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Matt Martin

@mattjmartin.com
385 followers 451 following 253 posts

Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of South Carolina. Associate Director of Comparative Constitutions Project. Outside of work: mutual aid, lofi hip-hop, and three cats. Website: mattjmartin.com

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Reposted by Matt Martin
Amanda Levendowski Tepski @tepski.tech · 28/09/2026
This happened to me recently. We need scholarly norms around workshops reinforcing that we share drafts to solicit human feedback; we’re not giving our colleagues permission to upload our drafts to AI systems.
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Matt Martin @mattjmartin.com · 28/09/2026
My sense is that the anthropomorphizing language used to describe generative AI grows more exculpatory with each new hype cycle (e.g., "rogue" agents)
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Matt Martin @mattjmartin.com · 27/09/2026
Last weekend I drove 460 miles from Columbia, SC to Danville, VA to get this desk for my home office/studio for more than 60% off sticker price. I'd say it was worth it
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Eoin Higgins @eoinhiggins.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
AI isn't going "rogue" because it can't—and we won't get a grip on how companies like OpenAI are playing with fire until we have the language right
eoinhiggins.substack.com
There are no “rogue” AI agents
Identifying them as such only lets companies like OpenAI off the hook.
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
WSJ: The AI build-out is on track to become the biggest economic bet in US history, dwarfing the investments made to fund other huge US infrastructure projects — such as the railroads, the highway system and the plumbing for the internet.” (via Jefferies)
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Comparative Politics @comppol.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Constitution-making is cast as a state-society dialogue, with public consultation sustaining the legal fiction that "the people" write the social contract. Matthew Martin introduces will-confirmation and how it operates amid crises of representation. 📖 Read: www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/c...
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Matt Martin @mattjmartin.com · 21/09/2026
The latest issue of Comparative Politics is out now and features my article "From Citizen Input to Elite Legitimation: The Logic of Will-Confirmation in Constitution-Making," based on my interviews with drafters in Chile and Cuba.
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WOR$T GIRL IN ACADEMIA @medievaliste.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Once again, the median pay for an adjunct professor in the United States of America is $3,500 per course. Not per month, per course.
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Big John @dcbigjohn.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Today is the 152nd anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in New Orleans history, when 5,000 members of the Crescent City White League overthrew the Louisiana government in an armed assault that left at least 35 dead. The attack was a turning point in Reconstruction www.nola.com/gambit/comme...
nola.com
John Stanton: Marking the anniversary of the 1874 terrorist attack on New Orleans
Sept. 14 marks the 152nd anniversary of the terrorist attack on New Orleans by the Crescent City White League, the white nationalist organization made up of former Confederate soldiers and led by weal...
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Matt Martin @mattjmartin.com · 13/09/2026
Mauritius has launched its most wide-ranging effort at constitutional review since independence in 1968. The Constitutional Review Commission recently invited written submissions, but how it plans to analyze public input remains unclear. constitutionnet.org/news/voices/...
constitutionnet.org
The Republic of Mauritius Takes Another Look at Its Constitution
As Mauritius opens its most significant constitutional review in decades, the country faces a familiar question: how can a constitution built on stability evolve without losing democratic legitimacy?
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Reposted by Matt Martin
Thalia Gerzso @thaliagerzso.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Our Fall 2026 lineup is here! 🎓 5 sessions on courts, corruption & comparative judicial politics — Sept 16 through Nov 11, Wednesdays 12–1pm ET. Join us! @sivcheruvu.bsky.social
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More Perfect Union @moreperfectunion.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Anthropic Is building a surveillance system to monitor activists using a “pre-crime” approach that tries to predict incidents before they happen. The extensive monitoring system that the AI company is building is aimed primarily at keeping tabs on activists who oppose the rapid development of AI.
prospect.org
Anthropic Is Building a Predictive Surveillance System to Monitor Activists - The American Prospect
New hires and comments in interviews show that the AI giant is using its capabilities against dissenters.
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Matt Martin @mattjmartin.com · 01/09/2026
I have quite a bit of fun messing around with my personal website these days, and I wish more junior academics who are website-curious would give it a shot mattjmartin.com
mattjmartin.com
About
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Matt Martin @mattjmartin.com · 31/08/2026
Headshot szn
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Reposted by Matt Martin
Working Class History @workingclasshistory.com · 23/08/2026
#OtD 23 Aug 1927 Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, anarchist workers and Italian immigrants, were executed in Boston, Massachusetts for a murder which neither committed – the real perpetrator had even admitted the crime. Learn more: stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9543...
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Andrew Heiss @andrew.heiss.phd · 18/08/2026
My latest attempt at an AI/LLM policy in my intro to social science stats class. Basically two rules: 1. Everything human-facing must be human-generated 2. You are responsible for understanding, verifying, and citing everything an LLM generates quantf26.classes.andrewheiss.com/syllabus.htm...
Generative AI and LLMs
In this class, I have two general rules regarding LLMs:

Everything human-facing must be human-generated.
You are responsible for understanding, verifying, and citing everything an LLM generates.
I’ll explain what these mean below, but first, an important warning!

