Sign in

Paul T. Levin

@paultlevin.bsky.social
3.8K followers 988 following 4.2K posts

Director of the Stockholm University Institute for Turkish Studies. Managing Director Consortium for European Symposia on Turkey. Docent (Assoc. Prof.) of and pontificator on international relations. Opinionated. Painter.

PostsRepliesMedia
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 5h
This is a good model. Couldn’t we drivers all sign a self-regulation accord instead of having pesky traffic laws and police enforcing them? That’ll work, right?
490
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 5h
They’re not exactly superintelligent.
382
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 15h
This is better than the final courtroom scene from "A Few Good Men." Has there ever been a more spectacularly embarrassing self-own? Also, Klobuchar catching the mistake on the fly? 🔥
070
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 19h
Together with @johnsjoholm.bsky.social, I've been working on a proposal for a forward-leaning European hybrid warfare. It is just now out! We propose a covert-action-centered strategy that emphasizes credibility, asymmetry in retaliation, and graduated imposition of costs.+
paultlevin.substack.com
Towards a European Hybrid Warfare Strategy
How to Deter Without Escalating
192
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Det här är första gången jag delar en insändare, men Iwan Langermo har helt rätt. Peter Thiels märkliga libertariansk-auktoritära världsbild väcker frågor. ”En kommande regering bör tydligt ange vilken roll Palantir ska ha i svensk polis, svensk statsförvaltning och i förlängningen vår demokrati.”
dn.se
Insändare. Nästa regering måste ge tydligt besked om Palantir
Iwan Langermo: Det amerikanska it-företaget Palantirs roll i den svenska polisen behöver granskas på djupet.
2164
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Thousands of identical/similar messages from supposed Swedes are apparently being spread on X rn: “I’m Swedish and Russia is not my enemy.” As an actual Swede, my reply to the obvious bot-driven info op is that if you don’t want me to be your enemy, then stop attacking my country.
13110
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Plot thickens in the negotiations to form a coalition government in Sweden. The four center-left parties have a majority, but three of them don’t want to include the Left Party (V). Today, V underlines that they’re are needed for a majority by voting for the conservative Speaker of Parliament!
290
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Private dwellings targeted by drones; family members injured or killed. A school hit. Just a regular day (and night) in Ukraine. Russia killing civilians, not accidentally but deliberately, as a policy. But terror bombing didn’t work during WWII. It won’t make Ukrainians stop defending themselves.
1111669
Reposted by Paul T. Levin
Eugene Finkel @efinkel.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I wonder if there is anyone in the Middle East who did *not* warn Netanyahu days before October 7. Because it looks like pretty much everyone did
24916
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Matt raises an important point. This foiled attack in the UK may not have been Russia but its ally, Iran. I think that there is actually a point to being a bit careless in attribution. Part of the usefulness of hybrid attacks is that they are hard to attribute, so it’s hard to respond to them.+
1110
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Reading the comments under Owen Jones’s crappy take gives me faith in BlueSky. People point out that he is denying Russians agency and that he misses the fact they similar reforms had very different effects in Eastern Europe. Also read Ruth’s rejoinder.
1151
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Mannen som förser svenska polisen med IT lösningar som analyserar dina känsliga personuppgifter och som har ett ospecificerat samarbete med Försvarsmakten.
33831
Reposted by Paul T. Levin
Gesine Weber @gesineweber.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
In case you missed it - this is an interesting development to be followed when thinking about the future of US engagement in the Middle East/ Europe's neighbourhood and new partnerships between Europe and Gulf states.
0144
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I know a lot of you are going to say that Putin is lying, just like he did before the invasion of 🇺🇦, but to be fair, he’s only saying “we are not PREPARING FOR any kind of hostilities with Europe.” He’s not saying anything about the hostilities they’re CURRENTLY engaged in. 😉
f24.my
Russia not preparing for conflict with Europe, Putin says
Russia is not preparing for "any kind" of conflict with Europe, President Vladimir Putin said Friday, following warnings from some European NATO members of potential Russian attacks on the alliance's…
1120
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Sån tur att man fortfarande kan ta del av Agnes Wolds alla kloka råd i SRs arkiv.
