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James Barnett

@james-barnett.bsky.social
294 followers 244 following 28 posts

Researcher and PhD candidate studying conflict and political transitions in Africa (Nigeria and the Horn). Fieldwork fanatic, interdisciplinary inclinations Various affiliations, but all views my own.

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Reposted by James Barnett
Yvan Guichaoua @yguichaoua.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Heavy gunfire at Niamey airport
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Vincent Foucher @vincentfoucher.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Pleased to share this piece written with @james-barnett.bsky.social and Murtala Ahmed Rufai on the Sadiku group, a branch of #BokoHaram #JASDJ which has been growing roots in Northwestern Nigeria for some years now. Open Access, too... www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
The Politics of Jihadist Expansion: Sadiku and “Boko Haram” In Northwestern Nigeria
Formed in 2020–2021, the Sadiku group is the extension to northwestern Nigeria of the jihad waged in the country’s northeast by Jama’at Ahl al-Sunna li-Da’wa wal-Jihad (JASDJ), the outfit created b...
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Washington Post Opinions @postopinions.bsky.social · 09/11/2025
"A military intervention premised on the wrong diagnosis would not save Nigerian Christians," @james-barnett.bsky.social writes. wapo.st/3LPioMs
wapo.st
Opinion | Nigeria’s crisis runs deeper than just a war on Christians
The Trump administration is dangerously misreading the conflict and its causes.
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Patrick Chovanec @prchovanec.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
On a deadly serious note, the President cannot rely on external, private sources to fund spending as an end-run around Congress’ constitutional power of the purse. If he can, we no longer have a republic.
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DIIS - Danish Institute for International Studies @handle.invalid · 23/10/2025
The scorched-earth tactic has been used as a war tactic since ancient times. And it is still used in modern warfare. Senior Researcher at DIIS, Peer Schouten, has just received a grant from the Independent Research Fund Denmark to map how the tactic is used today in a three-year project 🎉
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Qusay Noor @qusaynoor.net · 21/10/2025
#UK removes Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham from terrorist organisation list
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Yvan Guichaoua @yguichaoua.bsky.social · 18/10/2025
Diarra will comply. This is the power of embargoes: not just an instrument of warfare but also a massively effective instrument of governance. We have a major bus company accepting the ruling of a jihadist group, making wonder who governs Mali
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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
News on Trump boat bombings --> Now that SouthCom Commander Alvin Holsey has resigned, likely over the bombings, ranking Armed Services Dem Adam Smith tells me committee Ds will demand Holsey's sworn testimony and press Rs to join them. Smith spoke to us on the pod: newrepublic.com/article/2019...
newrepublic.com
Trump Boat Bombings Take Darker Turn as Top Official Suddenly Resigns
As the head of the military’s Southern Command steps down, Adam Smith, the top Armed Services Committee Democrat, sheds new light on the departure—and on Trump’s appalling secrecy about the bombings.
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Aaron Y. Zelin @azelin.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
New Jihadology Guest Post: Who Are Nigeria’s “Newest” Jihadist Militants? by @james-barnett.bsky.social and @vincentfoucher.bsky.social jihadology.net/2025/10/15/g...
jihadology.net
GUEST POST: Who Are Nigeria’s “Newest” Jihadist Militants?
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Odd This Day @oddthisday.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
It’s the 111th anniversary today of the birth of Harry Rée, who was a teacher and conscientious objector when the Second World War broke out, and by the time it ended, when he was 31, had invented ‘blackmail sabotage’ and got a DSO, an OBE, a Croix de Guerre, and a Medaille de la Resistance
b/w photo of a man in socks and sandals, jacket, short and jumper, in front of a wall with a bike leaning on it, and with a pipe in his mouth. If you wanted one image to sum up the word ‘nonchalant’, this would be it
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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 15/10/2025
Breaking News: Raila Odinga, a former prime minister and a towering figure of Kenyan politics, died at 80. Read more: nyti.ms/42D5BT9
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Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · 12/10/2025
The new pope is quoting Hannah Arendt. www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news...
cbsnews.com
Pope Leo calls for news agencies to stand as bulwark against "post-truths," lies and manipulation
Pope Leo XIV has encouraged international news agencies to stand firm as a bulwark against the "ancient art of lying" and manipulation.
