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Ole Birk Laursen

@olebirklaursen.bsky.social
4K followers 1.5K following 1.2K posts

anticolonialism / antifascism / anarchism / author of 'The Indian Revolutionary Movement in Europe, 1905-1918: Exile, Internationalism, and Resistance to Empire' (2026) www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/…

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Reposted by Ole Birk Laursen
Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 17h
This Wednesday I'll be speaking about Virendranath Chattopadhyaya, Indian anticolonialism, and the League Against Imperialism at the "Zukünfte von Gestern: Der Brüsseler Kongress revisited" event at the Amerika-Gedenkbibliothek | PopUp Saal in Berlin. www.zlb.de/veranstaltun...
Event poster.
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 17h
This Wednesday I'll be speaking about Virendranath Chattopadhyaya, Indian anticolonialism, and the League Against Imperialism at the "Zukünfte von Gestern: Der Brüsseler Kongress revisited" event at the Amerika-Gedenkbibliothek | PopUp Saal in Berlin. www.zlb.de/veranstaltun...
Event poster.
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Reposted by Ole Birk Laursen
Rita, antifascist🏴 @oldsquida.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
i am Jane Doe
cbc.ca
'I am Jane Doe': Rally to protect Cornell rape accuser's identity becomes a reckoning | CBC News
The repeated refrain, part of an online wave of support this week for the complainant in the Cornell University gang rape allegations, is being compared to the cultural and structural reckoning of the...
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Reposted by Ole Birk Laursen
Wagatwe Wanjuki @wagatwe.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
whenever we get close to seeing a systemic problem with policing, media rushes to frame it as a training problem. however, police culture is at the core of its mistreatment of victims and rape cases. policing is a tool of white supremacy AND *male* supremacy
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Reposted by Ole Birk Laursen
Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I look forward to speaking about Virendranath Chattopadhyaya and Indian anticolonialism in 1920s Berlin at the "Zukünfte von Gestern: Der Brüsseler Kongress revisited" event to mark the centenary of the League Against Imperialism. Time: 7 Oct 2026, 18:00-20:00 www.zlb.de/veranstaltun...
A group of men at the League Against Imperialism congress in Brussels in 1927.
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
"The Nomadic Decades: New Perspectives on M. N. Roy", edited BySuchetana Chattopadhyay, Nilanjana Paul www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/1...
taylorfrancis.com
The Nomadic Decades | New Perspectives on M. N. Roy | Suchetana Chatto
The collection of essays studies the twentieth century Indian revolutionary, writer and thinker, Manabendra Nath Roy's life and ideological trajectories by
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Book Launch on 30 September 2026: "Constitutionalising Anarchy by Ruth Kinna and Alex Prichard". Join online through Zoom sites.exeter.ac.uk/cptnews/2026...
sites.exeter.ac.uk
Book Launch on 30 September 2026: Constitutionalising Anarchy by Ruth Kinna and Alex Prichard
Wednesday, 30 September 2026, 15:30 - 17:30, Streatham Court Lecture Theatre B, University of Exeter Organised by The Centre for Political Thought and the Centre for Advanced International Studies  Th...
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Reposted by Ole Birk Laursen
Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
What an honour to be part of this 140th anniversary issue of "Freedom" alongside Mike Finn, Sophie Scott Brown, Eric Laursen, Ruth Kinna, Rob Ray, Daniel Adediran, Donal O'Driscoll, Danny Evans, and Uri Gordon's interview with Barney Greenway of Napalm Death. freedomnews.org.uk/2026/09/27/1...
freedomnews.org.uk
140 years young—anarchism's oldest press - Freedom News
The editorial from our bumper anniversary issue, now in print ~ Freedom News ~ We’ve had a big anniversaries year in 2026.
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
What an honour to be part of this 140th anniversary issue of "Freedom" alongside Mike Finn, Sophie Scott Brown, Eric Laursen, Ruth Kinna, Rob Ray, Daniel Adediran, Donal O'Driscoll, Danny Evans, and Uri Gordon's interview with Barney Greenway of Napalm Death. freedomnews.org.uk/2026/09/27/1...
freedomnews.org.uk
140 years young—anarchism's oldest press - Freedom News
The editorial from our bumper anniversary issue, now in print ~ Freedom News ~ We’ve had a big anniversaries year in 2026.
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
The music venue Vega, formerly known as Folkets Hus (The People’s House), in Copenhagen. It was here that the Indian revolutionary VVS Aiyar spoke alongside Keir Hardie, Bruce Glazier, Alexandra Kollontai, “Big Bill” Haywood, and Luella Twining on 2 September 1910.
