iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Michael Brenes

Matt Duss @mattduss.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Excited to announce this new project, a collaboration by over 30 progressive thinkers laying out a new vision for US foreign policy. Coming in November from @orbooks.bsky.social Available for pre-order now! orbooks.com/catalog/a-wo...

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OR Books @orbooks.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

A group of leading experts offers a progressive blueprint for a foreign policy that answers to voters instead of defense contractors and Super PACs Co-publishing with @thenation.com and edited by @mattduss.bsky.social A World For All is available for pre-order now: orbooks.com/catalog/a-wo...

orbooks.com

A World For All

A progressive blueprint for a foreign policy that answers to voters instead of donors, defense contractors, and Super PACs.

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Albert Pinto @70sbachchan.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

China is winning the economic war America started. Xi Jinping is using Trump's tariff war and Iran War to secure global energy & economic dominance. Part 1: Dawn of the Electric World Order phenomenalworld.org/analysis/daw... Part 2: Smelling the Roses in Beijing phenomenalworld.org/analysis/the...

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Matt Duss @mattduss.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

We need a new US foreign policy that promotes peace and solidarity Mu conversation with @ezraklein.bsky.social @nytopinion.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2026/06/09/o...

nytimes.com

Opinion | What’s the Left’s Vision for Foreign Policy After Trump?

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Asheesh Kapur Siddique @asheeshks.org · 20/05/2026

It must be emphasized that we need powerful, robust ACADEMIC history IN universities to sustain history OUTSIDE universities. If we can’t employ people in higher ed to train future generations of public historians, we will not have future generations of public historians. 🗃️

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American Prestige @amprestigepod.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

E246 - Cold War Liberal Empire w/ @dbessner.bsky.social and @mbrenes.bsky.social Danny Bessner and Michael Brenes are Derek's guests today as the group gets into topics from Danny and Michael's co-edited volume Cold War Liberalism: Power in a Time of Emergency. Link in the replies!

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Cecelia Cancellaro @ceceliacancellaro.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

Thanks to @thedriftmag.com and @erikmbaker.bsky.social for spreading the word about Cold War Liberalism edited by @mbrenes.bsky.social and @dbessner.bsky.social -- a volume that is sure to provoke much discussion. Available now in paperback from @universitypress.cambridge.org

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Madeleine Baker @madeleineebaker.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

Today in the newsletter: @dbessner.bsky.social and I chat about the book on Cold War liberalism that he co-edited with @mbrenes.bsky.social and to which I contributed, which is out in paperback today newsletter.thedriftmag.com/p/the-foundi...

newsletter.thedriftmag.com

The founding ideology of American empire

Daniel Bessner and Erik Baker on Cold War liberalism and its afterlives

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Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 26/01/2026

Today, a growing number of countries are embracing “a more transactional, nineteenth-century model” of foreign affairs—but a more transactional era will not necessarily be a more peaceful one, writes @mbrenes.bsky.social.

foreignaffairs.com

The Transactional Trap

How foreign policy dealmaking can sow violence.

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Michael Brenes @mbrenes.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

The postwar “rules-based order” is dead. A transactional world has taken its place, one where values, multilateralism, and liberalism have less influence, a world more suited for the 19th century instead of a multipolar order. My latest for @foreignaffairs.com. www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...

foreignaffairs.com

The Transactional Trap

How foreign policy dealmaking can sow violence.

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Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 07/01/2026

foreignaffairs.com

The Transactional Trap

How foreign policy dealmaking can sow violence.

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Sinica @sinica.skystack.xyz · 03/01/2026

Michael Brenes and Van Jackson on Why U.S.-China Great-Power Competition Threatens Peace and Weakens Democracy

sinicapodcast.com

Michael Brenes and Van Jackson on Why U.S.-China Great-Power Competition Threatens Peace and Weakens Democracy

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Reposted by Michael Brenes

Sinica @sinica.skystack.xyz · 03/01/2026

Transcript | Michael Brenes and Van Jackson on Why U.S.-China Great-Power Competition Threatens Peace and Weakens Democracy

sinicapodcast.com

Transcript | Michael Brenes and Van Jackson on Why U.S.-China Great-Power Competition Threatens Peace and Weakens Democracy

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Reposted by Michael Brenes

National Security Archive @nsarchive.bsky.social · 15/12/2025

Today we mourn our beloved colleague Bill Burr, a giant in the field of nuclear history, who passed away last week. Click below to read tributes to Bill that have poured in from around the world. nsarchive.gwu.edu/news/2025-12...

nsarchive.gwu.edu

In Memoriam: Dr. William Burr, 1949-2025

Washington, D.C., December 15, 2025 - The National Security Archive mourns the passing of our beloved colleague William Burr, the documentary leader of the nuclear history field, on December 11, 2025....

