Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Adjusting to AI in a discussion-based, "great books"-esque seminar built around a small number of texts; trying to maintain skill-building in writing while dramatically expanding the oral/interpersonal side of the course: 060
Reposted by Paul StanilandAidan Milliff @aidanmilliff.com · 10/06/2026@pstaniland.bsky.social I appeared on Grand Tamasha 🎙️ with @milanv.bsky.social to discuss our new book on Indian public opinion. Check out the episode here: grand-tamasha.simplecast.com/episodes/wha... And the book is free to download until June 15: doi.org/10.1017/9781... 054
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 03/06/2026I got a preview of the new Obama Presidential Center (more later of the views from the top) 242
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 01/06/2026The Trump Administration's Puzzling Strategic Retreat From East Asia open.substack.com/pub/danieldr...open.substack.comThe Trump Administration's Puzzling Strategic Retreat From East AsiaSomeone make this make sense to me. 120
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 13/05/2026UChicago will offer free tuition for families with incomes below $250,000, greatly expanding undergraduate aid | University of Chicago News news.uchicago.edu/story/uchica...news.uchicago.eduUChicago will offer free tuition for families with incomes below $250,000, greatly expanding undergraduate aidStarting in Autumn 2027, initiative covers tuition, fees, housing and meals for families with incomes below $125,000, dramatically increasing access to a transformative UChicago education 091
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 08/05/2026Reading about 1970s India, listening to a podcast series about 1970s Britain. Just the worst decade. 120
Reposted by Paul StanilandAidan Milliff @aidanmilliff.com · 05/05/2026Book Alert! @pstaniland.bsky.social and I have a new Cambridge Element out now — and free to download through May 18. It's the result of nine years of digging through historic survey data on how the Indian public thinks about major powers. Read it here: www.cambridge.org/core/element... 12313
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 06/05/2026Quite a fascinating interview: "Arakan Army Chief Twan Mrat Naing on Talks With the Myanmar Government, and Relations With India and Bangladesh" thediplomat.com/2026/05/arak...thediplomat.comArakan Army Chief Twan Mrat Naing on Talks With the Myanmar Government, and Relations With India and Bangladesh“The military government wants to negotiate from a position of strength but we will not succumb to such pressure.” 030
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 05/05/2026New book! @aidanmilliff.com and I spent years tracking down survey data from the late 1950s-2025 on how the Indian public has viewed China, the US, and Russia/USSR. We use the data to explore trends and patterns. Cambridge has made it Open Access until 5/18, so go read for free here: t.co/YtNCz74758 1134
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 15/04/2026I argue that debates over democratic backsliding and competitive authoritarianism in South Asia, while still important, need to be complemented by a renewed focus on how militaries exercise power and influence in Pakistan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and even Nepal: carnegieendowment.org/research/202...carnegieendowment.orgThe Shadow of the Military in Modern South AsiaMilitary rule is now a defining political factor in South Asia. Here’s how analysts can understand and account for it. 155
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 10/04/2026for a distraction from [waves wildly at everything happening in the world]: 030
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 09/04/2026An extremely exciting infusion of new foreign policy talent into the Chicago area: globalaffairs.org/chicago-coun...globalaffairs.orgChicago Council on Global Affairs Appoints Two Vice Presidents of Research for Geostrategy and Global SecurityApril 9, 2026 050
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 04/03/2026Appears that a US submarine may have sunk an Iranian destroyer off Sri Lanka. That wasn’t on my bingo card. 110
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 02/03/2026www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...washingtonpost.comTrump pursues Iranian decapitation without a plan for what comes nextThe U.S. has a fraught track record of toppling autocratic regimes and securing peaceful democracies — even when it has vision for the day after. 121
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 24/02/2026I roll this perpetually-relevant meme out every once in awhile: 2449
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 12/02/2026Reminiscent of Stalin telling a group of visiting Indian communists to advocate the unification of India, Pakistan, and Ceylon (digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/rec...): 041
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 12/02/2026Chairman Mao dispensed some wildly unhelpful advice over the years; this nugget was to Nasser after the 1967 war (from Lorenz Luthi's "Cold Wars"): 070
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 10/02/2026China set to widen footprint in Bangladesh as India's ties decline en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/b...en.prothomalo.comChina set to widen footprint in Bangladesh as India's ties declineChina has stepped up its investment and diplomatic outreach in Dhaka, most recently signing a defence deal to build a drone factory near Bangladesh's border with India. 010
Reposted by Paul Stanilandjamelle @jamellebouie.net · 24/01/2026an administration staffed to the top with degenerate liars 381123932277
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 24/01/2026The Pentagon struck a conciliatory tone toward Beijing in its new defense strategy, stating that its overarching goal is to establish “strategic stability” in the Indo-Pacific region www.wsj.com/politics/nat... via @WSJwsj.comPentagon’s New Defense Strategy Strikes Conciliatory Tone on ChinaThe blueprint says the U.S. will focus attention on the Western Hemisphere while reducing its military role in Europe, South Korea and the Middle East. 011