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I'm deeply saddened to hear that Barry Pateman has passed away. From my brief contact with him (and the Kate Sharpley Library) over the years, he was always extremely helpful, supportive, and kind. www.facebook.com/AKPress
Barry Pateman.
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Reposted by Ole Birk Laursen
Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I’m briefly in Copenhagen and popped by Vesterbrogade 101, where Narayan Krishna, India’s first socialist, lived in 1912. Very close to where Lenin lived in 1910.
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I’m briefly in Copenhagen and popped by Vesterbrogade 101, where Narayan Krishna, India’s first socialist, lived in 1912. Very close to where Lenin lived in 1910.
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
"Since the current Israeli government took office at the end of 2022, and even more so since October 2023, Israel has dramatically escalated its assault on all aspects of Palestinian life in the West Bank...."
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Reposted by Ole Birk Laursen
Rita, antifascist🏴 @oldsquida.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
it’s a bad day for us US designates noblogs.org domain as ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorist’ bsky.app/profile/crim... bsky.app/profile/late... book fairs use noblogs.org bsky.app/profile/seab... rose city antifa doesn’t even use noblogs.org domain & yet… bsky.app/profile/torc...
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I look forward to speaking about Virendranath Chattopadhyaya and Indian anticolonialism in 1920s Berlin at the "Zukünfte von Gestern: Der Brüsseler Kongress revisited" event to mark the centenary of the League Against Imperialism. Time: 7 Oct 2026, 18:00-20:00 www.zlb.de/veranstaltun...
A group of men at the League Against Imperialism congress in Brussels in 1927.
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
The video installation United Anarchist Archives, opening at the IISG on 24 Sep 2026, is based on the journey to archives and libraries specialising in social history and anarchism in Lausanne, Bern, Zurich, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Saint-Imier, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Milan iisg.amsterdam/en/events/op...
iisg.amsterdam
Opening video installation United Anarchist Archives
While conducting research into anarchism and self-organisation in relation to art and printed matter, Dutch artists and 'non-academic freestyle researchers' Rob Hamelijnck and Nienke Terpsma came acro...
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
www.btselem.org/the_eliminat...
btselem.org
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The offices of the Chinese anarchist Esperanto paper “La Novaj Tempoj” at 4 rue Broca in Paris is now a lovely little bakery.
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Reposted by Ole Birk Laursen
Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
For anyone who missed Søren Hough's fantastic talk about anarchist and scientist Marie Goldsmith a couple of weeks ago, you can now catch it on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMqi...
youtube.com
Soren Hough on Marie Goldsmith: Science, Syndicalism, and Anarchism
YouTube video by Sam and Esther Dolgoff Institute
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Reposted by Ole Birk Laursen
Matthew Adams @msadams.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Pleased to see this article published in History Workshop Journal on Gandhi's reception by British anarchists: '‘Saint or Politician?’: Mohandas Gandhi, Indian Independence, and the British Anarchist Movement' Available open access here: academic.oup.com/hwj/advance-... @irph.bsky.social
‘Saint or Politician?’: Mohandas Gandhi, Indian Independence, and the British Anarchist Movement' Abstract: This article interrogates British anarchist responses to Mohandas Gandhi during the 1940s, a pivotal period marked by the reemergence of British anarchism and the intensification of Indian independence efforts. It argues that while anarchists supported Indian self-liberation, they were deeply divided over Gandhi. For some, he was an inspiration for nonviolent tactics; for others, he represented the flaws of nationalist-led independence, auguring poorly for genuine freedom for ordinary Indians. This study critically challenges prevailing scholarship that posits a natural affinity between Gandhism and anarchism. Drawing on unexplored primary material, it demonstrates that British anarchists never reached consensus on Gandhi’s ideas or his significance.
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
A few months ago, I gave a talk about the Indian anarchist M. P. T. Acharya in the Sam and Esther Dolgoff Institute seminar series. If you missed it, it is now available online. www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dGh...
youtube.com
Ole Birk Laursen on M. P. T. Acharya: India’s Forgotten Anarchist Revolutionary
YouTube video by Sam and Esther Dolgoff Institute
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
For anyone who missed Søren Hough's fantastic talk about anarchist and scientist Marie Goldsmith a couple of weeks ago, you can now catch it on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMqi...
youtube.com
Soren Hough on Marie Goldsmith: Science, Syndicalism, and Anarchism
YouTube video by Sam and Esther Dolgoff Institute
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Getting together a group of French, Spanish, Italian, German, Dutch, and Danish scholars speaking in English about transnational anarchism in the interwar period turns out to be quite interesting.