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Reposted by Michael Brenes

Sean Case @seanmcase.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

I am pleased to share my dual review of Roady & Preston’s recent histories examining FDR’s New Deal & national security. My thanks to the @lawfaremedia.org editorial team for their guidance and to @mbrenes.bsky.social for his early support.

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Reposted by Michael Brenes

Transition Security Project @transitionsec.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

While the US & Europe ramp up military spending, millions live in poverty. Today, we launch Transition Security Project, investigating how militarisation makes us poorer and less safe amid climate crisis — and what genuine security could look like. 🧵 transitionsecurity.org

transitionsecurity.org

Transition Security Project

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H-Diplo with the Jervis Forum @h-diplo.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

Roundtable Review 17-7 Lauren Benton’s They Called it Peace: Worlds of Imperial Violence “Imperial powers permitted conquest if it prevented global war. Peace often meant war, at least on a liminal scale. The modern world...cannot, escape imperial violence.” –Michael Brenes wp.me/p2Insd-7vt

wp.me

Jervis Forum Roundtable 17-7 on Benton, They Called it Peace

Roundtable Review 17-7 Lauren Benton, They Called it Peace: Worlds of Imperial Violence (Princeton University Press, 2024). ISBN: 9780691248479. 6 October 2025 | PDF: https://issforum.org/to/jrt17-7 |...

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Reposted by Michael Brenes

Cornell Tech Policy Institute @cornellbtpi.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

On October 2nd, our @cornellbtpi.bsky.social Fellows met with Professor @mbrenes.bsky.social: Co-Director of the Brady-Johnson Program at Yale University @yalepress.bsky.social and Professor Michael Williams: Associate Professor at the Maxwell School at Syracuse University @syracuseup.bsky.social.

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Van Jackson @vanjackson.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

Awesome review of The Rivalry Peril in The Nation magazine! Thanks, @jeetheer.bsky.social! ( @mbrenes.bsky.social )

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The Syllabus @the-syllabus.bsky.social · 11/08/2025

By framing China as an existential threat, this conversation explores how policymakers recycle discredited Cold War myths, fueling militarization, inequality, xenophobia, and global instability. With @mbrenes.bsky.social on @amprestigepod.bsky.social

buff.ly

E220 - The Perils of Competition With China w/ Michael Brenes

Podcast Episode · American Prestige · 07/29/2025 · 1h 3m

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American Prestige @amprestigepod.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

E220 - The Perils of Competition With China w/ @mbrenes.bsky.social Michael Brenes returns to the pod, this time to tell us why a rivalry with China might not exactly be in everyone’s best interest. Link in replies!

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Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

This looks like something I absolutely *must* read. Whenever I (in "provocative European mode") ask US experts/ policymakers *why* US is obsessed with competition with China, the answer is often that it is "just logical", "obvious" etc. Looking forward to reading another perspective.

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Michael Brenes @mbrenes.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

Many thanks to @profpaulpoast.bsky.social for the shout out! Awesome to have our book on his list. For some reason—I still don’t know why—you can get our book on Amazon for only $7 right now

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Michael Brenes @mbrenes.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

I told Tom Edsall in @nytimes.com that Donald Trump is "profiting from the Democrats’ inability to put their house in order… Even if Democrats win the Senate and the House in 2026, Trump is unlikely to let that stop him from continuing his policies.”

nytimes.com

Opinion | When It Comes to Undermining America, We Have a Winner

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Reposted by Michael Brenes

Tom Strand @tomstrand.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

"Schlesinger’s theory worked in the twentieth century because it presumed that all Americans accepted liberalism or liberal tenets—everyone lived in the shadow of liberalism, even if they tried to avoid or repudiate it... newrepublic.com/article/1975...

newrepublic.com

What If the Political Pendulum Doesn’t Swing Back?

The Cycles of American History foresaw American voter dealignment, and an electronic age that would see voters prioritize personality over party—but it didn’t anticipate Trump.

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Reposted by Michael Brenes

Van Jackson @vanjackson.bsky.social · 06/07/2025

We document many such cases like this in The Rivalry Peril

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Andrea Pitzer @andreapitzer.bsky.social · 05/07/2025

I wrote about how the Everglades experiment fits into the history of concentration camps in the US and abroad, and how it will connect a domestic network of camps to an international one. We’re watching the imposition of a global concentration camp network.

msnbc.com

Opinion | Don’t call it ‘Alligator Alcatraz.’ Call it a concentration camp.

This facility’s purpose fits the classic model, and its existence points to serious dangers ahead for the country.

