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Matthew Specter

@matthewspecter.bsky.social
6.8K followers 918 following 342 posts

Historian of political ideas, Sr Fellow@UC Berkeley’s Institute European Studies; lecturer @Santa Clara U; editor at HISTORY & THEORY; author, THE ATLANTIC REALISTS (Stanford 2022), write on IR theory, 20th cent. Germany, transatlantic intellectual history

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Reposted by Matthew Specter
Miaganga @miaganga.bsky.social · 11h
💙💛💯🇺🇦
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Matthew Specter @matthewspecter.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Fascinating! Having lived in NY, New Haven and Durham all, you have my attention!
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Sanho Tree @sanho.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Tonight! Hands around the Kennedy Center is Friday 6:30-8:00pm.
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Matthew Specter @matthewspecter.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
@europeanisa.bsky.social #PEC2026 Presenting to the Reactionary Global Politics section (1 of 10 panels)—tomorrow! In Lisbon
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Matthew Specter @matthewspecter.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
RIP
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Matthew Specter @matthewspecter.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
truth!
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Matthew Specter @matthewspecter.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Preparing my remarks for a roundtable on Laura Field’s impressive book on New Right intellectuals, FURIOUS MINDS, at the European International Studies Association conference, held next month in Lisbon, on September 1.
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Matthew Specter @matthewspecter.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
2/2 mark your calendar; The Mosse Lecture hosted by UC Berkeley German Dept. and @bampfa.bsky.social is always worthwhile. this year 10/16 with a weeklong film program to follow
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Matthew Specter @matthewspecter.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
1/2
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FinTwitter @fintwitter.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
OPENAI, ANTHROPIC STAFF CIRCULATE PETITION URGING US TO SUPPORT INTERNATIONAL EFFORT TO 'DELIBERATELY PACE' FRONTIER AI DEVELOPMENT, WARNING OF RISK IT ADVANCES FASTER THAN HUMANS CAN CONTROL; LETTER ALSO SHARED WITH GOOGLE DEEPMIND STAFF, EXPECTED PUBLIC THIS WEEK
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Matthew Specter @matthewspecter.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
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The New Republic @newrepublic.com · 15/07/2026
This move is technically illegal, as 31 U.S. Code § 5112 proclaims that no coin shall “bear the image of a living former or current President,” until at least two years after their death. trib.al/FTvz6Mn
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Matthew Specter @matthewspecter.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Happy with how this roundtable on Gerard Toal's most recent book came out, in Political Geography: authors.elsevier.com/a/1nMvT3Qu6u...
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Matthew Specter @matthewspecter.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Bravo Gordon, thank you for pointing out the strange contradiction in the piece: Habermas failed, we still need Habermas.
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robin celikates @robin-c.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Excited to be part of this special issue on Philosophy in a Planetary Age, w/ great contributions by Dipesh Chakrabarty, Lynne Huffer, Mohamed Amer Meziane & others. My exchange with @mafritsch.bsky.social is on Climate Disobedience in the Capitalocene: www.pdcnet.org/pdc/bvdb.nsf...
pdcnet.org
Discussing Climate Disobedience in the Capitalocene - Volume 70, Issue 1, Winter 2026
This is the transcript of a written exchange that Robin Celikates and Matthias Fritsch carried out between November 2024 and March 2025. We focus the conversation on civil disobedience in response to ...
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Philosophy Talk @philtalkradio.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
#Habermas, who died earlier this year, is the only then-living philosopher to be the subject of an episode, when Josh & Ken spoke to @matthewspecter.bsky.social from the @ucberkeleyies.bsky.social, author of "Habermas: An Intellectual Biography." More at philosophytalk.org/shows/haberm... #PhilSky
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UC Berkeley Institute of European Studies @ucberkeleyies.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
IES Senior Fellow Matthew Specter quoted in the New York Times on Realism in US National Security Strategy. Read the full article --> www.nytimes.com/2026/01/09/m...
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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Talarico is willing to theologically go toe-to-toe with white Christian Nationalism. And, importantly, he treats it as fundamental to this moment that Trump and Trumpism are wrecking our common life at a very profound moral and spiritual level. 5/ newrepublic.com/article/2109...
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Breaking NYT: CBS News declined to renew its contract with '60 Minutes' correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi — six months after her segment on torture in Salvadoran prisons was pulled off the air abruptly by Bari Weiss. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/27/b...
nytimes.com
‘60 Minutes’ Journalist Who Accused CBS of Political Meddling Loses Her Deal
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tbox @tboxrucker.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
They sure hate trans kids and vegetables.
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RW @robairone.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
bsky.app
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Paul A. @paul.ofthenorth.ca · 16/05/2026
The Cream Berets?
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Matthew Specter @matthewspecter.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
Hilarious thread about this bracing Travolta look, to which I would add the description: Saturday Night Fever Dreams of a Comfortable Retirement
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Matthew Specter @matthewspecter.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
Nice piece from Jason Ralph: www.carnegiecouncil.org/media/articl...
carnegiecouncil.org
Realism vs. Pragmatism: Understanding America’s New Rhetorical Landscape
Amid Trump's fiery rhetoric and debates over "realism," Professor Jason Ralph writes that "pragmatism" may offer a better alternative for the American public.
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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
If you're outraged by the Alabama House Speaker's call for overturning the Fourteenth Amendment and want to know more, give Kyle a follow.
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Matthew Specter @matthewspecter.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
“Saga”-ism. Political reporting as movie review.
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TPM @talkingpointsmemo.com · 07/05/2026
Josh Marshall: "No Democrat should get elected to any federal office without a credible plan to reform the Supreme Court and rid it off its corruption, along with the willingness to enact such a plan."
