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Nicolas Bouchet

@nickbouchet.bsky.social
1.2K followers 338 following 1.2K posts

German Marshall Fund Senior Visiting Fellow. US foreign policy, democratization, democracy promotion, civil society. Throw in some Eastern Europe and Russia and we're mostly good to go.

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Reposted by Nicolas Bouchet
Laurence Broers @laurencebroers.bsky.social · 4h
edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-armenia... My forthcoming book now has a dedicated webpage! This gives some indication of what to expect from the second edition of Armenia and Azerbaijan: Anatomy of a Rivalry Revisited, both an update and expansion of the original volume. Cover coming soon!
edinburghuniversitypress.com
Armenia and Azerbaijan
Armenia and Azerbaijan
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Christy Quirk @cequirk.bsky.social · 2h
If only there was a branch of the US government that could support Serbia’s democratic development and encourage free elections. You can say I’m a dreamer but I’m not the only one. www.rferl.org/a/us-lawmake...
rferl.org
US Lawmakers Target Serbia's Democratic Backsliding, Ties To Russia, China, Iran
A bipartisan, bicameral group of US lawmakers is pressing for tougher action on what they describe as democratic backsliding, corruption, and growing Russian, Chinese, and Iranian influence in Serbia,...
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Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty [Unofficial] @rferl.org.web.brid.gy · 6h
rferl.org
US Lawmakers Target Serbia's Democratic Backsliding, Ties To Russia, China, Iran
A bipartisan, bicameral group of US lawmakers is pressing for tougher action on what they describe as democratic backsliding, corruption, and growing Russian, Chinese, and Iranian influence in Serbia, just weeks before snap parliamentary elections.
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Karen Attiah @karenattiah.bsky.social · 20h
Mike Pompeo has been rewarded with a teaching fellowship at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. The same school that canceled my class on media, race and international affairs. @columbiasipa.bsky.social share.google/KEvTy5yER71U...
share.google
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to join SIPA faculty
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will join the School of International and Public Affairs as a fellow at SIPA’s Institute of Global Politics in March, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
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Alexander Clarkson @aphclarkson.bsky.social · 21h
I think a lot of people on this and the other site need to consider very carefully how far someone with MBS's mindset might be willing to go if he feels he is cornered
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Nate Schenkkan @nateschenkkan.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Shoutout to my former Freedom House colleague who always said what we needed was an anti-robot political movement to unite humanity
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OC Media @ocmedia.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Two German political foundations have closed their offices in Georgia after their applications to continue funding projects under the country’s new Law on Grants were rejected. 🔗 Read more: oc-media.org/german-polit...
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David Smith @dsmith890.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Drones overhead. Water running low. Gas prices up 81% in two months. Moldova heads into winter with all three crises at once. This week's Moldova Matters has the full rundown open.substack.com/pub/moldovam...
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Marcel Dirsus @marceldirsus.com · 02/10/2026
A sad day: Germany's Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung is closing its office in Georgia because it has become impossible for the foundation to do its work in Tbilisi. www.kas.de/de/pressemit...
kas.de
Die Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung schließt ihr Auslandsbüro in Tiflis
detail
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Christopher Miller @christopherjm.ft.com · 02/10/2026
More from my interview with Zelenskyy and on the intel intercepted by Kyiv about Russia's winter attack plans. Attacks concentrated on Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Lviv to isolate them, sow chaos, spark a new flood of refugees. Also: Russia wants to sever Ukraine's nuclear facilities from the energy grid.
ft.com
Putin has told military leaders to abandon rules of war, Zelenskyy says
Ukrainian leader tells FT his Russian counterpart has given the order that ‘there are no rules now’
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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
This is one of my all time favorite history maps! Pigeon postal communication routes in the defense system of Moscow in 1941. Source: buff.ly/2pSCTeK
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Ed Wilson @eddwilson.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
"I regret to learn of the President of the [USA]'s decision to initiate the procedure to withdraw from the European Commission for Democracy through Law. "The United States became a full member of the Venice Commission in April 2013... after being an Observer State since 1991." #R4Today
coe.int
Announced withdrawal of the United States of America from the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe – Statement by the President of the Venice Commission
Strasbourg, France 9 January 2026
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Christopher Miller @christopherjm.ft.com · 02/10/2026
NEW: Yesterday I interviewed President Zelenskyy. Speaking at a school that had just been hit by a Russian jet drone, he said Ukrainian spy agencies had obtained intel that Putin told his military to remove all constraints that governed earlier air campaigns. “He said there are no rules now.”
