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Marion Messmer

@mgmessmer.bsky.social
3.3K followers 1.4K following 199 posts

Programme Director for International Security at Chatham House Former BASIC, King's College London

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Reposted by Marion Messmer
Katelyn Burns @katelynburns.com · 6h
Heavy trigger warnings but holy shit
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Marion Messmer @mgmessmer.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
I had my tonsils out as a kid in the 90s so things may have changed but plushie and parents were present before going under and when waking up 🙂 I remember the pain but before the surgery they made it as unscary as possible
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Reposted by Marion Messmer
Faine Greenwood @faineg.com · 07/10/2026
Concerning!!! www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
EU drops sponsorship of disinformation conference at Trump officials’ request
Lithuania and Canada were also pressured to withdraw, and days before #Disinfo2026, logos were wiped off website
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Nicole Bedera @nbedera.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
I spent a year watching school administrators do their jobs—and interviewing the students most impacted. I spoke to @thecut.com in a long-form Q&A about what I saw. Mainly, a system designed to protect perpetrators and punish victims in each and every case.
thecut.com
The Reason Why Colleges Still Fail to Address Sexual Violence
The “Cornell Seven” case highlights what’s wrong with Trump’s Title IX rules — and how the system was always designed to fail.
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Marion Messmer @mgmessmer.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
(The only thing keeping me going this morning is that Britannia Shield is a great drag name and I hope someone is already on it. If you're doing a Britannia Shield drag performance, please invite me.)
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Marion Messmer @mgmessmer.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
My guess: there is no deeper plan beyond having come up with the cringey name 'Britannia Shield', and hoping that British voters will like the idea of a missile defence shield, whether it can be delivered or not.
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Marion Messmer @mgmessmer.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Stephen is right of course, and part of the challenge will be that IMD is actually very difficult to properly implement - especially if you're on the one hand briefing 'Iron Dome'-like intercept rates, and on the other hand say that it'll only cost £10bn, and will be implemented over 10 years.
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Marion Messmer @mgmessmer.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Klassiker 🫠In manchen Themen kann man einfach so viel Expertise haben wie man will, ein Herr im blauen Anzug passt immer besser ins Allgemeinbild
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Marion Messmer @mgmessmer.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Congratulations!
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Reposted by Marion Messmer
Monica H Green @monicamedhist.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
#MedievalSky In case your students this week come in w/ questions about the Russian plague case currently in the news, you can tell them: 1) if this is plague (Yersinia pestis), there is nothing unusual about it (a) being in Russia or (b) being the subject of lab research. Plague is worldwide.
The opening of a 2019 study of the 20th-century Soviet system for controlling plague. Citation: Susan D. Jones, Bakyt Atshabar, Boris V. Schmid, Marlene Zuk, Anna Amramina, and Nils Chr. Stenseth. "Living with Plague: Lessons from the Soviet Union's Antiplague Syste," PNAS 116, no. 19 (6 May 2019), 9155-9163, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1817339116.
Abstract: Zoonoses, such as plague, are primarily animal diseases that spill over into human populations. While the goal of eradicating such diseases is enticing, historical experience validates abandoning eradication in favor of ecologically based control strategies (which reduce morbidity and mortality to a locally accepted risk level). During the 20th century, one of the most extensive plague-eradication efforts in recorded history was undertaken to enable large-scale changes in land use in the former Soviet Union (including vast areas of central Asia). Despite expending tremendous resources in its attempt to eradicate plague, the Soviet antiplague response gradually abandoned the goal of eradication in favor of plague control linked with developing basic knowledge of plague ecology. Drawing from this experience, we combine new gray-literature sources, historical and recent research, and fieldwork to outline best practices for the control of spillover from zoonoses while minimally disrupting wildlife ecosystems, and we briefly compare the Soviet case with that of endemic plague in the western United States. We argue for the allocation of sufficient resources to maintain ongoing local surveillance, education, and targeted control measures; to incorporate novel technologies selectively; and to use ecological research to inform developing landscape-based models for transmission interruption. We conclude that living with emergent and reemergent zoonotic diseases—switching to control—opens wider possibilities for interrupting spillover while preserving natural ecosystems, encouraging adaptation to local conditions, and usi…
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Steve Saidemonster 🧌🧛🦇⚰️👻👹 @smsaideman.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Someone is imitating me on Mastodon. I got on there when I was looking for twitter alternatives, but it was not so useful. Anyhow, if you get a follow request from someone posing as me on Mastodon, it ain't me. Please report them.
