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Jamie Gaskarth

@jamiegaskarth.bsky.social
1.7K followers 736 following 620 posts

Prof, Foreign Policy and IR, OU. Writes on British defence, intel and foreign policy. Associate Fellow, Chatham House. Views my own.

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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 2h
I feel like the undertaker In the Godfather. You understand everything Don Boff! Agreed. We do need a system that defends key locations from limited strikes. At the moment it wouldn’t take a lot to cause us real difficulties.
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 5h
The point is to integrate it with air defence and, yes, ensure you have real offensive capabilities.
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 5h
Missile defence is not impossible. It’s happening right now in Ukraine and in the Gulf states. It feels a bit like arguing ‘the bomber will always get through’ so no point in investing in air defence in the 1930s. No system stops everything (iron dome only shoots down stuff likely to hit).
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 6h
This isn’t a bad idea, but as ever the costs are completely wrong and the comms all over the place. Would be a shame if it kills the concept. UK does need an integrated air and missile defence system.
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 7h
Last time I checked I’ll get 10k a year from my pension..
static.klipy.com
Anchorman Cast Jumps with Joy
ALT: Anchorman Cast Jumps with Joy
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 17h
True but I suspect that won’t be on the cards when I retire. Definitely not for the next generation.
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 23h
Mid ranking is 80-100k. But that’s the UK. Almost no Profs in UK are on 120k, unless they’re management.
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Another year, another below inflation pay rise for the university sector (2%). To put in perspective, using an inflation calculator, I’m now on the same salary as I was 11 years, 2 moves and 2 promotions ago. A Professor in the middle of the salary scale is paid what a Senior Lecturer used to be.
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
One oddity of the Rejoin debate in UK is EU people I speak to don’t think UK would need to join Eurozone or Schengen. That seems to be something only UK people view as a requirement, (Leave and Remain). There’s a difference between promising to do something eventually and doing it on day 1.
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
When a bus driver would say ‘single?’ And I’d say ‘none of your business.’
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
There’s also the long running ‘pep up the classics genre’, Hooked on Classics, Andre Rieu etc
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Reposted by Jamie Gaskarth
Chatham House @chathamhouse.org · 30/09/2026
China represents the United Kingdom’s most significant and systemic security challenge to science and technology research. While collaboration with China generates benefits for the UK economy, the scale and sophistication of Beijing’s attempts to gain technological advantages pose a security risk.
chathamhouse.org
How the UK should protect its science and tech research from foreign state threats
A case for a more systemic approach to research security
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Jordan Pickford…
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
England team is now largely made up of Conveyancing solicitors…Gibbs White, Alexander Arnold, Calvert Lewin…
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
2030 is gonna be some year. Defence spending at 3% AND a National Care Service. Wondrous.
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I can’t see Associate membership on there!
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Theresa May ran a natural experiment in 2017 being honest about social care reform. Why would Labour think that could be the basis of their next election campaign?
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Reposted by Jamie Gaskarth
Simon Usherwood @simonusherwood.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Three years of production with a great team of colleagues and very excited to be at the start of our new IR module for @openuniversity.bsky.social @oupolitics.bsky.social And an extra shout-out to @preciouschatd.bsky.social for being the best co-chair!
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
What about the storyline where someone deliberately caused the lady of the house to have a miscarriage by putting a bar of soap on the floor? Now that’s writing….
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
PSA: if someone argues you can’t be English if you’re black, saying ‘Well, the English don’t exist akshually’ is not a clever or accurate response.
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
This is great news and something @rorycormac.bsky.social and I have been arguing for privately and publicly. We’ve authored a whole report on how to make it work available via KCL… www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
UK to fight Russian disinformation and push new global AI standards, Burnham says
The UK could act as "an honest broker" on AI and other global challenges, the prime minister tells world leaders at the UN.