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Rich Raho @richraho.bsky.social · 11/10/2025
Chicago priest Fr. Larry Dowling describes procession to ICE facility: “No one had the courage to speak directly to us. No one from Homeland Security could stand in the presence of the Monstrance holding the Blessed Sacrament. No wonder. Evil is repelled, recoils in the presence of Christ.”
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Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 12/10/2025
The deportation order derives from the crime of which he has now been exonerated. www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...
miamiherald.com
He was wrongfully imprisoned for 43 years. Moments after being released, ICE took him
Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam now faces deportation.
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Dare Obasanjo @carnage4life.bsky.social · 12/10/2025
Fukuyama debunks the AI abundance myth: we can't feed or clothe all not due to a lack of smarts, but priorities and resources. The world simply can't sustain the abundant lifestyle AI proponents promise, lacking even the electricity to run the very AI they favor.
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Yvan Guichaoua @yguichaoua.bsky.social · 12/10/2025
What a story
theguardian.com
Restitution row: how Nigeria’s new home for the Benin bronzes ended up with clay replicas
The public display of artefacts looted by British colonial forces at the new Museum of West African Art was supposed to be the crowning glory of a decades-long restitution effort. What went wrong?
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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 10/10/2025
George was just trying to get to work. ICE pepper-sprayed him, dragged him from his car, locked him in a detention center, and placed him on suicide watch. He even missed his young daughter’s birthday in the process. This man is a veteran and American citizen. Don't look away.
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The Economist @economist.com · 09/10/2025
The anguish of migration is the context of Paul Thomas Anderson’s new film, but in the foreground is a breathless sequence of shoot-outs, rooftop flights and car chases, powered by a fiery soundtrack
econ.st
“One Battle After Another” wins the war
Paul Thomas Anderson gives a masterclass in making a political film
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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
repost this if an editor has ever saved you from yourself
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Norman Aselmeyer @aselmeyer.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
Here’s the term card for the Northeast Africa Forum in Oxford, a research seminar focused on the broader East Africa region. We meet on Tuesdays at 4 p.m., and most sessions are also held in hybrid format. @jasonmosley.bsky.social @mwangimwaura.bsky.social @terrefebiruk.bsky.social
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Chicago Sun-Times @chicago.suntimes.com · 06/10/2025
Body-camera video appears to contradict the government’s claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed. trib.al/9Sxu9IN
trib.al
Attorney for woman shot by Border Patrol claims officer said 'Do something b-----' before shooting
Body-camera video appears to contradict the government's claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed. A judge ordered Martinez and a co-defendant released pending trial.
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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
If U.S. states have any degree of sovereignty, if there’s any states’ rights at all, it is the right not to be invaded by the armed forces of another U.S. state.
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David Gilbert @davidgilbert.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
Over the weekend, Trump's deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller repeatedly attacked judges, calling them part of an "organized terrorist attack" on the US government.... On Saturday, the home of a judge who ruled against Trump, went up in flames time.com/7323442/sout...
time.com
House of South Carolina Judge Criticized by Trump Administration Set Ablaze
Authorities are investigating a fire at the home of a South Carolina judge who had reportedly received death threats in what could be the latest incident of political violence across the country.
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♟️ @zakeriye.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
🚨 #MOGADISHU Al-Shabaab militants stormed Godka Jilicow, a high-security spy agency prison near #Somalia's presidential palace. The attack began with car bomb, followed by gunmen. Reports say 8 attackers: 4 killed, 4 still fighting inside. Elite Gaashaan forces deployed.