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AGF 🎧 poemproducer @poemproducer.eurosky.social · 01/10/2026
anyway Nokia is back
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Times this morning. Me in December last year. It was pretty damn obvious this would happen to anyone who did the maths. samf.substack.com/p/the-oversh...
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🇵🇸Martin “Doomsday” Pfeiffer🖖🏳️‍🌈 @nuclearanthro.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Ok, the quoted post is a really good one y'all. As I also touch on, moral panic around low-credibility "AI"-bioweapons obfuscates the very real violence & harm of Trump Regime smashing public health (inter)nationally & "AI" systems used for hacking, target selection, & digital crime. 🧵👇🧵👇🧵👇🧵👇🧵👇🧵
patreon.com
AI: Cybercrime Yes, Bioweapons No! | Martin Pfeiffer
Usage Note: I use "AI" (without quotes) to refer to LLMs & semi-autonomous "Agents" and such. Bottom Line Up Front Author's Note: Discussin
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Os Keyes @okeyes.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Since we’re doing another round of “AI will destroy humanity” doom-hype, it’s a good time to announce a new paper myself and my postdoc advisor just had accepted by BioSocieties on just this. TL;DR: almost all the “AI can make bioweapons” literature comes ultimately from the Effective Altruists.
ironholds.org
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Andrew Mueller @andrewmueller.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Latest Foreign Desk for Monocle Radio. Lebanon special, partly recorded at last week's Arab Media Summit in Dubai, with Lebanon's ministers of social affairs and information, and deputy speaker. monocle.com/radio/shows/...
monocle.com
Rebuilding Lebanon: Where do you even start?
From Israel’s strikes in the south and attempting to disarm Hezbollah, to reinstating services and infrastructure, Lebanon’s government is in...
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Ruth Deyermond @ruthdeyermond.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
This is a poor take that suggests Owen Jones doesn't know much about Russia in the 1990s, including Russia-US or wider Russia-West relations in the 1990s. By giving only one part of the story, he is repeating the Russian political elite's self-serving line that it was all the West's fault. Long 🧵
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Maria Farrell @mariafarrell.eurosky.social · 25/09/2026
Happy publication day, @katjabego.bsky.social . This book has been greatly anticipated and could not be more timely.
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Sascha Schmidt @saschaschmidt.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Diese Abstimmung ist ein Skandal. Und vor dem Hintergrund der - zum Teil berechtigten - Vorwürfe der CDU in Bezug auf Antisemitismus in der Linken, umso mehr. Die CDU sollte auch den Antisemitismus in den eigenen Reihen angehen.
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Chatham House Global Governance & Security Centre @chggsc.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Denmark used its soft power to rally support and took the dispute out of the limelight - addressing underlying US interests instead of President Trump's unacceptable public position. 📝Read the latest from Marc Weller ⤵️ www.chathamhouse.org/2026/09/denm...
chathamhouse.org
Denmark’s Greenland deal with Trump is a victory for diplomacy over bullying
Denmark used its soft power to rally support and took the dispute out of the limelight – addressing underlying US interests instead of President Trump’s unacceptable public position.
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Hanna Notte @hannanotte.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
@ldfreedman.bsky.social invited me to reflect on Russia’s escalating measures against Europe - and where we might be headed. The essay builds on my book We Shall Outlast Them, which is out now in the UK and Europe
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Marion Messmer @mgmessmer.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Happy publications day!!!
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Katja Bego @katjabego.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Today’s the day! 🥳
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ICDS Tallinn @icds-tallinn.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Deterrence à la Carte: French, American and British Nuclear Roles in a New Security Environment - @hfayet.bsky.social - @mgmessmer.bsky.social - Zuzanna Gwadera - Michaela Dodge Moderator: @nicolegrajewski.bsky.social Night owl session hosted by @ifri.bsky.social
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Marion Messmer @mgmessmer.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Herzlichen Glückwunsch, sehr verdient!
