipe heads to the polls this week. What does the #IIAG data reveal about the country? 📊 Learn more: bit.ly/4yRssb4 ©️ Slide 1 image: Ji-Elle / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Gary Weatherhead @garyweatherhead.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
"In Sao Tome and Principe, one issue towers above all others ahead of Sunday's elections in the tiny island nation in the Gulf of Guinea: how to stop young people from leaving" f24.my/CB6Y
f24.my
Sao Tome voters want to stop exodus of 'neglected' youth
In Sao Tome and Principe, one issue towers above all others ahead of Sunday's elections in the tiny island nation in the Gulf of Guinea: how to stop young people from leaving.
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Reposted by Gary Weatherhead
Sergey Vasiliev @sevslv.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Naoero is the 6th state this year to announce withdrawal from the ICC Statute (after Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Venezuela, and Chad). I spoke to @time.com about Trump's efforts to erode the ICC membership. ‘Hands Off!’: European Leaders Reject Trump's Call to Quit the ICC
time.com
‘Hands Off!’: European Leaders Reject Trump's Call to Quit the ICC
Trump has called “on all nations that are members of the ICC to officially resign from this rogue institution, immediately.”
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Reposted by Gary Weatherhead
Quillette @quillette.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
An OpenAI agent’s breach of a Medicare portal shows that the real danger from AI is a mundane one—and the labs’ fixation on a coming machine god is making it worse.
quillette.com
AI Doom Is Not Cybersecurity
An OpenAI agent’s breach of a Medicare portal shows that the real danger from AI is a mundane one—and the labs’ fixation on a coming machine god is making it worse.
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Reposted by Gary Weatherhead
Cas Mudde @casmudde.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
My broader take on all three German state elections and why focusing only on the success of the far right is both incomplete and self-defeating.
theguardian.com
Look again – there’s more to Germany’s election trends than far-right success | Cas Mudde
Defeatist narratives abound. Yet Germany’s latest elections suggest voter dissatisfaction is benefiting the left as well as the right, says the political scientist Cas Mudde
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David Gunkel @davidgunkel.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Today I will be presenting "The Last Man Complex: #AI and Existential Risk" during the closing session of the "Last Man at 200" conference @notredame.bsky.social. www.k-saa.org/events/curra... Preprint of the book chapter is now available from @ssrn.bsky.social dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn...
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Reposted by Gary Weatherhead
Pessimists Archive @pessimistsarc.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
"We can be humble and live a good life with the aid of the machines, or be arrogant and die." - Dr. Norbert Wiener, 1949 newsletter.pessimistsarchive.org/p/the-origin...
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Ciaran Martin @ciaranm.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
My thoughts on how frontier AI’s claims and warnings seem prone to colliding with reality, whether that’s in economics, medicine or cyber security ciaranmartin.substack.com/p/on-ai-clai...
ciaranmartin.substack.com
Frontier AI’s real world problems
Many of the claims and warnings about the impact of frontier AI seem to collide awkwardly with the realities of the specific subject in question
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Gary Weatherhead @garyweatherhead.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The Isle of Man general election takes place tomorrow (Thursday 24 September). www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Isle of Man general election 2026: When is the election and how do I vote?
Voters on the Isle of Man go to the polls on 24 September, with 82 candidates standing.
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Gary Weatherhead @garyweatherhead.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
RAF launches first ever space squadron dedicated to defending Britain's satellites www.gov.uk/government/n...
gov.uk
RAF launches first ever space squadron dedicated to defending Britain's satellites
The RAF has launched No. III Space Effects Squadron, its first dedicated unit to counter hostile threats to UK satellites.
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Reposted by Gary Weatherhead
Mike Schmitt @mikeschmitt.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
My analysis of the legal issues raised by the recent announcement of US weapons in space.