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Kristina Cooke @kristinacooke.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
I spoke to a Venezuelan woman who was arrested in this raid and later released with her 4yo son. She said agents broke down their door, pointed guns at them and made sexualized remarks about Venezuelan women. When she returned to her apartment it was boarded up and all her possessions were gone.
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♟️ @zakeriye.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
🚨 #SOMALIA President Hassan and Jubaland leader Ahmed Madobe are set to meet in Kismaayo, even as courts in Mogadishu & Kismaayo pursue treason cases against both. Neither case has been dropped — underscoring how Somalia's judiciary is used as a political tool.
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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 04/10/2025
Russian drones struck two passenger trains in northern Ukraine on Saturday, killing at least one person and injuring dozens of others in the region of Sumy, Ukrainian officials said.
nyti.ms
Russian Drones Hit 2 Passenger Trains, Ukraine Says
The drone strikes killed at least one person and injured dozens of others, officials said. The attack came amid rising alarm about the status of a nuclear plant relying solely on generators.
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
This is an administration that does sizzle reels of ICE abusing communities. They want the visuals of dominance, regardless of the law.
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David J. Bier @davidjbier.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
ICE lied about the person it shot, claiming he was a "criminal," but NBC finds that he had no criminal history whatsoever. Not even traffic tickets in 12 years! It also lied about the extent of the injuries to its agents....
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
Surreal moment for America. Needless to say, if the normal police ever pulled something like this — pulling every single person out of an apartment building and handcuffing them to run warrant checks — they would be sued into oblivion. Yet ICE is going to get away with it entirely.
"It was scary, because I had never had a gun in my face," Fisher said. "They asked my name and my date of birth and asked me, did I have any warrants? And I told them, 'No, 'Ididn't."
Fisher said she was handcuffed before being released around 3 a.m., and she was told that if anyone had any kind of warrant out for them, even if it was unrelated to immigration, they would not be released.
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Kori Schake @kschake.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
My thoughts on the Quantico meeting
foreignpolicy.com
Trump’s Speech to Generals Was Incitement to Violence Against Americans
Military leaders’ quiet professionalism offers hope amid a maelstrom.
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Rachel Savage @rachelmsavage.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
South Africa's ambassador to France, Nkosinathi Emmanuel "Nathi" Mthethwa, was found dead at the foot of the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Tuesday. The Paris prosecutor's office said he had booked a room on the 22nd floor and a secured window had been forced open. It said the investigation was ongoing
reuters.com
South Africa's ambassador to France found dead at foot of Paris hotel tower
South Africa's ambassador to France was found dead on Tuesday at the foot of the Hyatt Regency hotel, a high-rise tower in the west of Paris, the Paris prosecutor's office said.
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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
Horrifying— Barbara Gomes Marques went with her US citizen husband and lawyer on 9/16 to a green card appointment at USCIS office in downtown LA where she was tricked into walking down a hallway away from them, was snatched by ICE and never came back. She now faces imminent deportation in Louisiana.
cbsnews.com
Los Angeles man demands answers after wife was detained at scheduled green card meeting
A man is speaking out and asking for help after his wife was detained by federal agents at the end of a scheduled green card hearing in downtown Los Angeles in early September.
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Bill Wolkoff @billwearsties.bsky.social · 28/09/2025
Indie director Barbara Marques has been kidnapped by ICE. She is legally married to a U.S. citizen & was at a green card mtg when she was abducted and prevented from seeing her lawyer. Her husband Tucker May does not know where she is. Please spread the word so he can find her /1
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
(ABC News) - Russia is selling military equipment and technology to China that could help Beijing prepare for an airborne invasion of Taiwan, according to an analysis of leaked Russian documents by a London think tank. abcnews.go.com/Internationa...
abcnews.go.com
Russia is helping China to prepare for potential invasion of Taiwan, think tank says
Analysis from the Royal United Services Institute in London says Russia is selling military equipment and technology to China that could help Beijing prepare for an airborne takeover of Taiwan
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 21/09/2025
This is it, essentially. The core of it. The goal of ICE detention in the mass deportation system is to make people give up their case without fighting; to have an officer say “if you want to see a judge and plead your case, you’re going to be jailed for months and months, so why not give up now?”