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Chatham House Global Governance & Security Centre @chggsc.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
🤖In the latest episode of Independent Thinking, @mgmessmer.bsky.social and @alexkj.bsky.social joined Bronwen Maddox to discuss the growing fears around the development of AI. 🎧Listen below⤵️ www.chathamhouse.org/2026/09/arti...
chathamhouse.org
Artificial Intelligence, Real Fears: Is it time to slow down?
On this week’s episode of Independent Thinking, our experts discuss the growing fears around the development of AI.
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Reposted by Marion Messmer
Mike the Mad Biologist and Trump's Press Corps Approver @mikethemadbiol.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Just to add to this excellent piece by @tressiemcphd.bsky.social, "AI as incipient godhead that can only be placated (perhaps) by the techpriests" and "AI as potentially dangerous, underregulated product with inadequate safety testing" lead you to very different policy responses.
nytimes.com
Opinion | A.I. Is a Threat, but Not in the Way You Think (Gift Article)
The threats from A.I. are real — and they’re ones we know how to deal with.
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James Cameron @jjjcameron.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Teaching people to analyze sources critically and independently of AI is important.
Norman Rockwell's Freedom of Speech.
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James Cameron @jjjcameron.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Now imagine that during a crisis an AI draws from a huge amount of data to conclude that Russia or China are preparing a nuclear first strike and an under-pressure analyst sends that immediately up the chain.
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Chatham House @chathamhouse.org · 18/09/2026
"The UK's AI Security Institute and its supportive research and innovation ecosystem is world-leading." @isabellawilkinson.bsky.social gave evidence this week to the House of Commons's International Relations and Defence Committee on the UK's unique selling points on artificial intelligence.
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Chatham House Global Governance & Security Centre @chggsc.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
🌐Artificial intelligence is developing rapidly and threatens to transform politics, economics and societies. We asked six experts to weigh in on major questions on artificial intelligence in the latest issue of @theworldtoday.org ⤵️ www.chathamhouse.org/publications...
chathamhouse.org
How AI could change the world
Artificial intelligence is developing rapidly and threatens to transform politics, economics and societies. How should it be regulated? Are significant job losses inevitable? Should countries try to c...
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Middle-class kids already do genuinely good vocational courses like degree apprenticeships. I just don't know what problem they're trying to solve. www.thetimes.com/uk/education...
thetimes.com
Lucy Powell: Middle-class children should take vocational subjects
The education secretary says that curriculums tailored to the needs of the local economy should not be rejected because of snobbery
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John Oxley @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk · 12/09/2026
Wonder if the real impetus for changing the law is going to come from companies like this/their insurers when they start getting hit with the subsequent claims for discrimination.
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Chatham House Global Governance & Security Centre @chggsc.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
🚀 “We can innovate when it comes to public sector use of technology, and I think this is one opportunity we really ought to pursue,” says Alex Krasodomski on the expansion of British sovereign technology💻, via BBC Radio 4📻 🎧Listen to the full episode: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
bbc.co.uk
Rethink - Rethink... who owns our technology - BBC Sounds
Is it time for a Tech-xit?
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Marion Messmer @mgmessmer.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
While the university sector is being massively undermined, potentially ruining a world-leading sector and risking the UK's ability to develop future innovation and spin-outs 🙃
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Marion Messmer @mgmessmer.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Can't help but think it would really help the UK economy (not to mention the UK's ability to develop sovereign critical capabilities in key industries) to intervene at this point and make sure start ups can actually become commercially viable en masse while staying in the UK.
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Marion Messmer @mgmessmer.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
This has been a very loud message at any roundtable we've done with industry representation over the last few years: startups can do well until they reach a certain size, then they begin to struggle due to lack of sustained funding beyond series a and either leave the UK or are sold.
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Ruth Deyermond @ruthdeyermond.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
This is getting a huge response on twitter, including from people I follow who are taking it at face value. As far as I can tell, it's fake. Trump said nothing like this in his public appearances yesterday. People *really* need to be more cautious of unsourced quotes that play to their assumptions.