ft.com
Putin has told military leaders to abandon rules of war, Zelenskyy says
Ukrainian leader tells FT his Russian counterpart has given the order that ‘there are no rules now’
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stevelevitsky.bsky.social @stevelevitsky.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Lucan Way and I have been writing about competitive authoritarianism for more than 25 years. We never thought we'd write this piece. www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/com...
journalofdemocracy.org
Competitive Authoritarianism in America | Journal of Democracy
The United States has slid into competitive authoritarianism. The slide has been modest and remains reversible—but it is real. Even after Donald Trump, American democracy will remain fragile.
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Jasmin Mujanović @jasminmuj.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
First, Amanda Thorpe, Olivia Olson and I have published an elxn primer w/ details re: exceedingly complex feats of BiH's elxns. It is an overview of both the systemic features of the elxns, and an overview of the major political actors competing in the same. www.atlanticcouncil.org/content-seri...
atlanticcouncil.org
5 questions (and expert answers) about Bosnia and Herzegovina’s election
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s 2026 election: Atlantic Council experts explain the players, voting system, and implications for the EU and NATO.
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Joanna Lillis @joannalillis.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
As Saida Mirziyoyeva, the president's chief of staff and also his daughter, uses the UN to burnish #Uzbekistan's international image, prominent prisoner Dauletmurat Tajimuratov smuggles an impassioned cry for help out of prison - read my latest on Substack joannalillis.substack.com/p/rights-rhe...
joannalillis.substack.com
Rights, rhetoric and realpolitik – does Uzbekistan practise what it preaches?
As Uzbekistan uses the stage at the United Nations to burnish its international image, a prominent prisoner issues an impassioned cry for help
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Joanna Lillis @joannalillis.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
If you missed it last week, the @chrussiaeurasia.bsky.social panel with @tumarov.bsky.social and me talking about #Uzbekistan's decade under Mirziyoyev is now available to watch at this link - tune in! www.chathamhouse.org/events/all/s...
chathamhouse.org
Uzbekistan: assessing 10 years of rule under Mirziyoyev
Hear from experts on the successes, shortcomings and future direction of Uzbekistan’s economic and reform agenda under President Mirziyoyev.
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OC Media @ocmedia.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Make your voice heard across the Caucasus and beyond. 👉Learn more here: oc-media.org/oc-media-launches-autu…
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ف @rrahfa.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Does everyone already know about the impressive public database on national memories of the Syrian civil war?? This is an amazingly rich resource for researchers and students and anyone who is curious. There are 10,000 dissertation topics hiding in there!! Tell everyone! syrianmemory.org
syrianmemory.org
أرشيف الثورة السورية
مشـروع الذاكـرةً السـورية هـو مشـروع علمـي بحثـي أنشـأه المركـز العربي للأبحـاث ودراسـة السياسـات في نهاية عـام 2018، بهـدفِ بناءِ أرشـيف موثّوق وشـامل للأحـداث منـذ انـدلاع الثـورةً السـورية في آذار/...
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Nate Schenkkan @nateschenkkan.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I'd forgotten they also withdrew from the Venice Commission, lord the damage they are doing to international rule of law frameworks
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Christy Quirk @cequirk.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Wondering* who’s going to be lining up to implement these grants. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026... * not really wondering
theguardian.com
Trump administration diverts human rights funds to push far-right agenda abroad
Support for white Afrikaners, anti-communism and others reveals how US redefining what qualifies as human rights
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Meduza in English @meduza.io · 30/09/2026
A Russian intelligence network offered $40,000 to kill Ilya Ponomarev in the U.S., El Mundo reports. The paper says Garry Kasparov was another target and received U.S. protection this summer after authorities warned him of an assassination plot. meduza.io/en/news/2026...
meduza.io
El Mundo reports Russian authorities plotted to kill former Russian lawmaker Ilya Ponomarev and former world chess champion Garry Kasparov in the U.S. — Meduza
Russian authorities spent several months planning to assassinate opposition figures Ilya Ponomarev and Garry Kasparov in the United States, the Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported.