030
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
One of the big questions of our time is how AI can/should be governed. Without global governance, competing firms and countries risk racing to the bottom. Don't miss Johannes Geith's new policy brief for the Stockholm Center on Global Governance on this! www.su.se/english/divi...
020
Reposted by Paul T. Levin
Б'єрнберт @bjornbert.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
open.substack.com/pub/paultlev...
283
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Come be my colleague!
050
Reposted by Paul T. Levin
Lisa Dellmuth @lisadellmuth.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Vi söker en universitetslektor i internationella relationer vid Institutionen för ekonomisk historia och internationella relationer @stockholm-uni.bsky.social! Livlig forskningsmiljö inom internationell politisk ekonomi, institutioner & säkerhet. Sök senast 26 okt: su.varbi.com/se/what:job/... #jobs
065
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Everyone should watch Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski directly responding to Russia’s Sergey Lavrov at the UN Security Council.
youtube.com
“You Cannot Win,” Poland's Sikorski Directly Answers Lavrov, Warns Russia at UN | AC1N
YouTube video by DRM News
0338
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I shouldn’t be surprised, I guess. There were people in Europe who didn’t think that the French should have fought back against the Nazis either. (In France, they rallied under the Vichy regime. They would’ve been Mélenchon’s people, clearly.)
261
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Very much this.
140
Reposted by Paul T. Levin
OSINTRadar @osintradar.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
🇱🇻🇩🇪 Four German Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets have been urgently deployed to Latvia to reinforce the protection of the country’s airspace.
312626
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Tebrikler! 🥊🥉
020
Reposted by Paul T. Levin
Bradley P. Moss @bradmossesq.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Possibly the best example of American democracy and governance in the era of Trump.
17157372130
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
static.klipy.com
Bryan Cranston's Iconic 'Boom' Mic Drop
ALT: Bryan Cranston's Iconic 'Boom' Mic Drop
0125
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Are we there yet, @rosabrooks.bsky.social?
283
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I was on my way to work and didn’t have time for anything else so I posted my first Claude-authored BlueSky thread today. What did you think? a) I hate it! Don’t ever do it again. b) Ok I guess, since you were open about it. And it was actually pretty useful. c) Who are you and why do I care?
150
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
An important investigation by the FT about Russian sanctions evasion and those actors in UAE & elsewhere (including India) who enable it to buy eg batteries for drones to kill Ukrainian civilians. But it’s also dense, so I asked Claude to ELI5 it to me. Here’s its explainer. 🧵
giftarticle.ft.com
Rosneft billions fed Kremlin-backed money laundering network
FT investigation shows the state oil group’s hard currency was at heart of Russia’s efforts to circumvent sanctions
2114
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
This is going to piss a lot of people off. “Our findings underscore that infectious disease spillover and emergence are multi-causal, and that no one-size-fits-all strategy can prevent epidemics and pandemics.” But good science doesn’t give you the answers you want. It gives you the right answers.
0114
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
When Claude AI takes over the task of summarizing complaints about Claude AI taking over tasks.
072
Reposted by Paul T. Levin
alexvonwitzleben.bsky.social @alexvonwitzleben.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
#vonderLeyen has proposed a European Security Council involving EU countries including the UK, Canada, Norway and Ukraine. The leaders’ forum would focus on Europe’s security challenges. She also proposed closer cooperation with #Canada www.euronews.com/my-europe/20... All this thanks #DonaldTrump
39434
Reposted by Paul T. Levin
OSINTRadar @osintradar.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
We hope that the Russian-Ukrainian war will end with the restoration of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," - Erdogan.
58020
Reposted by Paul T. Levin
Brandy Zadrozny @brandyzadrozny.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Bonus for whoever wrote this chyron
Trump speaking at UN — MS NOW chyron reads: Trump touts being a peacemaker while asking if he should annihilate Iran
133105992478
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
This is farcical and embarrassing, but also confusing. “Superintelligence” is an existing concept in AI with a specific meaning. To my limited understanding, it describes an AI that has both deep and broad cognitive abilities that exceed most humans in multiple domains. And AI is not there yet.