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Reposted by Michael Brenes

Vivien Chang @vivienlchang.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

Looking forward to seeing friends and colleagues at #SHAFR2025 this week! Join us on Saturday morning for our roundtable on The Global Cold War ✨

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SHAFR @shafrhistorians.bsky.social · 21/06/2025

The relaunch of the SHAFR Summer Institute in t-minus 20 minutes!! #SHAFRSummerInstitute #SHAFR2025

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Michael Brenes @mbrenes.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

Update! Oral histories are back online! Thanks @altusip.bsky.social

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Michael Brenes @mbrenes.bsky.social · 29/05/2025

Any historians/scholars affected by DOGE? I'm in the middle of writing my book on the history of the War on Terror, which relies upon oral histories published by the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP). DOGE killed it, sadly. And now the links to those oral histories are dead. Keep the citations, yes?

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Marc Palen @mwpalen.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

Today! Looking forward to discussing Pax Economica with @mbrenes.bsky.social and the Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy

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James Park @jyjamespark.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

Tune in to Quincy Institute webinar today at 3 pm (EST)! We are hosting @vanjackson.bsky.social and @mbrenes.bsky.social to discuss their latest book, "The Rivalry Peril." Register now! quincyinst.org/events/book-...

quincyinst.org

Book Talk: The Rivalry Peril

A discussion of the new book from Van Jackson and Michael Brenes.

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Lili Pike @lilipike.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

As Trump decides where to take China policy next—from Taiwan to AI, I took a step back and looked at whether the Biden administration’s strategy to outcompete China succeeded, and at what cost. Here's my deep dive: foreignpolicy.com/2025/02/06/b...

foreignpolicy.com

Did Biden Get China Right?

The administration aimed to outcompete China. Four years later, here’s how it measured up.

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Jake Werner @jwdwerner.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

I’ll be discussing new book The Rivalry Peril with its authors @vanjackson.bsky.social and @mbrenes.bsky.social. Where did Biden go wrong on US–China relations and what now for great power conflict after the Trump 2 rupture? April 2 Wednesday 3–4pm EDT quincyinst.org/events/book-...

quincyinst.org

Book Talk: The Rivalry Peril

A discussion of the new book from Van Jackson and Michael Brenes.

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Zeb Larson @zeblarson.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

Frustrated with the AHA or MLA? You're not alone! So am I. I'm frustrated by the deliberate inaction of scholarly orgs on so many issues, and their willful attempts to tamp down any action from the grassroots, so I wrote about it here. It's time to abandon them -- they're not useful anymore.

chronicle.com

Opinion | The Irrelevance of the Disciplinary Association

Organizations like the AHA and MLA fail those who need them most.

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Michael Brenes @mbrenes.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

We made it on Lawfare, one of my favorite podcasts! Thanks to @tylermcbrien.bsky.social for his excellent questions and generous engagement with our book. Listen to @vanjackson.bsky.social and I talk about why great-power competition is bad, and why it will be remade—and endure—under Trump 2.0.

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Jonathan M. Katz @katz.theracket.news · 10/03/2025

Like I was saying www.dissentmagazine.org/online_artic...

not committed any criminal offense other than crossing the border illegally."
The announcement also comes as Trump promises to deport non-citizens who participated in protests against Israel's U.S.-backed war on Gaza in 2023 and 2024. This opens up the possibility that international students whom Trump identified as having participated in "pro-jihadist protests" could end up in orange jumpsuits and blackout goggles, shackled in the same cages in which an earlier generation of "jihadists," many of them also falsely accused, were trapped for years, without constitutional recourse. Except now it would be explicitly for having engaged in free speech, assembly, and association, usually on an American college campus.

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Michael Brenes @mbrenes.bsky.social · 09/03/2025

Congrats to Alan McPherson! An important, timely book on the legacy of Iran-Contra. Side note: we need more scholarship on the 1980s.

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Van Jackson @vanjackson.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

Had a blast on @majorityreport.bsky.social. You could watch Elbridge Colby’s war-hawk testimony, or you could watch me explain Sino-US rivalry and make sense of why people like him get to posture the way they do on China while America is literally falling apart www.un-diplomatic.com/p/talking-to...

un-diplomatic.com

Talking to the People About International Relations

Talking to normal people about international relations is a very unnatural thing, and that’s a sign that something is wrong.

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Van Jackson @vanjackson.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

This is the verbatim Viktor Orban playbook, in America

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Caleb Crain @calebcrain.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

Silicon Valley’s version of accelerationism resembles Karl Marx’s but has “a different end: destroying the existing order to create a technologized, hierarchical one with engineers at the top.” @chaykak.bsky.social on the Muskian techno-coup:

newyorker.com

Techno-Fascism Comes to America

The historic parallels that help explain Elon Musk’s rampage on the federal government.

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