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Reposted by Jamie Gaskarth
Chatham House @chathamhouse.org · 19/09/2026
Xi Jinping wants to win over the Global South and take over Taiwan. If the West is to counter this, it must better understand China's grand strategy — and Xi Jinping's worldview. Read Steve Tsang's latest analysis for the autumn issue of @theworldtoday.org.
bit.ly
What the West fails to grasp about China’s strategy to lead the world
Xi Jinping wants to forge ‘a common destiny for humankind’ by winning over the Global South and taking Taiwan. But if America and Europe are to counter this ‘double pivot’, they must better understand...
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
At an event at Swansea University and really impressed with how beautiful the bay campus is. Right on the beach!
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
A puzzler: which Man Utd player would you prefer against their counterpart in any top 6 team? The mystery of why they’re so bad is solved.
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
I’m not moaning. I think IHT is one of the fairest taxes and am all for it, but the headline figure of 95% of estates not paying it is misleading because that doesn’t mean 95% of people won’t pay it in some way or another, whether it’s a childless uncle’s estate or other scenarios.
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Also doesn’t factor in gifts to wider relatives/friends
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
That’s a best case scenario, depending on dates, reporting within specific time periods and marital status.
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Plus, if you’re in London living in an average house c560k, you’ll know eventually your estate is going to be subject to IHT. Once the boomers die out, surely the figure is going to rocket? (I’m in favour of IHT but don’t think people are as dumb as portrayed on this issue).
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Lots of people end up paying it even if it’s a small % of probates, no? Estates passed to spouses don’t pay at first but one day go to children and they might pay. So % of probates is lower than % of estates ultimately paying IHT. Plus, if they had 2+ kids, that’s 2+ families paying IHT in the end.
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
In all the reporting on the Yemen situation today, I haven’t seen one person mention the fact the UK is the UN Security Council penholder.
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
This guy.. He consistently argues the UK shouldn't spend more on defence, then asks us to wake up and secure our own place in the world. With what Simon?! With what? (Cue goose meme....) www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Wake up, Britain: Donald Trump’s US is no friend of ours. We must secure our own place in the world | Simon Jenkins
The US president is ever more wayward – and has little interest in defending Europe. The constitution may hold him to account, but we can’t wait, says Guardian columnist Simon Jenkins
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
As a Viking, I’m staying out of this one. Still bitter about Stamford Bridge…
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Why the long face?
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Reposted by Jamie Gaskarth
Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
I'm probably a dinosaur, but I wish students were allowed more time just to be students: to study, to read, to think, to talk to each other, to have big ideas - maybe even to have fun now & then. I'm not convinced turning unis into training centres is going to fix bigger problems in the jobs market
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Would any of those legs make the sidebar of shame?
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Reposted by Jamie Gaskarth
Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
A suggested statement for Andy Burnham.
‘The British public decided in the 1930s that they would not tolerate black-shirted militias marching through their streets. They would cherish robust political argument; they would not accept thuggery and intimidation. When Oswald Mosley led his Blackshirts to Cable Street, local people turned them back. A new law – introduced by a Liberal, backed by Labour and carried by a Conservative majority – banned private militias, political uniforms and ‘the use or display of physical force in promoting any political object’. The British people are as determined today as in the 1930s that they will not accept the methods of Mussolini and the Munich Beer Hall. This government will uphold the law and defend the traditions of British democracy’.
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Well put
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Reposted by Jamie Gaskarth
Chatham House @chathamhouse.org · 07/09/2026
When the next international financial crisis hits, the world may lack the dominant superpower it needs to stabilise the global economic order.
chathamhouse.org
The ‘reverse Kindleberger Trap’: reasons to worry about the next financial crisis
A US crisis is very likely to be associated with a capital outflow, rather than a capital inflow, with the result that the dollar could weaken substantially against other currencies.