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Tornike Metreveli @metreveli.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
New resource for anyone studying Georgian politics: a dataset of protests across post-Soviet Georgia, from independence to today. Built for researchers, journalists, and the curious. #Georgia #SocialMovements
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Cristina Maza @cmaza.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Serbia is also considering running for the 2027 OSCE chairmanship, a top diplomat told Rapporteur. www.rapporteur.com/news/georgia...
rapporteur.com
Georgia pushes for OSCE chair but EU closes ranks against bid | Rapporteur
Tbilisi sees an opening as the OSCE remains deadlocked over its 2027 chairmanship
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FairSquare @fairsqprojects.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
It is a colossal political failure to have encouraged the UAE to buy up swathes of the British economy and prized cultural assets like Manchester City while evidence of its greed and brutality and contempt for the rule of law was all around. Two @fairsqprojects.bsky.social reports worth reading 👇
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Nicolai von Ondarza @nvondarza.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Underpriced, though, is the scenario that the next UK elections take place at a time of an EU struggling with a President Le Pen in France and far-right parties in government in other EU countries.
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Jacob Öberg @profjacob.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
🚨🚨 @coe.int of Europe said yesterday that the #US formally notified it that it would leave the Group of States against Corruption, or #GRECO. Only two other countries have left GRECO before — #Russia and #Belarus. The fall of the #US on the world scene is striking. apnews.com/article/trum...
apnews.com
US withdraws from European anti-corruption panel in latest shift away from global groups
The Trump administration has withdrawn the United States from a top European anti-corruption watchdog.
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Kevin Rothrock @kevinrothrock.me · 29/09/2026
Political analyst Ekaterina Schulmann says the FSB tortured election expert Alexander Kynev with electric shocks and broke his leg in two places while trying to force him to confess to treason. When he refused, she says, they slapped him with the felony drug charges. t.me/tvrain/111762
t.me
Дождь | Новости
❗️Политолога Кынева пытались обвинить в госизмене, его пытали силовики — Екатерина Шульман Об этом политолог заявила в программе «Статус». «Вчера я выступала на совместном заседании двух комитетов П...
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Philippe Auclair @philippeauclair.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Reading the independent report into Man City's financial "arrangements" now, stopping after every paragraph, saying "Jesus"..."JESUS!"..."Holy fuck!" and again. This is beyond anything anyone imagined. Also started to wonder whether criminal proceedings are in the picture now.
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
So you know previous waves of technological fabulism the tech companies threw a little loose change at social behavioral research and user interface experience. whats interesting about AI interesting is that they aren’t even pretending to care about how people use the technology.
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
You know this is my third or fourth go around with this kind of technological innovation for consumers and citizens. And a lot of it is the same. Same pattern of exaggerated benefits, underestimated challenges. What’s new this time is the sector isn’t even pretending to care about the consumer.
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Laurence Broers @laurencebroers.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
iphronline.org/articles/rus... New report from IPHR & HCA Vanadzor on Russian interference in Armenia's June 2026 election, documenting "a sustained Russian interference campaign combining economic and diplomatic pressure, covert information manipulation, and ... financial inducements & coercion..."
iphronline.org
New Report — RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE IN ARMENIA’S 2026 ELECTIONS: A Post-election Examination - IPHR
IPHR and The Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor Office are publishing their new report, RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE IN ARMENIA’S 2026 ELECTIONS: A Post-election Examination, examining the methods, actors, ...
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Daniel Drezner @dandrezner.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
“Bessent has now transformed himself into the Baghdad Bob of bonds.” paulkrugman.substack.com/p/the-beclow...
paulkrugman.substack.com
The Beclowning of Scott Bessent
Another Trump enabler pays the price
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Laurence Broers @laurencebroers.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
This is a tremendous study of how the discourse of autochthony was taken up by Armenian political entrepreneurs in the era of self-determination after WW1, by Diana Yayloyan. Recommended.
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Anton Barbashin @abarbashin.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
How did Moscow lose its old levers—and what instruments does it still have for promoting its narratives in #Germany public life? ridl.io/germany-and-...
ridl.io
Germany and Russia: From “Change Through Trade” to Sharp Power – Riddle Russia
Dmitry Stratievski on the transformation of German-Russian relations after 2022
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Laurence Broers @laurencebroers.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
For historians of Azerbaijan: this is a fascinating case study of push and pull between centre and periphery under the reforming conditions of Nikita Khrushchev's Soviet Union, focused on the rise and fall of the Ministry of Communal Economy in the Azerbaijani SSR.