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Oliver Meier @olivermeier.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Cool new tool from Alva Myrdal Center: "Comprehensive overview of 129 #armscontrol agreements across all weapons categories. Explore agreement parties, obligations, mechanisms of control, and agreement associations through datasets, data visualisers and encyclopedia." amcdata.uu.se/en
amcdata.uu.se
AMC DATA
Web site for clearifying agrees of disarmament.
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Marion Messmer @mgmessmer.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
That's so cool! Congratulations to you for taking over, and congratulations to Lawrence for taking a well-deserved break.
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Marion Messmer @mgmessmer.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
I was surprised that for some of my younger colleagues (so 26-29 age range), it's completely normal to share their location permanently with housemates and/or at least one family member. They all justify it for safety reasons.
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Marion Messmer @mgmessmer.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Cold calling doesn't work for me because of who I am as a person but I actually have started scheduling regular calls with some of my friends who live abroad and it's the best. We treat these regular calls with the same seriousness of an in-person plan and it has deepened our relationships.
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Chatham House Global Governance & Security Centre @chggsc.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
🎥Our panel event on Reimagining pandemic prevention, preparedness and resilience is available to watch on YouTube 🏥Our panel of experts explore why breaking the inequality-pandemic cycle is the missing link in global health security. Watch here:⤵️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEHj...
youtube.com
Reimagining pandemic prevention, preparedness and resilience
YouTube video by Chatham House
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Chatham House Global Governance & Security Centre @chggsc.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
📢 #ICYMI - @chathamhouse.org Digital Society Programme research paper 🤖 Breaking the deadlock on AI governance - How a crisis could lead to global coordination 🤝🌐 👇 Click below to read now 📖 🔗https://www.chathamhouse.org/2026/03/breaking-deadlock-ai-governance
chathamhouse.org
Breaking the deadlock on AI governance
How a crisis could lead to global coordination
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The British Academy @britishacademy.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Together with @dgap.org, we welcome applications from early- and mid-career researchers for the latest round of Global Innovation Fellowships. The scheme offers awardees the opportunity to work at DGAP’s Berlin office on key policy themes. Learn more: bit.ly/4xbd6xC
A colour block social media card promoting the 2026-27 round of Global Innovation Fellowships: The German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP)
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Chatham House Global Governance & Security Centre @chggsc.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
📢#ICYMI you can watch our recent panel event 'New advocates and the future of international human rights', with opening remarks from @nowrojeeosf.bsky.social, President of the @open-society.bsky.social. Watch below⤵️ www.chathamhouse.org/events/all/s...
chathamhouse.org
New advocates and the future of international human rights
As governments and multilateral institutions retreat, a new generation of advocates is reshaping the debate and proposing reform.
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Stephen Schwartz @atomicanalyst.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
On April 11, 2024, soon after Annie Jacobsen’s “Nuclear War: A Scenario” was published, I replied to her tweet about an excerpt of it in TIME, pointing out several significant factual errors (including about the origin of the “Football”). She DM’d me, asking for “a brief discussion,” adding …
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Charles Я. Davis @charliearchy.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
NEW: The Trump administration is looking to set up a consortium for anti-immigrant "independent journalism" in Europe, with the State Department envisioning "substantial involvement" in the project. www.theredoubt.net/trump-admini...
theredoubt.net
Trump administration to support 'independent journalism' in Europe with anti-immigrant focus
For-profit entities are eligible to receive $1 million from the State Department, which envisions "substantial involvement" in the project.
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Prof Chris Jackson @seismatters.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Well, well, well… www.newscientist.com/article/2585...
newscientist.com
Suggesting that ADHD is a myth is pseudoscientific and dangerous | New Scientist
ADHD is a real condition that can have serious consequences if undiagnosed. An ill-informed documentary that suggests it is a modern, social construct could cause harm, says Caroline Williams
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Kati Schneeberger @katischneeberger.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Für mich ist wichtig: „Sicherheit ist mehr als Verteidigung“ bedeutet nicht weniger Verteidigung. Es bedeutet, Verteidigungsfähigkeit mit Cybersecurity, Infrastruktur, Wirtschaft, Krisenvorsorge, Information und gesellschaftlicher Resilienz zusammenzudenken. Erst daraus entsteht Handlungsfähigkeit 👇
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