LLMs and learning
Phew, I can talk about the relationship between learning and LLMs for hours (see this for a more formal explanation of my thinking). LLMs and generative AI can be useful for statistical programming, but only when you already know what you are doing. They can be dangerous and counterproductive for beginners.

Additionally, using LLMs and generative AI to write does not lead to deeper learning. The point of writing is to help crystalize and organize your thinking. Pasting LLM-generated words into an assignment to make it look like you read and understood the content will not help you learn. Pasting LLM-generated code into an assignment and hoping that it works will not help you learn.Rule 1: Everything human-facing must be human-generated
Generative AI tools like Gemini, ChatGPT, and Claude can be helpful for generating ideas or topics for your assignments and can even help you find existing research about topics you’re interested in. They are useful for debugging and troubleshooting code.

These uses are permitted in this course.

If you want to use LLM tools to document your code, clean up your notes, look up error messages, search for research related to your topic, and so on, cool. Do it. That’s fine. It’s unavoidable nowadays anyway, since every R-related Google search will give you a Gemini-generated answer at the top with mostly working R code.

Any writing and revisions, however, must be your own. You may not use AI tools to write any of the text you submit to me. AI text adds nothing to my understanding. I have no interest in engaging with it at all. There is nothing more disheartening for me than spending my time grading something that ChatGPT spat out in 10 seconds. I want to see good engagement with the readings. I want to see your thinking process. I want to see you make connections between the readings. I want to see your personal insights. I don’t want to see a bunch of words that look like a human wrote them. That’s not useful for future-you. That’s not useful for me. That’s a waste of time.

Thus, anything human-facing (i.e. not stuff done just for yourself, like your own personal notes, research, etc.) must be human-generated (i.e. written by you). You may not use AI tools to write any portion of your assignments. Using AI tools in this way, or failing to disclose the use of AI tools, will be treated as a case of plagiarism and referred to the Honor Council.

Rule 2: You are responsible for understanding, verifying, and citing everything an LLM generates
These tools are really good at working with code, but again, only if you know what you’re doing. Without guidance and expertise, LLMs love making lots of extraneous, convoluted, and weird code by default. The code ostensibly works, but it’s often strange and unnecessary and uses uncommon syntax and packages.

If you use LLMs for help with code, you must understand and verify what’s going on with your code and you must cite where it came from.

This means that you need to know what each line is doing. If the LLM uses a function or gives you an argument that you don’t understand or haven’t seen before, figure out why and figure out if it’s necessary. Look at the documentation for the function. Search Google for other examples. Ask the LLM about it, and then add comments to the code explaining what’s going on.

The citation doesn’t need to be anything formal (i.e. don’t worry about Chicago or APA guidelines)—it just needs to (1) say which LLM you used, and (2) mention what you asked the LLM.

You should do this by using code comments—inside your code chunk, add a # to the beginning of a line so that it’s treated as a comment (or text) instead of actual code.

Here’s an example of what this can look like:Here’s an example of what this can look like:

# This calculates the average GDP per capita in each region in the dataset, 
# for all countries after 2015. I couldn't remember how to use group_by() and 
# summarise() together, so I asked Gemini:
# 
# "I'm using tidyverse. I have a dataset named my_dataset and I'm filtering it 
# to include all countries after 2015. I want to calculate region averages with 
# group_by and summarise but cannot remember the syntax"

my_dataset |> 
  filter(year > 2015) |> 
  group_by(region) |> 
  # Gemini here included na.rm = TRUE, which omits any rows with missing values 
  # when calculating the average. That's okay and necessary here because 
  # South Sudan is missing some years of GDP data
  summarise(avg_gdp = mean(gdp_per_cap, na.rm = TRUE))

# Gemini also included an extra ungroup() function at the end, but I don't need 
# that because there are no groups leftover after summarising here

