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Paul O'Shea

@pauloshea.bsky.social
368 followers 155 following 21 posts

Senior Lecturer at Lund University. Interested in international relations, foreign policy, politics in general. East Asia and Scandinavia.

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Paul O'Shea @pauloshea.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
The Trump tariffs are bad news for Japan, South Korea, beyond the economic costs. Asia was hardest hit. Tariffs drive Asian states towards China. Maybe thats the point. Maybe USA is ok with Chinese dominance of Asia. We wrote about this dilemma for Seoul/Toyko theconversation.com/slammed-by-t...
theconversation.com
Slammed by tariffs and defence demands, Japan and South Korea toe a cautious line with Trump
The strength of these alliances depends on whether Trump views Tokyo and Seoul as bulwarks against China’s rise or vassals that can be extorted for financial gain.
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Steven Denney @stevendenney86.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
The South Korean mediascape is quite overwhelming right now, but it shows a democracy in crisis after the martial law decree. Reports reveal that the Yoon administration was serious about thwarting democracy and establishing military rule. The fallout is severe, but the next steps are unclear.
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Paul O'Shea @pauloshea.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
I'm teaching a class on South Korean politics on Friday. Not a specialist, but one thing missing from much of the coverage, also the posts here on bsky: Massive protests every few years & impeachment of multiple presidents is not a sign of a 'healthy democracy'.
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Steven Denney @stevendenney86.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law in South Korea, citing alleged anti-state activities by opposition forces. This extremely surprising move grants the military authority over civilian affairs. Why did this happen? Some context and thoughts are below. apnews.com/article/sout...
apnews.com
South Korean president declares emergency martial law, accusing opposition of anti-state activities
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has declared an “emergency martial law," accusing the country's opposition of controlling the parliament and paralyzing the government with anti-state activities.
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Paul O'Shea @pauloshea.bsky.social · 18/11/2024
Where did all the furries go? The last time I was on Bluesky, there were furries left, right, and centre. Back today, not a single furry. Which is great, as I'm here for politics, international relations, Japan, East Asia, and increasingly Europe. Good luck to the furries, wherever they end up.
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Paul O'Shea @pauloshea.bsky.social · 22/11/2023
An excellent article examining what happened to the left in sweden during covid - how did a left-wing government end up the poster-child of libertarians? jacobin.com/2023/11/swed...
jacobin.com
The Swedish Left Failed the Vulnerable During the Pandemic
Sweden’s “hands-off” COVID-19 response was hailed by libertarians abroad but also by most left-wingers at home. Far from enlightened, the Swedish left’s approach combined deference to authorit...
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Kevin Rothrock @kevinrothrock.me · 31/10/2023
This new article from TIME about Zelensky’s struggle to maintain Western support and about Ukraine’s eroding military capacity is one of the most damning, depressing things I’ve read about the war for some time. time.com/6329188/ukra...
time.com
Inside Volodymyr Zelensky’s Struggle to Keep Ukraine in the Fight
“Nobody believes in our victory like I do. Nobody,” Zelensky told TIME in an interview after his trip to Washington, D.C.
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Anders Schröder @andersschroder.bsky.social · 31/10/2023
During Trumps visit to Sweden in 2018, Trump thought that Sweden was already in NATO. When the prime minister explained that Sweden only cooperated with NATO in certain areas, Trump responded "maybe we should do that" Anyone who's surprised by Trump wanting out of NATO haven't been paying attention
rollingstone.com
Trump Plots to Pull Out of NATO — If He Doesn’t Get His Way
Donald Trump is discussing how the U.S. might pull out of NATO or put it on "standby" should he be reelected and it not meet his demands, per sources.
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Nina C. Krickel-Choi @nckc.bsky.social · 25/10/2023
Edited by me👇I am super excited!🤩Please share widely🙏
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Michal Kolmaš @michelpoiccard.bsky.social · 25/10/2023