1206
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
I give you: nightmares! (Also, Turkmenbashi wants his artist back.)
150
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Had they done this for AP, we wouldn’t be here. It’s sad that it’s taken everyone so long to realize this, but Trump plays divide & rule. His bullying poses collective action problems & the only way not to be ruled is to form alliances & coordinate responses. (This goes for European states as well.)
153
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
ICYMI, this was just outside a major Western European capital last month. I know that there is this campaign by some to stop using the term “hybrid warfare,” but this is what hybrid warfare can look like. Not a strike by a Russian Su-34. Instead, deniable sabotage that could also be an accident.
4111
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
En politisk reflektion som privatperson: Jag är ingen V-väljare men jag har aldrig riktigt förstått anledningen att C så kategoriskt vägrar att sitta i regering med V. Visst står man långt ifrån varandra ideologiskt, men sakpolitik kan man förhandla om.
171
Reposted by Paul T. Levin
Lisa Röstlund @lisarostlund.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Det är worst case scenario i denna brittiska rapport från i fjol - och väntas i en riskbedömning ge cirka 4 miljarder döda. Varannan människa på jorden. (2/3) actuaries.org.uk/media/ni4erl...
actuaries.org.uk
33018
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
“At least he’ll shake things up.”
180
Reposted by Paul T. Levin
Ned Richardson-Little @historyned.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
The CDU/CSU has never been absent from a federal or state parliament in the Federal Republic of Germany since 1949. This is a massive blow to the party that see itself as the natural governing party of post war Germany.
412631
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
I’m listening to this debate and wondering why I have such a strong emotional reaction when I hear Realists like Ashford or Mearsheimer taking about 🇷🇺 & 🇺🇦. I usually don’t mind cold analysis based on facts even if I disagree with the conclusions. But their callousness is theoretically derived.
261
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Lavrov’s suggestions require no serious response, but Russia has already succeeded in subduing Georgia and roping it into its sphere of influence. Putin has to be worried about Armenia’s increasing independence from said sphere. The EU should double down in supporting regional peace & prosperity.
070
Reposted by Paul T. Levin
MAKS 26 👀🇺🇦 @maks23.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
🇱🇹❗️Lithuanian Foreign Minister said that Vilnius has the same intelligence information about possible hybrid attacks by Russia as other countries in the region and allies. This includes, in particular, a possible Russian operation "under a foreign flag".
213929
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
The 470 (!) European former ministers, ambassadors, and senior officials that have drafted a letter demanding urgent EU action “in light Israel’s systematic and pervasive violations of international humanitarian and human rights law against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank” now have a website.
euformeramb.eu
Group of European former Ministers, Ambassadors and Senior Officials
Independent European former ministers, ambassadors and senior officials calling for stronger EU action on Palestine and Israel.
1115
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
NYT: ”The U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity (…), said that deals with Russia before the end of the war were possible because they would show that the United States is serious about a reset relationship with Russia.” No, NYT. They just want to make money.
nytimes.com
Trump Wants Putin to End the War. He May Offer Russia Business Deals First. (Gift Article)
A new sanctions bill is meant to pressure President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to end the war in Ukraine. But President Trump is doubling down on a different approach: offering enticements to Russia.
1113
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
He will test and he will test and he will test. He will take it one step further and then yet another step. Pretty soon, one of these things will go very bad. He will push until we fold OR start pushing back for real. I am glad we’re not folding, but we’re not yet pushing back nearly hard enough.
ansa.it
Russian military jets violate Lithuanian airspace, Italian fighters scrambled - TopNews - Ansa.it
Two Eurofighter F-2000 fighter jets from the Italian Air Force's 'Baltic Thunder III' Air Task Force scrambled late this afternoon from Šiauliai, Lithuania, as part of the NATO air defense mission on ...
1196
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Few images encapsulate how fundamentally different this US administration is to all previous ones as well as this graph does. It shows both how it disregards due process in favor of rewarding loyalty and partisanship and how cruel and callous it is.
091