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Kristof Titeca @kristoftiteca.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
Please sign this petition for the release of Joseph Figueira Martin, a humanitarian who's been arbitrarily detained (for close to 1,5 years..) and tortured in the Central African Republic. petitions.protecthumanitarians.org/en/petitions...
petitions.protecthumanitarians.org
Sign the Petition: Free Joseph Figueira Martin! Humanitarian arbitrarily detained and tortured in the Central African Republic
Sign the petition to protect those who risk their lives to save others.
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♟️ @zakeriye.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
BREAKING: The US military says it carried out airstrikes in #Somalia’s northeastern Sanaag region on September 13, killing a local elder, Omar Abdullahi Abdi. US Africa Command (AFRICOM) described Omar as an al-Shabaab weapons dealer, though no evidence was publicly provided to support the claim.
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Tomas Hirst @tomashirstecon.bsky.social · 13/09/2025
This is the owner of X actively campaigning to take down the elected government of a country he is neither a resident nor a citizen of - and using threats of violence in the streets to further his aims www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...
“My message is to them: if this continues, that violence is going to come to you, you will have no choice. You’re in a fundamental situation here. Whether you choose violence or not, violence is coming to you. You either fight back or you die, that’s the truth, I think.”
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
Two key things to point out re: Trump sending National Guard troops to Memphis: 1) Unlike in blue states, there’s just no need for this; even if circumstances warranted, Governor Lee, who still commands the TN National Guard, could’ve just sent them in himself; and 2) Chicago (and Illinois) won.
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The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 11/09/2025
The assassination of Charlie Kirk is apparently the latest in a string of terrifying acts of political violence in the U.S. “A society that resorts to violence to solve its problems starts to surrender its claim on being a society,” @dgraham.bsky.social writes.
bit.ly
The Horrifying Assassination of Charlie Kirk
The shooting of the conservative activist is the latest act of political violence in the United States.
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Euromaidan Press @euromaidanpress.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
For months, Russia used motorcycles and infantry around Pokrovsk. No tanks in sight. Then satellite images showed something terrifying: 150,000 troops moving south with armored vehicles. euromaidanpress.com/2025/09/11/p...
euromaidanpress.com
Russia saved armor all year for this moment—150,000 troops close in on Pokrovsk
Russian reinforcements are surging toward Pokrovsk. But so are Ukrainian reinforcements. A big fight looms.
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DIIS - Danish Institute for International Studies @handle.invalid · 05/09/2025
In Northwest Nigeria, widespread banditry rivals and even surpasses jihadism in scope and impact. In two DIIS Reports researchers map the phenomenon, identifying over 150 different groups. Read "Battle for the bush" 👉 www.diis.dk/en/node/27802 and "Divided they rule?" 👉 www.diis.dk/en/node/27805
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Anton Gerashchenko @antongerashchenko.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
These images from Poland show the aftermath of the Russian drones crossing the border into Poland. Several facts already point that their movement, the direction of the drones' flight was not accidental. It's not enough to acknowledge that the drones were Russian.
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CJ Fogler @cjzero.bsky.social · 31/08/2025
Incredible level of starting something you have zero intention of finishing
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Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 28/08/2025
This is a real photograph of Washington, DC this week, where the United States president has ordered military occupation in peacetime, and ordered the display of colossal portraits of himself. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Washington, DC under military occupation in last August 2025, with banners proclaiming the absolute power of the primus inter pares
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James Barnett @james-barnett.bsky.social · 28/08/2025
Pleased to share two new reports written with Peer Schouten for DIIS on Nigeria's banditry crisis The first provides historical context, framing banditry as a violent, decentralized response to decades of agrarian (and political) change in Nigeria: www.diis.dk/en/research/... (1/2)
diis.dk
Battle for the bush
Banditry and violent agrarian change in northwest Nigeria
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