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
26 rue Cadet, a hot bed for Indian revolutionaries in Paris in the early twentieth century. When the police arrested Govind Amin here in 1912, they found a bomb manual and several revolvers.
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
www.heistberlin.com/goodbye-to-b...
heistberlin.com
Goodbye to Berlin: Why I'm Leaving This City After 15 Years
After 15 years in Neukölln and working in German media, Zara Rahman is leaving Berlin because of dishonesty and moral hypocrisy.
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
In "Come what may, we're here to stay", Taj Ali reveals how successive generations fought for rights, dignity and a sense of belonging while actively shaping the country they now call home. manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526177582/
manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
Manchester University Press - Come what may, we're here to stay
Come what may, we're here to stay - Browse and buy the Hardcover edition of Come what may, we're here to stay by Taj Ali
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Looking forward to the workshop "Faced with Decline? A Transnational Anarcho-Syndicalist Network in the Interwar Period (1918-1940)" in Paris next week. I'll be talking about anti-colonialism, anti-militarism, and the Indian anarchists in Weimar era Berlin.
screenshot of workshop programme.
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Reposted by Ole Birk Laursen
Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
The List of Digitized Anarchist Periodicals (LIDIAP) is a fantastic resource for anyone working on anarchism. We have just added/updated periodicals from Scandinavia, incl. Arbetaren, Brand, Zenit, and Gateavisa. We are looking for contributors to cover France, UK, Japan, Spain. lidiap.ficedl.info
front cover of Brand with news of Peter Kropotkin's death.
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
The List of Digitized Anarchist Periodicals (LIDIAP) is a fantastic resource for anyone working on anarchism. We have just added/updated periodicals from Scandinavia, incl. Arbetaren, Brand, Zenit, and Gateavisa. We are looking for contributors to cover France, UK, Japan, Spain. lidiap.ficedl.info
front cover of Brand with news of Peter Kropotkin's death.
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
What an absolute delight to hear @sorenhough.bsky.social talk about the life and thought of the anarchist and scientist Marie Goldsmith in the Sam and Esther Dolgoff Institute meeting last night. To read more about Goldsmith, check out their website below. mariegoldsmith.uk
mariegoldsmith.uk
The Marie Goldsmith Project
Reviving the life and thought of the anarchist and scientist, Marie Goldsmith.
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
The kids are alright
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
What is Anarchism? | Prof. Ruth Kinna www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiIz...
youtube.com
What is Anarchism? | Prof. Ruth Kinna
YouTube video by Wandering Thoughts
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
New book by Christian Høgsbjerg "Atlantic History in 15 Slave Revolts: Resistance, Rebellion and Abolition from Below" coming out in December 2026. www.bloomsbury.com/uk/atlantic-...
bloomsbury.com
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
From 11 to 13 September 2026, Bologna hosts the international meeting of the anarchist archives of the FICEDL network — the International Federation of Anarchist Documentation and Study Centres. All three days will be streamed online ficedl2026.bida.im/en/ ficedl2026.vado.li
ficedl2026.vado.li
Live
FICEDL 2026 — Incontro internazionale degli archivi anarchici · Bologna, 11–13 settembre Dall'11 al 13 settembre Bologna ospita l'incontro della FICEDL, la Federazione Internazionale dei Centri stu...
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Reposted by Ole Birk Laursen
James Ker-Lindsay @jameskerlindsay.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Just how should we understand the British Empire? It was brilliant talking to @alanlester.bsky.social about the history of Britain’s colonialism, and the complexities of reconciling liberalism and anti-slavery at home with a global project mired in racism and exploitation. youtu.be/0S3Ai6aTLHc
youtu.be
The Rise and Fall of the British Empire | What People Get Wrong
YouTube video by Prof James Ker-Lindsay
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Denmark’s Indian empire was limited in territory, population, military strength and fiscal capacity. It was nevertheless a colonial formation in its own right. Another insightful piece by @niladri4u.bsky.social and Eleonor Marcussen for @indianexpress.com indianexpress.com/article/rese...
indianexpress.com
How Denmark’s forgotten empire in India led to the story of L&T
Denmark’s Indian empire was limited in territory, population, military strength and fiscal capacity. It was nevertheless a colonial formation in its own right.