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Reposted by Gary Weatherhead
Steve Peers @stevepeers.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Heres the text of the 2026 treaty on Greenland www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-st... Hard to see how it differs fundamentally from the 1951 agreement avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century... The most one could say is that it's implementing and elaborating upon the previous agreement
whitehouse.gov
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF DENMARK TOGETHER WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF GREENLAND
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF DENMARK TOGETHER WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF
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Gary Weatherhead @garyweatherhead.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
"[Tomorrow] Moroccan voters will choose from among 7,288 candidates from 27 political parties competing for 395 seats in the House of Representatives.." apnews.com/article/moro...
apnews.com
Young people in Morocco split over whether politics can deliver change as election draws near
In Morocco's election race, a rural funeral has become an unexpected campaign stop for candidates aiming to engage disenchanted young voters.
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Reposted by Gary Weatherhead
The Conversation UK @uk.theconversation.com · 21/09/2026
Fresh from its loss in Saxony-Anhalt, Friedrich Merz’s CDU party has fallen to heavy defeats in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
theconversation.com
Two more election defeats pile pressure on German chancellor Friedrich Merz
Fresh from its loss in Saxony-Anhalt, Friedrich Merz’s CDU party has fallen to heavy defeats in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
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Reposted by Gary Weatherhead
Spotlight on Corruption @spotlightcorruption.org · 21/09/2026
1. The High Court has ruled against the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) following a major challenge by Carter-Ruck and Mohamed Amersi to the regulator's investigative powers. 🧵
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Reposted by Gary Weatherhead
The Guardian @theguardian.com · 21/09/2026
Google is fined more than €400m by Irish regulator over its use of location data
theguardian.com
Google is fined more than €400m by Irish regulator over its use of location data
Watchdog says users may have been unaware their information was used to target adverts or infer their interests Google has been fined more than €400m (£345m) over the way it processed users’ location data. The fine, by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC), comes after complaints from multiple European consumer organisations that Google was following every step users took. Continue reading...
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Reposted by Gary Weatherhead
Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 19/09/2026
Private renters on housing support already go without essentials. In 2024-25, 58 per cent of working-age adults in private-renting families on housing support were materially deprived on the DWP's measure, meaning their family could not afford a set of basic items. buff.ly/tmfEAWh
Chart showing proportion of working-age adults in private-renting families on housing support who are materially deprived, and who cannot afford selected essentials: GB, 2024-25
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Reposted by Gary Weatherhead
Bristol University Press @brisunipress.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
'Indefensible' by John Hyde is out now. The inside story of the Post Office scandal, and how legal failures allowed innocent people to be prosecuted, imprisoned and pushed into financial and personal ruin. ow.ly/C8No50ZKliO
ow.ly
Inside the Post Office compensation scandal: Victims still face injustice - Transforming Society
John Hyde, author of 'Indefensible', argues that despite promises of fair compensation, victims of the Post Office scandal have faced a slow, adversarial claims process that prolongs their suffering, largely driven by the organisation’s own approach rather than just its lawyers.
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Reposted by Gary Weatherhead
JillDougherty @jilldougherty.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Russia’s Elite Has Lost Its Room to Maneuver www.nytimes.com/2026/09/18/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Russia’s Elite Has Lost Its Room to Maneuver (Gift Article)
Vladimir Putin has taken complete control.
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Reposted by Gary Weatherhead
Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
HUGE EXCLUSIVE from @bloomberg.com Inside the US ‘Kill Chain’ That Destroyed an Iranian School Pentagon investigators discovered that flawed intel, outdated imagery & overreliance on AI contributed to a missile strike that killed 123 children in Minab 🎁 www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...
bloomberg.com
Inside the US ‘Kill Chain’ That Destroyed an Iranian School
Pentagon investigators have discovered that flawed intelligence, outdated imagery and an overreliance on AI contributed to a missile strike that killed 123 children in Minab.
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Gary Weatherhead @garyweatherhead.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Canada PM Mark Carney addresses European Parliament (Full speech). Another important speech from Carney. via Associated Press (speech starts at 8mins 40s) m.youtube.com/watch?v=fTB6...
m.youtube.com
LIVE: Canada PM Mark Carney addresses European Parliament (Full speech)
YouTube video by Associated Press
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Reposted by Gary Weatherhead
Jonathan Jones @sirjjkc.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Legislating for the past: what is retrospective legislation and when is it ok? With particular reference to political donations By me for @instituteforgovernment.org.uk www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/retr...