Call for papers: Special Issue titled "Grappling with the Climate Crisis: Emotionally, Psychologically, Existentially", exploring the international politics of climate change sense-making. Edited by @nckc.bsky.social. Deadline for abstracts Nov 30. Thanks for sharing! cjir.iir.cz/index.php/cj...
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Dr. Damien P. Williams, dread portent down from a mountain cave @wolven.blacksky.app · 22/10/2023
Way too many people don't get that christian dominionism is apocalyptic accelerationism VERY LITERALLY SEEKING to hasten their vision of the Biblical end of the world. That is not hyperbole or misinterpretation or a joke. And they have VERY CAREFULLY worked their way into the halls of U.S. power.
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Paul O'Shea @pauloshea.bsky.social · 20/10/2023
finished teaching a course on East Asian international relations. the students were pessimistic about the prospects for peace. also very little idealism in the classroom. pragmatic relativism dominates. the west has no moral authority, let china be china, etc.. polisky
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Leonidas Aretakis @aretakis.bsky.social · 12/10/2023
Läs @paulinasokolow.bsky.social modiga text om vågen av antisemitism som drabbar svenska judar efter Hamas terrordåd. www.flamman.se/som-vansterj...
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Paul O'Shea @pauloshea.bsky.social · 13/10/2023
this is the kind of analysis i was looking for.
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Paul O'Shea @pauloshea.bsky.social · 12/10/2023
this article doesn't really offer any answers, but provides very useful background
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Paul O'Shea @pauloshea.bsky.social · 12/10/2023
This is doing the rounds . . mad it's ten years old. evergreen. worth a watch www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmCK...
youtube.com
The Daily Show - We Need to Talk About Israel
Jon tries to have a calm discussion about Israel's ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, but he is quickly thwarted by The Best F#@king News Team Ever. Watch f...
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Jason "Red5" Lyall @jaylyall.bsky.social · 12/10/2023
Fascinating article. Turns out tons of highly cited econ articles all rely on the same deeply problematic source of population data. All kinds of implications for studies of long-term development, military outcomes, war, etc. The perils of data monocultures... polisky
bit.ly
We Do Not Know the Population of Every Country in the World for the Past Two Thousand Years | The Jo...
We Do Not Know the Population of Every Country in the World for the Past Two Thousand Years - Volume 83 Issue 3
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Hard Drive @hard-drive.net · 12/10/2023
Opinion: Super Mario 3D World Is Not That Special, As Our World Is Also 3D (Guest Column by Neil deGrasse Tyson)
hard-drive.net
Opinion: Super Mario 3D World Is Not That Special, as Our World Is Also 3D
Instead of lauding Super Mario 3D World for being three-dimensional, wouldn’t it be more logical to direct our acclaim toward our world, which is also 3D?
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Paul O'Shea @pauloshea.bsky.social · 11/10/2023
twitter right now is just ppl screaming at each other over the semantics of denunciation and solidarity can anyone recommend accounts here on bsky, with quality insight and analysis on events in gaza/israel/broader region? polisky
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Paul O'Shea @pauloshea.bsky.social · 07/10/2023
@profmusgrave.bsky.social can you add me to the polisky feed please, much appreciated!
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Paul O'Shea @pauloshea.bsky.social · 06/10/2023
to be clear, not saying that 'western' realist theory isn't susceptible to the same critiques. but 'moral realism' seems so obviously self-serving . . feels like we are going backwards. yet 'serious' people take it seriously... #polisky #irtheory
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Paul O'Shea @pauloshea.bsky.social · 06/10/2023
teaching chinese IR theory today. Yan Xuetong's moral realism seems like self-serving CCP propaganda. But he wins prizes, and 'serious scholars' endorse him as a great thinker. What I am missing?
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Paul O'Shea @pauloshea.bsky.social · 05/10/2023
People outside Sweden think it is a socially progressive country. True in some areas, but it has some of the harshest drug laws in Europe. It has the highest rate of overdose deats in the EU. And now the worst gang crime in the EU. arbetet.se/nyhetsbrevsa...
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Paul O'Shea @pauloshea.bsky.social · 04/10/2023
speaking as a total non-expert, i found this to be a really measured, informative analysis of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, particularly the part on Armenia's strategic mistake www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
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