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Denmark’s Indian empire was limited in territory, population, military strength and fiscal capacity. It was nevertheless a colonial formation in its own right. Another insightful piece by @niladri4u.bsky.social and Eleonor Marcussen for @indianexpress.com indianexpress.com/article/rese...
indianexpress.com
How Denmark’s forgotten empire in India led to the story of L&T
Denmark’s Indian empire was limited in territory, population, military strength and fiscal capacity. It was nevertheless a colonial formation in its own right.
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Eli Meyerhoff @elimeyerhoff.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
I'm excited to join the podcast, Another Education Is Possible, as a co-host for their third season. Stay tuned for interviews with Mark Bray (@mark-bray.bsky.social) on anarchist education, Leanne Simpson (@biidaasamose.bsky.social) on The Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning, and many more!
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Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Trans-national, racist far right networks are trying to use Ghent’s suspension & investigation of Nathan Cofnas to legitimate his pseudo-scientific claptrap about race and IQ. This is the counter-petition. Please sign if you care about academic integrity: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com
Open letter on the suspension of Nathan Cofnas at Ghent University
***Version française en dessous*** We, colleagues of Nathan Cofnas - supported by many colleagues internationally - want to respond to the negative and incorrect framing of Ghent University’s decisio...
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
At 95, Selma James is a voice from another world. Born to working-class Jewish parents in Brooklyn, she married the Caribbean revolutionary CLR James and shared his anti-colonial, libertarian Marxism. www.youtube.com/watch?v=F20g...
youtube.com
Anti-Capitalist Feminism with Selma James
YouTube video by Tribune Magazine
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
At 95, Selma James is a voice from another world. Born to working-class Jewish parents in Brooklyn, she married the Caribbean revolutionary CLR James and shared his anti-colonial, libertarian Marxism. www.youtube.com/watch?v=F20g...
youtube.com
Anti-Capitalist Feminism with Selma James
YouTube video by Tribune Magazine
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Reposted by Ole Birk Laursen
folukeifejola @folukeifejola.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
We are told to ignore the racism of Hegel, Kant, Locke etc because they were just "men of their time". So what do we do with the racism of current academics? Are they too just "men of their time"? What is this "time" that seems to make racists of men?
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Alex Prichard @profalexp.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Release date sometime in the next few weeks! It’s available to download for free, but if you’re the sort of person who, like me, needs to be able to hold the book in your hands, here’s a 20% discount flyer on pre-orders!! #constitutionalisinganarchy #anarchism
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Priyamvada Gopal @priyamvadagopal.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Some news. Would appreciate help not tooling around on socials as i enter the home stretch which is scary. www.thebookseller.com/rights/priya...
thebookseller.com
Priyamvada Gopal’s ‘landmark' history of colonialism goes to Allen Lane
Allen Lane has acquired Priyamvada Gopal’s On Decolonization, described as a “landmark new history of how colonialism continues to shape our world”.
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
For 15 years, Berlin was a vital centre of India’s freedom struggle in exile, bringing together revolutionaries, students, intellectuals, and anticolonial activists from across India and the world, until the rise of Nazism brought this vibrant community to an end. indianexpress.com/article/rese...
indianexpress.com
How Berlin became the centre of the Indian freedom struggle abroad
For 15 years, Berlin was a vital centre of India’s freedom struggle in exile, bringing together revolutionaries, students, intellectuals, and anticolonial activists from across India and the world, un...
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roterote @roterote.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Here is the full suspension letter from UGent that was sent to Nathan Cofnas, it shows ample reason for his suspension and potential termination. Including breach of contract, using the University of Ghent’s name and legitimacy to promote his racial supremacist views and causing reputational damage.
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Reposted by Ole Birk Laursen
roterote @roterote.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
There are dozens of academics signing this open letter to defend the American Eugenicist Nathan Cofnas from the consequences of his own actions. They are calling him a “whistleblower”
johnarmstrongmaths.com
As academics, we are concerned that Ghent University's disciplinary proceedings against Dr Cofnas appear to constitute retaliation, at least in part, for publicizing academic misconduct that occurred in British universities.
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
University Ghent suspends Nathan Cofnas over remarks about professor Arday www.belganewsagency.eu/press-releas...
belganewsagency.eu
University Ghent suspends Nathan Cofnas over remarks about professor Arday
The University of Ghent has suspended postdoctoral researcher Nathan Cofnas. He announced this himself on social networking site X last Thursday, and UGent has confirmed the measure.
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Ole Birk Laursen @olebirklaursen.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
I’m delighted to have received the author copies of my book “The Indian Revolutionary Movement in Europe, 1905-1918” out now with @livunipress.bsky.social
a photo of my book.
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