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
Legislating for the past: What is retrospective legislation and when is it ok? | Institute for Government
What is meant by “retrospective” legislation, and can it ever be acceptable?
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Dr. Jessica West @jessicawestphd.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Well. This moved quickly. Last week I wrote about the space-security interregnum: are weapons already in orbit, or is that threshold still ahead? Today, US Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said the US has “on-orbit space control weapons.” breakingdefense.com/2026/09/spac...
breakingdefense.com
Space Force has 'space control weapons' on orbit, Air Force secretary reveals - Breaking Defense
Troy Meink didn't elaborate on what "weapons" the US deployed, but revealed new info on other space and unmanned Air Force programs.
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Crisis Group @crisisgroup.org · 14/09/2026
NEW SPECIAL BRIEFING | Ten Challenges for the UN in 2026-2027 Leaders gathering at #UNGA will find a United Nations in need of revival. A new Secretary-General cannot resolve the world’s crises overnight, but they should work to address immediate challenges. www.crisisgroup.org/sbr/global/s...
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Christian Christensen @chrchristensen.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Polls just closed in Swedish elections. Swedish Television's exit poll (over 13,000 respondents) has just been released. Left-Center-Green bloc predicted to have defeated Right-Nationalist bloc by 51.3% - 46.8%. Interesting to note: nationalist Sweden Democrats saw vote decrease for first time
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Rebecca Ingber @becingber.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
In 1909 E.M. Forster wrote a short story, a warning about a world in which humans would cease to understand their own technological creations. It’s a quick read; here’s the PDF. (Apropos of nothing … )
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Ciaran Martin @ciaranm.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
My latest on the AI and cyber stuff www.linkedin.com/pulse/ai-pac...
linkedin.com
AI pacing: the call and the claim
The Anthropic boss chose a very sloppy, easily dismantled example from cyber security with which to lead his call to pace the frontier. That was a mistake, but shouldn't undermine the force of the int...
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WIRED @wired.com · 11/09/2026
A combination of rapid advances, recursive self-improvement, and agentic swarms are genuinely “spooking people” inside big labs. www.wired.com/story/why-so...
wired.com
Why So Many AI Researchers Think the Machines Could Kill Everyone
A combination of rapid advances, recursive self-improvement, and agentic swarms are genuinely “spooking people” inside big labs.
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Spotlight on Corruption @spotlightcorruption.org · 12/09/2026
1. Game-changing political donations like this have the potential to have a huge and damaging impact on UK democracy. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Christopher Harborne matches £36m Reform donation of Ben Delo
Party leader, Nigel Farage, says he is humbled by the contributions from cryptocurrency billionaires
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Gary Weatherhead @garyweatherhead.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Will undecided voters decide the Swedish election? Radio Sweden Weekly takes an in-depth look (in English) at the Swedish elections taking place on Sunday, with analysis and interviews. www.sverigesradio.se/avsnitt/will...
sverigesradio.se
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Ciaran Martin @ciaranm.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
New substack on what frontier ai could learn from the ancient Babylonians ciaranmartin.substack.com/p/ancient-ba...
ciaranmartin.substack.com
Ancient Babylon, AI, and Cyber Security
A four-thousand year old legal principle is critical to sorting out the increasingly messy and misunderstood interface between frontier AI and cyber security
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Channel 4 News @channel4news.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
How 9/11 changed America - and the world - forever On the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attack, Anushka Asthana compares the eras of George W Bush and Donald Trump and examines how much America - and the world - has changed since the atrocity. Read our latest newsletter:
channel4news.substack.com
How 9/11 changed America - and the world - forever
On the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attack, Anushka Asthana compares the eras of George W Bush and Donald Trump and examines how much America - and the world - has changed since the atrocity.
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Sergey Vasiliev @sevslv.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
At NATO’s 32 ambassadors' July meeting in Brussels, a US envoy asked NATO countries to help the US dismantle the ICC by leaving it, three diplomats told @politico.com on condition of anonymity. “We will be watching closely who stands with America,” he said.
politico.eu
US pressures NATO allies to destroy International Criminal Court
Washington said it “would be watching closely” to see which allies help in its campaign against the court during a closed-door meeting this summer.