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Reposted by Jamie Gaskarth
Jonathan Boff @jfb1066.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Re-upping for my American friends
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Kate Allen @kateallen.ft.com · 06/09/2026
Tonight: defence and intelligence officials warn that Europe is failing to stop Russia from waging hybrid war. Russian proxies and intelligence agencies have for the past two years been prosecuting a covert war of aggression on European soil. (Gift link, 300 free clicks) as.ft.com/r/077657b5-6...
as.ft.com
Europe failing to deter Russia’s ‘hybrid’ war, warn defence officials
Foiled drone attack at German airport seen as sign of Nato’s weak response and Moscow’s impunity
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Who's the superpower here?
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Reposted by Jamie Gaskarth
British Foreign Policy Group @bfpg.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
"Prime Minister Burnham and the case of the Inescapable Foreign Policy" BFPG Executive Chair David Landsman OBE examines the areas of foreign policy that will require the Prime Minister's attention. Click the link below to read⬇️ bfpg.co.uk/analysis/pri... #UKForeignPolicy #UKGov #Burnham
bfpg.co.uk
Prime Minister Burnham and the case of the Inescapable Foreign Policy | BFPG
David Landsman examines the areas of foreign policy that will require the attention of the Prime Minister
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Great comments Will and smoothly delivered.
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Reposted by Jamie Gaskarth
alina @ramshackle78.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
To be read in conjunction with the other recent very good article by Jana on why Germany has problems with all three of strategy, capabilities and societal consensus internationalepolitik.de/de/wenn-drau...
internationalepolitik.de
Wenn draußen drinnen wird
Höchste Zeit für einen neuen deutschen Grundkonsens über Frieden und Sicherheit.
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Reposted by Jamie Gaskarth
Jonathan Boff @jfb1066.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
I will give the 2026 Richard Holmes Lecture ‘Redcoats to Dusty Warriors: Britain and its Soldiers from Waterloo to Helmand’. Royal Air Force Club Tuesday 27 October 6.30, lecture starting at 7. Wine. Canapés. Tickets £45 each. Non-members welcome. Tickets- www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/richard-ho...
eventbrite.co.uk
Richard Holmes Lecture 2026
The BCMH hosts a lecture on military history in memory of Professor Richard Holmes
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Reposted by Jamie Gaskarth
Chatham House @chathamhouse.org · 02/09/2026
Andy Burnham needs to narrow the scope of the UK's defence programme to the Euro-Atlantic area, keep the nuclear deterrent — and settle how the UK will pay for the NATO commitment to spend 3.5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2035.
chathamhouse.org
What the Burnham government should do in its foreign policy
The new government must avoid its predecessors’ habit of trying to do everything. Priorities should include advancing the UK–EU reset talks, defending the Euro-Atlantic area, and working with the EU t...
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Why not bring Sunak back in? He's a MP, could be a good Shadow Minister, doesn't elicit animosity AFAIK.
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Jamie Gaskarth @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Two year degrees are a very bad idea. They cheapen and commodify learning; inhibiting the learning journey and reducing the skills and knowledge acquired. Wd also trash uni finances and UKHE reputation internationally.
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Chatham House @chathamhouse.org · 28/08/2026
Andy Burnham’s influence with the EU will be stronger if his top team reaches an early decision on whether the next Labour Party manifesto will commit the UK to joining the customs union, the single market or the European Union itself.
chathamhouse.org
What the Burnham government should do in its foreign policy
The new government must avoid its predecessors’ habit of trying to do everything. Priorities should include advancing the UK–EU reset talks, defending the Euro-Atlantic area, and working with the EU t...
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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Enjoyed this touching NYT tribute to Dolly Parton. What a great talent, generous heart, and heroic life. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/25/a...
nytimes.com
Dolly Parton, Country Music Superstar Whose Songs Spoke to Millions, Dies at 80 (Gift Article)
Known for her outsize persona, appearance and talent, she rose from rural poverty to become a top-selling singer, songwriter and entrepreneur.
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