talkingpointsmemo.com
Are Democrats Warming to Reforming the Supreme Court?
Yesterday, Lauren Egan — who authors The Bulwark’s newsletter about Democrats —...
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Matthew Specter @matthewspecter.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Good to hear! That’s a very pretty Stalin indeed
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Matthew Specter @matthewspecter.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Dig it. Hope you’re well.
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Patricia Owens @whitproject.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
If you can, do vote in this important election for @mybisa.bsky.social (and not only because I'm one of the seven fabulous candidates)! ⬇️🗳️🫶
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Matthew Specter @matthewspecter.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
The New Deal in the news: Thomas blames Bismarck —Bismarck!—for the US administrative state, prefers Catholic natural law
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Matthew Specter @matthewspecter.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
Thoughtful intervention from Jason Ralph, distinguished IR scholar at Leeds: www.carnegiecouncil.org/media/articl... #realism
carnegiecouncil.org
Realism vs. Pragmatism: Understanding America’s New Rhetorical Landscape
Amid Trump's fiery rhetoric and debates over "realism," Professor Jason Ralph writes that "pragmatism" may offer a better alternative for the American public.
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Durba Mitra @durba.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
The Introduction, “What is the Future We Yearn For?,” to my book, *The Future That Was*, is now live and freely available to all on the book’s @princetonupress.bsky.social website press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
press.princeton.edu
The Future That Was
How Third World women seized the means of knowledge production to fight against rising authoritarianism and imagine a future freer than our present
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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
The Mamdani administration today announced its own click to cancel rule, to make sure that every subscription transaction in the city is as easy to end as it is to start. The FTC did this in 2023, it was challenged in court & Trump's FTC wouldn't defend it. NYC is doing it themselves.
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Robert Smith @bondhack.ft.com · 09/04/2026
Hall of fame FT correction
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Matthew Specter @matthewspecter.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Make him pay out of his personal profits from his Presidency?
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Matthew Specter @matthewspecter.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Sounds ambitious and fascinating, Joseph 👍
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Matthew Specter @matthewspecter.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
Congrats-happy to learn of your book
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UC-AFT Local 1474 @ucaft.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
UC-AFT lecturers continue the fight for a fair contract! Show your solidarity with U18 colleagues by observing Zoom or in-person bargaining sessions. #WeTeachUC weteachuc.org
UC-AFT flyer announcing Upcoming Unit 18 Bargaining Dates: April 9 via Zoom, April 16 at UC Davis, May 7 via Zoom, and May 21 at UC Irvine. Features the UC-AFT logo showing California state outline with a torch, surrounded by text reading "Faculty Equity" and "Student Success." The flyer encourages solidarity with lecturer colleagues and directs readers to RSVP at https://linktr.ee/ucaft. Orange "UC-AFT" text pattern forms the background border.
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Matthew Specter @matthewspecter.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
The work of contextualizing and “listening“ to Habermas‘s will continue, as Martin Jay suggests in these elegant and measured reflections on a great listener in the dialectic tradition: www.theideasletter.org/essay/martin...
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Yuriy Gorodnichenko @ygorodnichenko.bsky.social · 17/11/2024
Almost two years ago, @cepr.org published an eBook with essays by prominent scholars & policymakers about the importance of supporting #Ukraine. This book is more relevant than ever. Read it! #UkrainianView cepr.org/publications...
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Project Salt Box @projectsaltbox.com · 01/04/2026
"'If it weren't for Miller pushing, this would be dead by now,' the source told me. A new DHS secretary may not be the obstacle many wish it were." Read more to learn why now is the time to be making noise.
projectsaltbox.com
DHS Pauses Warehouse Purchases as Internal Revolt, Legal Challenges, and Political Infighting Cloud the Program's Future
Career officials call it unworkable. Communities are suing to stop it. Congress is investigating. And Stephen Miller is still pushing.
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Matthew Specter @matthewspecter.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Danke.
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David Ambaras @borderlander62.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
Chapel Hill #NoKings march about to get started
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
SCOOP: Trump has spent his second term in office working to leave his mark on Washington and the country. Now, his Treasury Department plans to add his signature to all denominations of U.S. dollar bills. It will be the first time in history a sitting president's signature appears on dollar bills
vanityfair.com
Breaking: Donald Trump Plans to Add His Signature to US Currency
As Vanity Fair can exclusively report, Trump’s Treasury Department plans to add his signature to all denominations of US dollar bills.
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Ned Resnikoff @resnikoff.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
A property tax hike is not "taxing literally everyone" in a city where renters comprise more than 2/3rds of the population.
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Connor Ewing @cmewing.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Conservatives before 2026: No, you cannot have information related to my gun ownership, vaccination status, health history, biometric identifiers, financial transactions, etc! Conservatives in 2026:
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Matthew Specter @matthewspecter.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Did Jamelle coin “slopulism”? So good
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Elizabeth N. Saunders @profsaunders.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Greenland was no joke. Believe what he says.
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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
We've published a free e-book celebrating the 50th anniversary of Quentin Skinner's seminal essay 'Meaning and Understanding in the History of Ideas' including his own reflections on the contributions liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10....
liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk
Meaning and Understanding in the History of Ideas and Beyond | Home
Adrian Blau is Professor of Politics at King’s College London. His research interests include the history of political thought and other issues in political theory/philosophy, including corruption, democracy and rationality.
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