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Joshua Rozenberg @joshuarozenberg.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Gavin Millar KC, the barrister who worked on the recent undercover investigation into Nigel Farage’s fundraising activities for Channel 4 News, has discussed party funding legislation on the Double Jeopardy podcast and said it needs to be strengthened. rozenberg.substack.com/p/impermissi...
rozenberg.substack.com
Impermissible donations
What can the law do to keep politicians — and reporters — within limits?
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Gary Weatherhead @garyweatherhead.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Israeli settlements: What does the ICJ ruling require Britain and other states do? "Miliband’s speech appears to be the clearest UK endorsement to date of the conclusions of the 2024 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ)" www.middleeasteye.net/news/israeli...
middleeasteye.net
Israeli settlements: What does the ICJ ruling require Britain and other states do?
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband invoked a 2024 ruling by the World Court on the illegality of Israel's occupation of Palestine
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Jonathan Jones @sirjjkc.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Here’s my piece for @instituteforgovernment.org.uk on the government’s new legal risk guidance www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/new-...
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
New government, new legal risk guidance | Institute for Government
New guidance is an insight into the government’s attitude to the law and legal risk.
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John Burn-Murdoch @jburnmurdoch.ft.com · 08/09/2026
Two extraordinary charts from today’s PISA test results: 1) School test scores continue to collapse internationally, underscoring how this is no longer a Covid effect but sustained decline. Those falls in reading and maths are equivalent to about two years of lost schooling.
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Jeremy Cliffe @jeremycliffe.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Initial thoughts by @jpuglierin.bsky.social and me on the European significance of the AfD’s landslide result in Saxony-Anhalt, and what happens next: ecfr.eu/article/beyo...
ecfr.eu
Beyond Saxony-Anhalt: What Merz’s crisis means for Europe – European Council on Foreign Relations
The far-right AfD’s win in a small German state calls for dynamism in Berlin and hedging in Brussels
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Kai Arzheimer @kai-arzheimer.com · 05/09/2026
All eyes on Saxony-Anhalt – what will AfD do if it wins German state poll?
theguardian.com
All eyes on Saxony-Anhalt – what will AfD do if it wins German state poll?
Sunday’s election could bring in Germany’s first far-right state government since the Nazi eraGerman...
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Gary Weatherhead @garyweatherhead.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
UN votes to adopt new world map to reflect Africa's true size bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
UN votes to adopt new world map to reflect Africa's true size
The Togo-sponsored resolution was backed by 164 nations - with the US as the only nation to vote against it.
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Spotlight on Corruption @spotlightcorruption.org · 04/09/2026
The enforcement regime of political donations rules has become a hot topic 🔥 The reality is, it is barely fit for purpose. Our research has shown that there is no credible deterrent against bad actors seeking to bend or break the rules 🧵 www.spotlightcorruption.org/report/credi...
spotlightcorruption.org
Credible Deterrence: beefing up enforcement of the UK’s political finance rules - Spotlight on Corruption
In February 2026, the Director-General of the NCA told a Parliamentary inquiry: “there is no point legislating for something unless you are going to enforce
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Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
We need to understand political polarization through a global lens: Evidence from 53 countries suggests that high levels of affective polarization are correlated with democratic backsliding, but high levels of ideological polarization are not. www.nature.com/articles/s41...,
nature.com
Toward an integrated and globally equitable understanding of political polarization - Nature Communications
Nearly half of all polarization research focuses on the United States, yet many American findings are global outliers. A globally equitable understanding requires bridging traditional social science w...
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Jakub Jaraczewski @jakubjaraczewski.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
🇵🇱⚖️Some words from me, courtesy of Alan Charlish for Reuters, on the ruling coalition in Poland appointing the government's COO to the Constitutional Tribunal. A very bad move in both style and substance, and one that might fizzle out entirely if President Nawrocki refuses to swear Berek in.
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