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Jakub Jaraczewski @jakubjaraczewski.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
🇪🇺⚖️ - Call for Participation - Deadline 18 October! The next edition of the European Rule of Law Conference, organised by re:constitution (@democracyreporting.bsky.social + Forum Transregionale Studien), will take place on 11 and 12 May 2027 in Brussels. Link: www.reconstitution.eu/veranstaltun...
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Helene von Bismarck @helenebismarck.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
This is very interesting. And confirm my general impression that those of us who live in highly secularized societies and therefore tend to underestimate the power of Religion in international affairs do so at our peril.
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Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Emmanuel Carrère, Kolkhoz.
In my baccalaureate exams, which I took in 1975, I got a 4 in philosophy. To put that into perspective, 10 is a passing mark, 14 to 16 is very good, and 4 is a straight fail. But you have to ask: philosophy isn't maths, so a 4 in it is absurd: why not a 5? Why not a 3? Why not a O, for that matter? Without telling me, my father approached the Paris School Board and after some time was able to view my exam paper. The marker had written: 'insufferable pedantry'.
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Tornike Metreveli @metreveli.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Same aggressor. Same church. Orthodox victims both times. In 2008 the Moscow Patriarchate urged peace between "Orthodox brothers" in Georgia. By 2024 it called the war in Ukraine a "Holy War." What changed? I wrote an article in Religion, State & Society, here are some key takeaways:
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arnisatepelija.bsky.social @arnisatepelija.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Vučić's resignation is a chronicle of a resignation foretold: a long-awaited move answering the pulsing rage of the protests that followed the deaths of 16 people in the collapse of the Novi Sad railway station roof in November 2024. It leaves a rule of law wreck track behind too.
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Jasmin Mujanović @jasminmuj.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Amid threats of an unlawful police raid of Srebrenica Memorial Center, the leadership has reduced the number of staff on site, to protect their physical safety. 2 wks ago, the whole of Europe condemned Serbia for its leaders' glorification of Mladic. Where are they today? n1info.ba/vijesti/sulj...
n1info.ba
Suljagić donio odluku: Memorijalni centar Srebrenica povlači dio zaposlenih, moguće i privremeno zatvaranje za posjete
Direktor Memorijalnog centra Srebrenica dr. Emir Suljagić donio je odluku da se tokom ove sedmice broj zaposlenih koji fizički borave u Centru svede na osoblje
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Nate Schenkkan @nateschenkkan.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Useful report, previewing *so many* things that happened in the US gppi.net/2020/09/01/a...
gppi.net
GPPi
Freedom of expression, freedom of thought and university autonomy are all rights protected by the constitution in Brazil. But a closer look at the state…
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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
It seems that, with the recent crackdown on opposition twitter accounts in Turkey, there's some migration to @bsky.app Here's a starter pack that I made when I first came to Bluesky. I think it is still mostly useful, though certainly incomplete go.bsky.app/NoVB1zM
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Jelger Groeneveld @jelgerg.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Word is that all German foundations allied with their repective political parties are withdrawing from Georgia. This would be a huge blow - even though their space to actually operate has been very contained with barely room for funding - since they are all very well respected in their work.
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Jelger Groeneveld @jelgerg.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Sad news has reached me the Friedrich Naumann Foundation South Caucaus office in Tbilisi will close after 30 years of democracy promotion. Not because the democracy job is finished, but because the civic space for such work has been radically restricted by the Georgian Dream government.
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OC Media @ocmedia.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Georgia expels Belarusian activist to Armenia after refusing asylum claim Read more: oc-media.org/georgia-expe...
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Nicolas Bouchet @nickbouchet.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Great thread
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Bonnie Glaser @bglaser.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
My assessment of the Trump-Xi summit: "The verdict on Trump’s success is mixed. He secured some concrete economic commitments, but Xi came away with a larger diplomatic and strategic win." www.gmfus.org/news/trump-x...
gmfus.org
A Trump-Xi Summit Scorecard
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Abu Aardvark @abuaardvark.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Between all the AI unpleasantness, the frequency of requests, the incessant automated emails that follow absurd two week deadlines, and the one week turnaround by authors on “major review” decisions, I’m just about ready to be done reviewing for journals completely. It’s a public good, but broken.
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