Reposted by Paul Stanilandnicoblar.bsky.social @nicoblar.bsky.social · 21/01/2026Happy to announce the 1st ever @isanet.bsky.social conference in South Asia in August 2026. Hosted in Colombo, Sri Lanka, we welcome proposals from scholars based in and/or studying South Asian politics & international relations, but also broader global themes ofc www.isanet.org/Conferences/...eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com ISA-SAWP Colombo 2026: Call for Proposals 135552
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 06/01/2026Hyde Park is hip and cool: www.nytimes.com/interactive/... 240
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 13/12/2025I use class presentations and an oral exam alongside papers now in my undergrad seminar (and blue book final all by side papers in my UG lecture): “Professors are turning to this old-school method to stop AI use on exams” wapo.st/4pU5mNfwapo.stProfessors are turning to this old-school method to stop AI use on examsA small but growing number of educators are experimenting with oral exams to circumvent the temptations presented by powerful AI platforms. 170
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 10/12/2025Sushila Karki government beset by court decisions kathmandupost.com/politics/202... via @kathmandupostkathmandupost.com 010
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 04/12/2025My thoughts on US-India relations in the Trump era for Chicago Council on Global Affairs: - US deeply unreliable & mercurial - Unclear if even a weakened Trump would lead to a rapid shift back toward pro-India policies - India needs to engage more broadly in US, especially beyond the coasts (1/2) 130
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 25/11/2025Illinois & Chicago stuck in "high tax, massive debt, comparatively unremarkable public services" equilibrium that will take either crisis or real political creativity to change: www.statecraft.pub/p/should-the...statecraft.pubShould the Feds Bail Out Chicago?“Municipal debt is the history of America” 030
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 24/11/2025"Casinos, high-rises and fraud: The BBC visits a bizarre city built on scams" bbc.com/news/article...bbc.comMyanmar's Shwe Kokko: Inside a city 'built on scams'A haven for the super rich, or a city built on scams? The BBC was invited to find out. 021
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 20/11/2025www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...theatlantic.com‘A Recipe for Idiocracy’What happens when even college students can’t do math anymore? 020
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 06/11/2025I could spend my life just watching camera release videos: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMXV...youtube.comWelcoming the EOS R6 Mark IIIYouTube video by CanonUSA 020
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 01/11/2025Really important survey from @ChicagoCouncil: “the bipartisan embrace of US-China competition no longer holds among the public, with partisan differences in perceived threats from China and disagreements on current US-China trade policy” globalaffairs.org/research/pub...globalaffairs.orgAmericans Reverse Course on US-China CompetitionWhile Republicans remain focused on limiting China's rise, a majority of Americans now favor a policy of cooperation and engagement with Beijing. 000
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 29/10/2025Pakistani general's Dhaka visit explores stronger defence ties www.thedailystar.net/news/banglad...thedailystar.netPakistani general's Dhaka visit explores stronger defence tiesGeneral Sahir Shamshad Mirza meets Bangladesh’s three service chiefs 020
Reposted by Paul Stanilandarmando l sanchez @mandophotos.bsky.social · 25/10/2025Border patrol agents deployed tear gas on the 3700 block of North Kildare where residents say a landscape worker, a resident, and a woman on a bike were detained. Video from a resident. 13335241659
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 15/10/2025Chicago's SkyDeck is pretty awesome (first time I've been here despite living in Chicago 19 of the past 25 years): 020
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 12/10/2025Afghanistan-Pakistan clashes: www.dawn.com/news/1948219...dawn.com23 troops martyred, 200 Taliban and affiliated terrorists killed in border skirmishes with Afghanistan: ISPR21 hostile positions on Afghan side of border were briefly captured and multiple terrorist training camps were rendered inoperative, says ISPR. 034
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 06/10/2025Can't say I am loving the "Donald Trump sends combat forces to Chicago on an obvious pretext" experience. 030
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 03/10/2025Trump’s ‘Compact’ With Universities Is Just Extortion www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/o...nytimes.comOpinion | Trump’s ‘Compact’ With Universities Is Just Extortion 060
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 03/10/2025Based on his track record at UChicago, there is truly no one I would less want to be in a foxhole with than Daniel Diermeier, so very unsurprising news here: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u... 031
Reposted by Paul StanilandPaul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 02/10/2025current draft syllabus for my Political Violence lecture class: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/8swsa...dropbox.com 0102
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 02/10/2025current draft syllabus for my Political Violence lecture class: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/8swsa...dropbox.com 0102
Paul Staniland @pstaniland.bsky.social · 01/10/2025Fun video on assessing US cities' "Majorness": www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrj-...youtube.comCan We Agree On the 4 Major U.S. Cities?YouTube video by Ray Delahanty | CityNerd 040