↑ That’s a lot of extra comments and you won’t always see stuff like that in real life code, but I want to see it here, and future-you will want to see it too.
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Ella Fassler @ella-writes.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
I interviewed the co-directors of the new docuseries The Elements of Mutual Aid about the trajectory of the mutual aid landscape in the U.S and their theory of change for transcending capitalism & the state for @truthout.org truthout.org/articles/mut...
truthout.org
Mutual Aid Isn’t a Handout — It’s a Framework for Resistance
The co-directors of a new docuseries offer their theory of change for transcending capitalism and the state.
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Matt Martin @mattjmartin.com · 17/08/2026
Office with a window ‼️‼️
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Matt Martin @mattjmartin.com · 16/08/2026
Tomorrow is my first day as an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of South Carolina. Absolutely wild to say out loud.
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Reposted by Matt Martin
Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 15/08/2026
These gloves don't cause neuromuscular incapacitation the way that a taser does. In fact, they only work when applied directly to bare skin. These aren't made for apprehending anyone. These have one and only one use: causing extreme pain to already-restrained captives. In plain language: torture.
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
The post-purge Board of Immigration Appeals, in its effort to take a wrecking ball to every precedent that might allow an immigrant to receive a benefit, effectively ends "advance parole," a pathway for some DACA recipients and others to get green cards without risking a decade of banishment abroad.
Cite as 29 I&N Dec. 830 (BIA 2026) Interim Decision #4233
Matter of Milagro DELCARMEN-LARA, Respondent
Decided August 13, 2026
U.S. Department of Justice
Executive Office for Immigration Review
Board of Immigration Appeals
A departure from the United States pursuant to a grant of advance parole is a “departure”
within the meaning of section 212(a)(9)(B)(i)(II) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(9)(B)(i)(II). Matter of Arrabally and Yerrabelly, 25 I&N Dec. 771
(BIA 2012), overruled.
FOR THE RESPONDENT: Idalis Perez, Esquire, Miami, Florida
FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Milor D. Perdomo, Counsel
BEFORE: Board Panel: GORMAN, Deputy Chief Appellate Immigration Judge;
MONTANTE and GALLOW, Appellate Immigration Judges.
GORMAN, Deputy Chief Appellate Immigration Judge:
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Matt Martin @mattjmartin.com · 09/08/2026
I am just now learning that today is International Cat Day, so here are some photos of our three babies (Fancy Pants, Huck, and Yucca) begging for, and then eating, dinner in our new home
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Matt Martin @mattjmartin.com · 08/08/2026
We have been in SC for one (1) week, and we have been almost been hit by cars in a clearly marked crosswalk three (3) times, two (2) of which the drivers flipped us off
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Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
NEW: Republicans tried to get Missourians to effectively kill direct democracy and ballot initiatives. Last night, Missourians literally laughed in their face — rejecting the measure by a massive 80% to 20%. Here’s what to know:
boltsmag.org
Missourians Reject Measure That Threatened to Kill Citizen-Led Ballot Initiatives - Bolts
Missourians on Tuesday overwhelmingly voted against a measure to restrict direct democracy, while state officials are trying to block even more citizen-led reforms from the November ballot.
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Matt Martin @mattjmartin.com · 03/08/2026
HELLO (WEST) COLUMBIA, SC
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Matt Martin @mattjmartin.com · 31/07/2026
Huck is NOT a fan of moving
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Matt Martin @mattjmartin.com · 27/07/2026
Academic freedom is increasingly the exception, not the rule, at my doctoral alma mater. What a disgrace.
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Matt Martin @mattjmartin.com · 27/07/2026
Best book I've read this year so far
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Matt Martin @mattjmartin.com · 26/07/2026
Saludos from Orcas Island, WA
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Adam Sawyer @adamjst.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
In this post, we elaborate on some new features added to DetentionReports.com and note a few trends we're seeing. w/ @austinkocher.com austinkocher.substack.com/p/detention-...
austinkocher.substack.com
*Detention Reports* Updated With Latest Data and Details about ICE Facilities Nationwide
Relevant Research's DetentionReports.com project now updated with facility data through July, information on each facility's owner and operator, and 164 contracts across 78 facilities.
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Matt Martin @mattjmartin.com · 24/07/2026
Hey, that's me! (with a mustache)
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Matt Martin @mattjmartin.com · 24/07/2026
A short blog post about my love for Seattle. mattjmartin.com/blog/posts/g...
mattjmartin.com
Goodbye, Seattle – Matt Martin
An homage to our home for the last two years.
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Matt Martin @mattjmartin.com · 24/07/2026
On our sunset stroll last night we came across a duck family perched upon a boulder, a safe spot for the young ones to take a nap
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The Volatile Mermaid @ohnoshetwitnt.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
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Cambridge University Press Political Science & IR @cambup-polsci.cambridge.org · 21/07/2026
New Cambridge Element, The Social Foundations of Constitutional Innovation by William D. Blake, Joseph Francesco Cozza and Dave A. Armstrong II, out now! Read for free for the next 2 weeks at cup.org/4vLjLNN
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Matt Martin @mattjmartin.com · 21/07/2026
In 2021, the Ortega-Murillo regime arrested all major opposition candidates for the presidency on trumped-up "treason" charges and forced hundreds of activists and journalists into exile. Now they have dropped all pretenses of electoral legitimacy. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
theguardian.com
Nicaragua’s president says country will not hold any more elections
Daniel Ortega, the 80-year-old authoritarian leader, says move will ‘build a wall’ against the opposition
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Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Rubio’s State Department just published a 100-page report identifying Cuba as the locus of Communist infiltration in the US since the 1960s. Absolutely bonkers shit. www.state.gov/wp-content/u...
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Matt Martin @mattjmartin.com · 19/07/2026
Wedding weekend (one year late edition) was a success
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Matt Martin @mattjmartin.com · 17/07/2026
I am honored to have received the 2026 Edward S. Corwin Award from APSA for the best doctoral dissertation in the field of public law. This dissertation reflects the generosity, insight, and encouragement of mentors, colleagues, friends, and family who supported me. For that, I am forever grateful.
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Matt Martin @mattjmartin.com · 15/07/2026
I'm so tired man
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Matt Martin @mattjmartin.com · 15/07/2026
Might fuck around and learn how to do a proper vinyl set so I can start making videos like this www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbB4...
youtube.com
Smooth City Pop, Nostalgic Funk, シティ・ポップ, R&B [Vinyl Studio Session] with Bobby Ghanoush
YouTube video by Humano Studios
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Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Scoop: The AI music generator Suno was hacked. Hacker shared source code that shows how the tool was made and part of the music and podcasts that were scraped to create it. Decades worth of music, lyrics, and podcasts from YouTube, Deezer, Genius & more www.404media.co/hack-reveals...
# youtube_nusic: ~l.5h runtine # 113,879 hours of youtube_rusic 12,287 hours of youtube_rusic_lyrics 16,843 hours of youtube_rusic_lyrics_for genius_hg: -1.3h runting 17,615 hours of genius_hq 41, 544 hours of genius_hq lyrics 17,387 hours of genius ha_lyrics_ foreign freesound: -B.2h runting 410 hours of freesound # insip: -B.2h runtine 19,514 hours of insip # jamendo: ~B.1h runtine 3,726 hours of janendo * ponds_music: ~1.1h runtine # 62,117 hours of ponds_music # deezer: -8. 5h runtine 12,287 hours of deezer 10,175 hours of deezer_lyrics 6,699 hours of deezer_lyrics_foreign * ytn_tagged: ~2h runtine # 152,162 hours of ytn_ tagged # musescore: -B.1h runtine 183 hours of nusescore_lyrics
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WIRED @wired.com · 14/07/2026
New York has become the first US state to enforce a data center moratorium, as governor Kathy Hochul signed an executive order today to pause construction for one year.
wired.com
New York Governor Signs First Statewide Data Center Moratorium
“We have no choice but to address the challenges created by these massive facilities,” New York governor Kathy Hochul said. The executive order will pause construction for one year.
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
WHOA indeed. DHS is *not* saying that the officer feared for his life. That is VERY notable in comparison to other shootings.
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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
i appreciate the @pressherald.com granting free access to their crucial live updates on the ICE shooting of a person in biddeford, maine this morning:
pressherald.com
Live updates: ICE agents involved in deadly shooting in Biddeford
Witnesses described seeing one person being shot in the head.
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Matt Martin @mattjmartin.com · 12/07/2026
youtu.be/z4HMequIiiY
youtu.be
What is there to say about Lindsay Graham?
YouTube video by Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie
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Ned Resnikoff @resnikoff.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Popularism and populism both derive from the same essential impulse, which is to construct a synthetic version of The People that will cure democracy of the need to adjudicate between competing claims.
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Better Things Are Possible @internethippo.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Mainstream Respectable opinion is that people joking about a bad person's death represents a culture of cruelty, but really it represents a culture of impunity. It's a coping mechanism for watching someone do evil their whole life and never seeing consequences
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Matt Martin @mattjmartin.com · 10/07/2026
One of the most powerful narratives of the post-2016 social democratic Left has been "not me, us," or mass politics as an electoral strategy and an end in itself. Platner is what happens when that vision is co-opted to serve the exact messiah politics it was coined against.
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